Saddle Fit Gurus - saddles always tip left!

[raisethebar]

I have a coming 6 year old WB gelding who I have been struggling with saddle fit for the last 2 years.

He has a “tilted pelvis” which is down to the left, and up to the right. He has come so far and his pelvis is SO much better with regular chiropractic work.

I had a beautiful CWD but it was a medium - medium/wide tree that fit him when I got it. Originally, we thought my CWD was the source of his pain before the chiropractor looked at him. The CWD was shifting left - we tried a non-slip pad, non-slip girth, and everything before selling it. I sold it and bought a much cheaper wide tree Circuit. My plan was to try to get us through until he stopped growing. Our vet looked at it and said it fit well but it is a bit narrow through the shoulders for him (typical wide-shouldered WB).

Before going with the Circuit - I had the Voltaire Rep come out one day as I have ridden in a previous trainer’s and loved it! He told me my horse needed a wide tree with the shoulders cut out and that my current saddle (CWD) was too small for him and that is why it was not sitting straight. I had a chance to ride in it and my horse felt amazing! (This was when he first started his chiropractic treatment & I was extremely surprised I could feel a difference at all due to the fact that saddle fit issues normally take time to feel as big of an impact as I did) I also had a CWD Rep in the barn and she told me the same thing but didn’t get to ride in the saddles.

I choose to go with a cheaper option as stated before and it seemed to be working great! His chiro treatments went from 3 weeks apart to now 8 weeks - his changes are there, his muscling and development is remarkable, attitude is completely different and everything… Until about a couple weeks ago.

I have been noticing as the weeks go by my saddle seems to slip more and more to the left. No matter what I do. Even when I ride without stirrups. This very well could be me and the weight I put in my left stirrup but it is very odd how it stopped when I got the wide tree saddle and now (about a year later) it is started again.

Has anyone had similar situations with this? Do I just need to get off and readjust my saddle all the time? Do I need to have a rep/saddle fitter out to look at it? These saddles are a HUGE investment - one that I hope to keep for a very very long time (along with the horse)… He is still growing and developing which is why I have been extremely hesitant with purchasing something so expensive at this time but I do not want to undo the thousands of dollars spent to get him back to feeling this way.

Another thread - who would I even go with? I loved my CWD (seems to have flap options to fit my long hip-to-knee legs but I loved riding in the Voltaire which fit well but maybe needed a longer flap. Open to looking at other options as well which just makes this so much more confusing. AHH! Thanks for any suggestions

Thank you!

[sheltona01]

As you said he was having issues, it would not surprise me if he is asymmetric. It also could be you. Asymmetry in a horse is often caused by lameness issue among others. The easiest way for you to tell is ride in that saddle on another horse. If it does the same thing, it is you. If it stays balances it is him. It also could be the saddle, but not as likely. The best way to fix it is with shims until your horse evens out with correct work and fixing his physical issues.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[IPEsq]

Have you ever done any back tracings or tried shimming the low side?

[comingback]

I rode a horse with a tilted pelvis and always felt I was leaning right. Had some myofascial massage work done and suddenly I sat straight. Had to do some muscle building and stretching out to help between sessions, but got better as time went on.

Maybe your horse needs an adjustment of some sort. When my ride needed it, that was one of my signs.

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

Stand behind/above your horse on a mounting block or something that gives you a good view of his back and shoulders. Look carefully and compare left to right. Many horses have some asymmetry - one shoulder more developed than the other. The less-developed side can be different enough to cause the saddle to slide in that direction. Once it does, it puts more pressure on the muscles there and prevents their full development. Shimming the less-developed side to allow the saddle to sit level will (along with correct riding) help those muscles even up with the other side. The problems with the pelvis could be contributing, of course, since uneven work behind will also affect the front end.

Have you been riding less in the last months than you were when the chiro appointments were closer together? Or without the help of a trainer who is keeping your work really correct?

[jaybird660]

I agree with many of the suggestions. However, I would also check the mid and far back as well when viewing from the rear. Often,one needs to shim one front and opposite rear. Second, I don’t always shim the front more hollow or steeper side as sometimes asymmetry can pull or push the saddle depending on the shape of the unevenness. Therefore, also carefully look at your saddle from the front and make sure the gullet channel is equidistant from the spine and wither as far back as you can feel and have someone check when your mounted. Play with shim placement as that would be your only option since it’s a foam panel.

[raisethebar]

Thank you everyone!!! What is the best pad you recommending for shimming ?
Since my saddle is slipping left, would I build up the left side?

[raisethebar]

Thank you everyone!!!

What is the best pad you recommending for shimming ? Thinline?

[GoodTimes]

I’m following this! I’ve got a 7yo warmblood who always shifts my saddle to the right. Recently had chiro take a look and he said sore left hock and right stifle. He also pointed out that I weight my right side more even standing around.

I’m going to try the Greg Best stirrup thing tonight to see how uneven I am before I start shimming. I’ll take a look at his back too to see if there’s uneven muscling, or if he’s just protecting his sore joints at this point.

[kashmere]

No real insight to offer more than other folks, but in terms of pads, this one is a good bet for giving you lots of options:

http://prolitepads.com/balance-altering-relief-pads/29-tri-pad

[jaybird660]

You can start there but as I said you might need to experiment.

[no.stirrups]

So this used to happen, then it was resolved with a new saddle and his movement dramatically improved, and now it is happening again?

