I need a pad to lift the back of the saddle (on my draft pony). Looking through the offerings that come up on a Google search, I’m not seeing the foam wedges that have been used in the past. Has anyone found a pad that works, doesn’t create more problems than it solves?
Google “back riser saddle pad”. Dozens of options will come up!
The first question is - why does the back need to be lifted? Usually I see people wanting to do that because the saddle is either placed too far forward so tips back, or is too narrow and tips back. A rear riser doesn’t fix either of those, and does cause problems.
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What JB said. Especially if this is a draft cross, even if it has withers, I’d bet money that the saddle doesn’t actually fit and is too narrow or wrong shape + too narrow up front.
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I needed a rear riser pad because my horse’s back dropped as he aged. He had prominent withers. We were together for 21 years. I have an Albion special order Original Comfort Dressage saddle. It fit both of us nicely. I had an excellent saddle fitter maintain the saddle including changing the billets when one broke and having it reflocked.
I had a private lesson in 11/2019 with the late Susan Harris and she was a big help adjusting the saddle fit. It really made a big difference at the trot. We used one of the cheap foam pads during the lesson but it is not appropriate because it does not have any give. I spent quite a bit of time online and tried several brands of gel pads. I chose the Acavallo Anatomic Gel Pad and it worked well. It was worth the investment.
I used a Supracor pad which I really like because of the honeycomb design. The Acavalllo worked well on top of the Suprcor. It did not move out of place while riding. I found the overall design to be more stable than the other brands I tried; I dont’ remember their names. It was easy to place it so it properly supported the rear of the saddle.
I purchased it from VTO Saddlery. At the time they had a saddle fitter who was well versed in rear riser pads. He was very informative.
I was also going to suggest one of the Acavallo pads. I purchased my semi-custom Bruno Delgrange when my gelding was eight years old. He’s now 15. His wither and shoulders haven’t really changed, but his back has dropped just that little bit over the last seven years.
I like the gel pads because you can cut them to shape if you need too. I trimmed mine so there wasn’t much excess so it was more discrete for showing. I also trimmed it at the front as he didn’t need any extra bulk over the scapula, that would have made the saddle too narrow. We just needed some extra under the panels towards the rear.
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Another vote for the Acavallo pads.
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The saddle was fitted by a professional saddle fitter who works with Schlesse, for what that’s worth. I’m working with a new trainer who clarified that the saddle is correctly placed on the pony’s back, but yes, his back falls off a bit, and a rear riser pad would help put me in a better position. The pony has been ridden in this saddle without injury or pain to his back or withers for many months now. I forwarded the results of a Google search to the trainer, but she is only familiar with the wedges mentioned in another reply that have no give and appear (to me, at least) to be uncomfortable for the horse and difficult to position, and are not offered on any of the sites.
Any chance you can add 2 pics - one without the saddle, and one with it on and girthed but no pad? I’m not saying it doesn’t happen, but it’s really pretty uncommon for a back to drop off like that.
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i have a lordosis horse out in my pasture. Hurts me just to look at him… i don’t ride him. I had a Morgan who had a low back as he aged. I found …for him, that what helped was a banjo saddlepad and a thick western over that. And a western saddle to spread the weight further over his whole spine/ribs.
My dressage mare, who has the biggest shoulder and mutton wither needed a riser when i first started her in lessons. After a couple of years her back became very level…her rear got muscled too. (she’s off until she foals so we’ll see what changes her body goes through with THAT!). Anyhow, with her i used a half riser like this: 
