DIY gurus: Help me shape this foam pad!

[Lusoluv]

I know us eventers love to tweak our tack. I have a young horse that needs a tiny bit of wither riser help as she develops more muscle. CC saddle I got her fits great, but I only have about 1 finger’s worth of clearance in front under the pommel when I’m seated. I don’t want to risk making her sore AT ALL, so got a Roma/Millers closed cell foam wither riser pad. It has about 3/4" of extra thickness in the front triangle wither area and all I need is 1/2".

I know Mattes and ThinLine make the ultimate shimmable half pads, but I can’t spend $150-$235 on a pad. Can I get a box cutter or some other such thing to shave down the foam? Better ideas so I don’t trash it? Guess it’s only $30 so I can’t go too wrong, but wondering if anyone else has done this?

[poltroon]

I think the tool you might want for cutting foam like that is a hot wire. The real tools aren’t cheap; you might be able to borrow one, or I’ve seen instructions for making them.

You can try buying the shims without the pads they go in and cobble something together. There are less expensive pocket pads, or if you can sew, you can make one easily enough.

Parelli actually sells some very nice foam shims. I was loaned some and found them pretty useful:
http://www.parellisaddles.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=A-NH-SHIM

You can also make shims out of stacked felt. You can get it in fairly thin pieces and then it’s easy to make a good taper on the edge.

[Outyougo]

To make a “custom” fit pad I used a simple half pad and a similar foam pad like you have.

1. Cut the center seam out of half-pad on wither side

2. Cut the foam pad in half–front half and back half

3. Cut the “wither” part out of front half

4. Put the foam inside the pocket you created in half pad

Works great looks fin

[SonnysMom]

ECP has some shimmable half pads without fleece that are around $50. http://www.bigdweb.com/ECP-Cotton-Correction-Half-Pad/productinfo/CFCP-6/

I don’t care for their shims but you can get felt shims or cut up a yoga mat.

[Lusoluv]

Thank you!!!

[Foxyrab]

I’ve had good luck using a hoof rasp to “shave” down specific areas of foam pads. Don’t go back and forth – always move the rasp in one direction.