I’d say the previous saddle was too tight and now that your horse has muscled up he has outgrown the new saddle which has now also become too tight. The tightness is causing your horse to not step through evenly behind. As to why it is always to the left, that is either the side more impacted by the saddle due to your horse’s asymmetry or his weaker side.

To test, try riding in a wider saddle and see if the problem is resolved. If you persist in riding with a too-narrow saddle and use pads to cover up the problem you will probably create soundness problems such as the one he is currently recovering well from.

[raisethebar]

Thank you no.stirrups. This is exactly what I am worried about. I honestly feel like it is coming from his shoulders as his mother had a similar situation. She was doing the 3’6" hunters and shown all over and as she was aging moved back down the ranks to a childrens hunter… went lame until they contacted her breeder and they told them to put the widest saddle they could get with plenty of shoulder room - mare went sound again.

I think this saddle is too tight thru the shoulder but starting to be too tight through the panels.

I also think it very well could be me. I have been pretty conscious about it the past couple rides. I still feel unbalanced but not as soon as I felt it before. I am starting to think it is the saddle but I am not helping the problem due to my strengths/weaknesses.

A friend of mine has a massive custom saddle in the barn. Thinking about trying it to see how it feels.

[doublesstable]

I have this trouble too… and over the years I found it was more me than anything.

Sounds like your horse may be contributing to the issue and looks like you are working to resolve that.

On every horse I rode I found my saddle would tip to the left; some horses more than others but still tipped. No matter which saddle I used it happened.

An old trainer I used to ride with said this is a very common problem. Many riders collapse their left rib cage. I do this and lift my right shoulder. She used to say LBRS… which meant - Left Boob to Right Shoulder. That not only made me laugh but helped with my tipping problem. I also visualize my head/helmet in the center of my horses like where their withers are…

I use a EcoGold Non slip half pad which I love on my rounder horse.

Have someone look at you in the saddle. I have an issue too with one leg position different than the other. I bend my left knee more than my right and don’t put equal weight in the stirrups. More on the right to compensate for my collapsing my left rib cage.

I hope you can figure this out… I know it has been difficult for me to retrain myself. I do think a visit to a chiropractor would be a good idea… I do it for my horses

[RodeoHunter]

^this exact thing happens to my horse after a growth spurt. I got a wider tree thinner panels as it was pinching through the shoulders (also my horse also had uneven hips and his shoulder muscling was very uneven). The CWD rep actually told me to not pad up on the one side and to just use a non slip pad. I was skeptical and sometimes had to hop off and reset, but he is how completely even on both sides. This was after 3-4 months with the new saddle.

Your horse’s hips could be a factor but the root cause is likely saddle fit especially if it is pinching shoulders. He might even be compensating somehow behind if he’s getting squished up front.

[RodeoHunter]

^this exact thing happened to my horse after a growth spurt. I got a wider tree thinner panels as it was pinching through the shoulders (my horse also had uneven hips and his shoulder muscling was very uneven). The CWD rep actually told me to not pad up on the one side and to just use a non slip pad. I was skeptical and sometimes had to hop off and reset, but he is how completely even on both sides. This was after 3-4 months with the new saddle.

Your horse’s hips could be a factor but the root cause is likely saddle fit especially if it is pinching shoulders. He might even be compensating somehow behind if he’s getting squished up front.

[raisethebar]

Thank you all - I honestly feel like you are all correct.

I know I do ride differently off of both legs; thankfully we have mirrors head on and we recently replaced the ones that we can see our position as we pass - super helpful as I love watching myself ride (not being vein) so that I can get better. I have been noticing that I turn my toe out on the right side much differently than I do on my left.

I definitely need a chiropractor. I am looking into finding one closer to my house then the one I sometimes (1x every 2-3 months) go to.

I do owe it to him to get him checked out. I just need to figure out how I can afford it… I know CWD does “payment plans” but unfortunately even the payment plans aren’t stretched out long enough to make them affordable.

I am all for getting a new saddle - I currently don’t love mine at all and it doesn’t fit my leg that well as my old one did.

[kashmere]

re: the mare who needed the widest possible saddle -

I have had luck doing this with two of my horses now. My current mare is not really super wide, but she is very very sensitive about her shoulders, and they are relatively broad. I had her in two saddles that really did “fit” according to every educated eye who looked at them. I went with my spidey sense and put her in a 32cm Stubben, very lightly shimmed up front to help wither clearance and she is a happy camper. Looking at it, it’s “too wide” but she is far more comfortable in the wider tree with some minor padding to fill where it needs than a tree that “fits.”

Anyway, long and rambly way of saying listen to the horse when it tells you something hurts, and when it tells you something feels good.

[jaybird660]

As for being too narrow; that is possible but usually, it would tip both ways or if your horse is asymmetric, then it would still tip. I always suggest fitting to the widest side and shimming and not necessarily what appears to fit without a shim.

[Right_on_Target]

I had a saddle custom made for my OTTB when I got him. Seven months later the saddle started slipping to the right constantly and I noticed dry spots. I had the saddle fitter out and she agreed that the saddle is too tight behind the withers. I think it measured a narrow or medium narrow.

I went out and bought a Wintec and put a Medium Wide gullet in. Viola! Problem solved. New saddle is on order to fit his exact measurements, and the Wintec will work in the meantime.

My horse’s right hind is weaker, but I think my saddle being too tight was causing him to get crooked-er which made the saddle slip.