Creative shimming ideas: adding dimension to wither hollows

[Renn_aissance]

My mother has purchased a saddle and FINALLY is enjoying not fighting with her equipment every time she rides!

The job of this saddle was to have a fairly standard geometry that could be shimmed to use on school horses in lessons once a week, and on my horse in lessons once a week. Most of our school horses are TB types. My fellow is curvy across his topline, pony-backed, big shoulder, moderate wither with wither hollows. This saddle did that job well, including fitting my horse with no shims at all while he was fat earlier this summer, until we got the Cushings back under control. He lost weight and got those wither hollows back; his topline dropped a little (increased the curviness.) Now the saddle rocks because when he engages his body, the saddle tips forward into those wither hollows.

The basic problem I am trying to solve is adding dimension in a small and targeted space beside the wither to clear the saddle off the horse’s wither. Stacking shims at the front does not address the problem because they add lift to the entire front of the saddle. I believe I am close to solving this problem. I am using the saddle over a ThinLine Trifecta shim pad with UltraThinLine front and bridge shims in, a second smaller UltraThinLine shim in the front, and a fist-sized circle of foam from the insole of my running shoes placed to clear the wither hollow. This is adding the lift and dimension I need to the front of the saddle. It is not perfect because that stack of shims could add a pressure point and I’d like to graduate that pressure better for more even contact through the front of the panel. However, it lifts the front, does not impede the shoulder, does not create a problem anywhere else, and stops it from rocking. Horse moves well, back is happy.

So: we’ve got a professional fitter coming out in a couple of weeks to help us with a more sustainable solution once the horse’s weight and topline stabilize a little better. I’d like to continue improving on this in the meantime. So I come to COTH. What I want to construct is essentially a gently-sloping pyramidal undercarriage for the front of the saddle. Creative materials for shimming that might give me a better combination of that targeted dimension for wither hollows, with better graduation from top to bottom? (Does this even exist off the rack?)

[jonem004]

Have you tried a plain old wither relief half pad?

[Renn_aissance]

@jonem004

Have you tried a plain old wither relief half pad?

I haven’t- when I hear “wither relief” I hear those wool pads with a wither cutout, and I think that will be too thick, but I’m sure there’s one in the tack room I could try. Have you had success with that for this problem?

[Scribbler]

This gel wither riser has worked well for us when the saddle didn’t quite meet the topline. The wither hollow area is curved and thicker. It’s super soft and comfy.

This is Greenhawks house brand, quite affordable (Canadian $). I assume it is a knock off of a higher priced brand. It can go under or over the cloth pad. I prefer over.

https://greenhawk.com/wdItemDesc.asp…ricSKU=RIE6709

[NaturallyHappy]

Butet makes a pad that is built up in that area, but I’ve never seen one in action.

[vxf111]

Saddlerite shimmable pad might be a nice option

[BroncoMo]

I have one with pretty substantial hollows behind his withers, though my saddles slide back in to the hollow, not forward. So may be a different issue for you.

But what I found works is a gel non slip half pad (no sheepskin) placed behind where you would usually place a half pad. Essentially you are filling in the hollows and creating a flatter plane for the saddle to sit on, rather than allow it to slip in to a hollow. This worked well as a bandaid for my previous saddle and kept it from sliding back as far, until I was able to buy my current saddle which fits much better. I am able to ride without the gel pad though I do think it still makes a difference when I do use it. It needs to be trimmed to fit so there isn’t so much hanging out behind the saddle.

Might be worth a try to bridge the gap rather than shim it or raise it and create pressure points elsewhere.

[jonem004]

@Renn/aissance

I haven’t- when I hear “wither relief” I hear those wool pads with a wither cutout, and I think that will be too thick, but I’m sure there’s one in the tack room I could try. Have you had success with that for this problem?

Those are the standard response to those dips behind the shoulder. I’m sure they can be found in different thicknesses, and that’d certainly be simpler for you. Throw one on and let me know how it goes!