Super stupid question -
I can just girth in the full position, yes? This saddle has that double D-ring set up, and I’ve been girthing in the 7/8ths position. That was my plan for this evening is to switch it to the full rigging and see if it holds back better.
Meant to do it last night but got into a war with maintenance on the brush hog that I wasn’t willing to lose. 
Yes. That’s the marketing point of the double D 3-way rigging - you can rig anything from full to 3/4. The 7/8th position you’re using is the middle option.
When rigging in the full, if the saddle tips forward, it means is too wide.
Maybe try a small doubled towel on each side in front and see if that helps.
If it does, consider trying a shoulder built-up saddle pad.
I would for sure give it a try and see if it helps.
And I would ditch the Total Saddle Fit girths.
Does yours have a HARD plastic that makes up the body? (like mine did that I tried?)
The issue that I had is the fleece would “fold over” the side of that plastic, and then it’s the PLASTIC itself that will rub into your horse and great a gall.
Was thinking about this today while cleaning the house. Not sure if this had been mentioned previously.
Why not use an English girth with adapters on the ends to make it fit a Western saddle? If there is not one on the market just about any harness shop should be able to make on for you.
Mine is leather. Crappy cheap leather, but leather. What I don’t like about super shaped/formed girths is that they create a ledge of pressure across the back of where it’s “anatomically formed”. It’s cool to pretend that the pressure is even across the entire strap, but that’s not how physics work.
That said, I was hoping the cut back shape would help. It did for probably 5 rides, then it too galled.
I tried setting the saddle fully back behind her shoulders and putting the girth on the full rigging position. It looked so weird. The seat of the saddle looked too far back, there was too much pad in front, it was low in front, just… weird. Maybe it was just my eye tonight. It was again raining, but she’s full of piss and vinegar from having too many days off, so rain or shine she will get worked tomorrow. I will set it in the technically correct position and see if it stays or moves.
The English girth shapes gall too. I haven’t tried pure leather yet, but this weaver airflex texture is pretty slick so should mimic. It’s the one I have the most hope for, between it and the mohair.
I’m aware of how the flex2 tree is built. I’ll admit to being biased toward traditional, quality trees. I believe the idea of a flexing tree, whether it be full flex or just the bar tips to be flawed as it will not do the job of fully distributing weight as one of the main jobs of the tree. Despite what the Circle Y commercial says. Shoulder flair is another heavily marketed tree whether it be flex or solid tree. Hence why I will not ride a Martin. But a lot of people love them.
Endless has made it clear she needs this saddle until she can get the horse to the point of using her dressage saddle and had no intentions of purchasing a different one for that reason, if I understood completely.
I am just offering suggestions to get her by without telling her to go buy a different saddle.
If these saddles work for you, great! It seems people either love them or hate them. I’m not telling anyone how to spend their own money, especially after it’s already spent.
Anyhow, @endlessclimb , I grabbed you a cinch today if you’re still want to try one. If so, PM me your address and I’ll get it shipped. If you’re not, no worries.
Edited to add- scanning the last couple days posts, if you slid it back a bit farther and it looked tipped down in the front, again too wide, hence closing the gap a bit without overpadding to cause other issues. Some pics you are using a back cinch, some not- if you try full double, make sure you use a back cinch and it needs to be snug.
I put a towel under it up front yesterday, didn’t ride in it though.
When I take the back cinch off its when I’m messing with stuff. I never work her or ride her without one, and it’s pretty snug. She doesn’t mind it at all.
Someday, I’m not opposed to getting a different western saddle for her. It’s just not in the cards right now and that dressage saddle fits her quite well, and it’s comfy enough for trail rides once we get there.
Have you tried center-firing your cinch? We did that a lot in the mountains with the mules who’d gall up rough. Worked every time.
I have not, and i think mine only goes to 3/4 not a full center fire. I would think that would allow the saddle to ride forward, though?
So this is what we did on each mule on both sides. It did not cause the saddle to move forward as it is made to have a 4 point system rather than the 2 rigging system that is normal. We would have animals with potential galls heal in a matter of days with this system and no reoccurrence thereafter. It is not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen, but I’ve used this on tiny mini mules and full fledged draft horses and have it work and keep the saddle square and secure.
Edit to add: I think we use the term center-firing different which may be the cause for confusion. On the off side we would have 2 billets connected to 1 cinch and then centerfire it on the other side with the single latigo.
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