A while back I was considering buying a western saddle for my friends when they want to ride my second horse. My English saddle has adjustabe gullets and surprisingly clears his withers nicely. If I get a western saddle and it needs a shim pad or some other pad to lift it, what do you prefer? What has worked well for you? The saddle I would purchase would be a synthetic, not super expensive, but not very heavy on his back. I am considering gaited versions, but I would like to know what pads work best for you.
If you you get the very best fitting saddle you can find, why would it need shimming? I see shark fin OTTBs used as pony horses at the track with western saddles that clear their withers.
I find gaited saddles have a wider tree. That will sit low in front on a horse that needs a narrower tree.
Buying, then shimming a saddle that does not fit is not the best way to go.
www.downunderweb.com//store/MI_SAD271.html
This is a reasonably priced synthetic western/aussie saddle. They can fit it to a wither tracing. The company is reputable.
I don’t want to spend a lot on a saddle. IDK if the saddle will fit until I buy it. He has a regular build with a high wither. he needs like a semi qh but his withers are high. looking into PADS that can help if the saddle is not perfect.
What about a nice thick bareback pad? Those are treeless and fit well.
The dilemma is… will you end up spending the money on a saddle that fits?
on multiple pads, or the expensive therapeutic pads and shims?
or vet bills & chiro for your horse’s sore back?
No matter the sticker price, if the saddle doesn’t fit it’s worthless, if it does fit it’s priceless.
Here is a good selection of pads that can be shimmed. They also have synthetic western saddles and bareback pads.
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What i want from this thread is for people who have used pads/shims to give me THEIR recommendations. Thanks.
Sorry but most good horseman/woman will recommend that you purchase a western saddle that fits as there is no good recommendation for how to make an ill fitting saddle fit as that usually does not work out well for the horse. That is why you are getting recommendations to purchase a western saddle that fits the horse.
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You can check the saddle fit before you buy it, so long as you are buying local. I’m sure you’d much rather spend your saddle money on something that will work well for you. Find someone who is very knowledgeable about saddle fit to help you. I’m sure you have western people/trainers in your area that have experience with what works and what doesn’t for both saddles and pads who can help who would help you as a friend, if you don’t want to pay a saddle-fitter.
Some shops that sell used saddles allow them to go out for a trial and fitting, and be returned for another selection if they don’t work. In fact, there are even online shops that offer the same, you just may be out the shipping cost, which is cheaper than the problems from bad saddle fit. If you buy from an individual you can ask about the same opportunity or even bring the horse with you to look.
There are more options available to you than you are acknowledging to yourself. You and the horse will both be living with this choice for a long time. What will work best for the horse is what will work best for you as well, and be far less expensive and troublesome in the long run.
As for the advice you are getting that you don’t like, it wouldn’t be kind to encourage you to do something that isn’t cost-effective or in the best interests of you and your horse. Those responding really are trying to help you.
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The saddle would only be used for friends to be able to ride him. I Refuse to spend thousands of dollars on a saddle with no guarantee it would fit him, either. I know there are people out there who have used shim pads and had great success. I would have to order ANY saddle online, as We don’t have any tack shops nearby that sell saddles.
It’s been my experience that you can return a saddle you purchase from an online tack shop if it doesn’t fit, as long as it is in the same condition as when you bought it. I find horsesaddleshop.com very user friendly, and they have templates you can download and try on your horse to see what width seems to fit him best. If you do that, and know what brand/width your English saddle is, they might be able to point you in the right direction wrt saddle choice (they have some used ones) and pads. Even if you don’t buy something from them, you can look for a used version of a saddle they recommend. They have many different price points.
You mentioned gaited saddles; it’s my understanding that they are roomier in the shoulder which may cause issues with wither clearance, but I don’t know for sure. I don’t have gaited horses.
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Shimming is only going to work if you happen to buy a saddle that is slightly too wide in the gullet for your horse.
If your saddle is too narrow in the gullet or bar angle, shimming is going to make it WORSE.
If your saddle has too much rock, shimming is going to make it WORSE.
If your saddle is way too wide, shimming isn’t going to help enough and it’s going to sit on their withers and sit downhill putting pressure on the shoulders.
You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a saddle. But it takes some time and trial-and-error to saddle shop for a horse. Find an online tack store that allows returns with a minimal restocking fee. And expect to have to try a couple until you find a decent fit.
If your saddle does not fit at all, no amount of shimming or special padding is going to make it fit.
I understand you only want the saddle as an “extra” but think of it this way.
Let’s say you have a pair of shoes that are 2 sizes too small.
But you ONLY wear them once a month when you go for a 30 minute walk.
…Wouldn’t you dread when you have to take that 30 minute walk once a month, if you know your feet are going to hurt?
That is why it is important to find a saddle that fits your horse decently, so that they can be comfortable for the times you use it, even if it is infrequent.
SIDE NOTE - I’m currently using a shim on my horse Shotgun with his saddle. I’m still saddle searching for him (have tried 5 so far) but I haven’t liked the fit better than what I am currently doing so I’m just going to keep doing that until I can find him something better.
So there. You want to here from someone who currently uses a shim. I do. But it has to be the right type of saddle for shimming to be effective. You just can’t throw a shim under a saddle and expect it to magically fix whatever is wrong with the fit.
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Thank you for some of these explanations. I do understand what everyone is saying. I am going to TRY to find a saddle that comes close to fitting him. I also wanted to know what pads work best for a high withered horse, and hopefully between finding a close enough fitting saddle AND a pad, I can fix it just enough that a friend can ride him on occasion. But if this is only going to be a problem, maybe i’ll just stick to his english saddle. The riders will have to deal with it.
The 5 star flex fit is very good for high withered horses:
https://www.5starequineproducts.com/articles/the-flex-fit-wither-option
They are also an excellent pad.
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