New saddle or corrective pad?

[sirbeastmom]

I bought my mare’s saddle when she was a 3 year old. It fit her like a glove.

As a six year old who decided to develop some muscle, not so much; the saddle pinches a bit behind her shoulders, which tips the saddle forward (the skirt in the back is about 3/4" off her back.) It’s not the worst fit in the world, but it’s obviously tight behind her shoulder area.

I come from the school of thought that pads won’t fix an ill-fitting saddle, but when I’ve lamented to friends about having to buy a new saddle, every single one—even experienced horsemen whose judgement I trust—have responded with, “Why don’t you just get a corrective pad?”

Did I miss the memo on the magical abilities of corrective pads? Should I really try that route before saddle hunting again?

[Tee]

Having been in the same situation when my 4 year old Morgan outgrew the saddle I’d been riding him, I’d say start looking for a new saddle. I honestly don’t believe you can do corrective padding to fix more than very minor issues. Too tight isn’t one of them.

[GallopingGrape]

A pad will not fix an ill fitting saddle, especially one that is too tight… best to find one that fits!

[Bogie]

A corrective pad can only help if the saddle is too wide.

However, you can widen the tree on most saddles – so if everything else about the saddle works, find someone who does this. Just make sure they are doing it on proper equipment so it’s widened evenly.

It does not need to be an “adjustable” tree saddle.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=GallopingGrape;7617202]
A pad will not fix an ill fitting saddle, especially one that is too tight… best to find one that fits![/QUOTE]

This…been there.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Bogie;7617272]
A corrective pad can only help if the saddle is too wide.

However, you can widen the tree on most saddles – so if everything else about the saddle works, find someone who does this. Just make sure they are doing it on proper equipment so it’s widened evenly.

It does not need to be an “adjustable” tree saddle.[/QUOTE]

Western saddles? Not if it is a solid tree.

[Bogie]

[QUOTE=craz4crtrs;7617288]
Western saddles? Not if it is a solid tree.[/QUOTE]

My bad. Western saddles are different.

[UrbanHennery]

I’m in this exact place right now, my 5 year old gelding has outgrown the saddle I’ve been riding him in. No padding change is going to fix it (ask me how I know) and I’d argue that too wide is also hard to fix with padding.

Time for a new saddle.

[sirbeastmom]

[QUOTE=Bogie;7617339]
My bad. Western saddles are different.[/QUOTE]

Dang. I got excited! sigh
Looks like it’s time to head to the tack store…

[froglander]

[QUOTE=sirbeastmom;7616878]
I bought my mare’s saddle when she was a 3 year old. It fit her like a glove.

As a six year old who decided to develop some muscle, not so much; the saddle pinches a bit behind her shoulders, which tips the saddle forward (the skirt in the back is about 3/4" off her back.) It’s not the worst fit in the world, but it’s obviously tight behind her shoulder area.

I come from the school of thought that pads won’t fix an ill-fitting saddle, but when I’ve lamented to friends about having to buy a new saddle, every single one—even experienced horsemen whose judgement I trust—have responded with, “Why don’t you just get a corrective pad?”

Did I miss the memo on the magical abilities of corrective pads? Should I really try that route before saddle hunting again?[/QUOTE]

Do you have a picture of this? I’m trying to picture how the saddle would be too narrow, yet tipping forward with the back of the saddle raised off the back? I thought that tended to happen when a saddle was too wide?

[SuckerForHorses]

[QUOTE=froglander;7618515]
Do you have a picture of this? I’m trying to picture how the saddle would be too narrow, yet tipping forward with the back of the saddle raised off the back? I thought that tended to happen when a saddle was too wide?[/QUOTE]

A western saddle with too much rock can raise in the back also. It’s not always in direct connection with how the shoulders fit.

OP - if the saddle is tight in the shoulders/withers, a pad will not help this, as mentioned prior. I would start looking for a better fitting saddle.

[UrbanHennery]

The tipping happens when the bars are too narrow before the flare, it causes the saddle to rock forward. It’s exactly the same problem that I have right now. If the tree is just too wide, but the rock/flair is right, the back won’t lift up.

Tipping up in back. Tipping is generally a pretty straight forward sign of a poorly fitting saddle and is usually caused by saddle tree bars with the wrong rocker and twist (angles) to fit the back of the horse.
Read more: http://www.western-saddle-guide.com/poor-saddle-fit.html#ixzz34M5fZ7XP

[sirbeastmom]

Read more: http://www.western-saddle-guide.com/poor-saddle-fit.html#ixzz34M5fZ7XP

Thanks for the link!

The folks at the consignment store are pretty knowledgable and generally have lots of inventory, so I’ll just pick up a truck load of saddles and cross my fingers that one of them fits both pony and me!

On the bright side, my saddle is a really nice McCall, and if I’m able to sell it for the amount it’s worth, I should have enough money to buy a decent saddle and STILL have some fun money left over :).

[beau159]

Let’s think about this for a second.

Let’s say you wear a size 7 shoe. But you have a pair of shoes that are a size 6 (too small). Would you find “corrective socks” to force your feet into shoes that are too small? Of course not.

On that same token, let’s say you have a pair of shoes that are a size 8 (too big). Would you simply wear 3 pairs of socks in order to get them to fit? No, because that wouldn’t work either?

So it really baffles me when people say “Oh my saddle doesn’t fit my horse, but I’ll just get a corrective pad to make it fit.”

It makes zero sense.

Your saddle needs to fit. PERIOD. It shouldn’t be too wide, too narrow, too much flare, or too much rock. Yes, sometimes you need to try 10 or more saddles until you find the right one for your horse. But think about how much your horse would appreciate having a well-fitted saddle.

[Beverley]

Indeed, new saddle. My now 11 yo ‘grew’ through three saddles and #4 finally is it. His tough to fit, I hauled him to the tack store and we wheeled out 3 or 4 saddles at a time to try on. In my case, the more expensive, the better the fit, but maybe you will be luckier!

[sirbeastmom]

I’m definitely going with a new saddle.

No joke, out of all the saddles at the consignment store, one fit my horse. ONE. And it was waaaay too big for me.

Mare has a flat back and big shoulders, but also decent withers. The saddles either fit her withers but were tight on her shoulders, or fit her shoulders but squashed her withers.

Riding her bareback in the interim.

I’ve given up looking for the perfect saddle; I’ll just take whatever saddle fits both of us.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=sirbeastmom;7664295]
I’m definitely going with a new saddle.

No joke, out of all the saddles at the consignment store, one fit my horse. ONE. And it was waaaay too big for me.

Mare has a flat back and big shoulders, but also decent withers. The saddles either fit her withers but were tight on her shoulders, or fit her shoulders but squashed her withers.

Riding her bareback in the interim.

I’ve given up looking for the perfect saddle; I’ll just take whatever saddle fits both of us.[/QUOTE]

Sounds similar to my mare. Look at the Courts Miss America ladies all around. For a horse with big shoulders, flat straight back, lots of wither clearance. Not cheap, may have to wait awhile, but nice saddles. Long story…

If you haven’t looked at barrel saddles, that is another option for big shouldered horses. For an “inexpensive” option look at Steinhoff barrel saddles by Double C. 4 tree sizes. Decent quality, and they tend to have lots of saddles in stock from basic to blingy. I found a used one last year that was a bit narrow, but I was impressed how comfortable it was. Look at the #3 tree.

http://www.teamsteinhoff.com/index.asp