Saddle fit woes - saddle sliding back?

[Allusion]

Gosh darnit.

That about sums up my opinion about saddles/saddle fitting at this point :lol:

I bought a beautiful Antares with pro panels last year when I was catch riding different horses - this thing is my dream saddle. It fits me like a glove and I’ve never felt so “in tune” with a saddle in my life - that’s a really weird way to put it, I know! Anyways, it’s fit everything I’ve had to ride it in for the last year… but (of course!) I just bought a new horse and it slides back during my ride.
What does this mean? (Is the gullet too wide/narrow?) I’m going to have a fitter out next week to take a look and it’s likely going to mean a new saddle - which is killing me a little bit - this question is for my own curiosity more than anything, I’m not going to band-aid the problem with breastplates and half pads.
The panels seem to make even contact on her back and the shoulder and wither clearance seem good. The balance point is a little lower in the cantle, which makes sense for the saddle to be sliding backwards.

Many thanks in advance!

[Covergirl15]

I’m no expert by any means whatsoever, so take this for what it’s worth, but I’d been having the same issues with my saddle, and it’s because it’s too narrow for my new guy. Apparently he’s built like an elephant b/c the one I’m borrowing until the saddle fitter comes is an extra wide :lol: B/c it’s too narrow, it doesn’t really sit on him, it just kinda perches above his back, making it slip back and sometimes to the side.

[Allusion]

Gotcha, that makes sense. It doesn’t look super narrow but that could very well be the problem. I’m not a saddle fitter but I’ve been around the block a few times, and it’s been a while since I’ve had this problem.
I’ve personally gone through about 7-8 saddles in the last 4 years due to buying/selling horses and horses changing shape. What a pain in the arse.

[marley]

It is completely legitimate to work with a shim pad for your sliding back saddle if the fit issue is a minor one. Many people who find a saddle they love and ride multiple horses buy a medium-wide or wide tree and have custom-shimmed pads for use with their narrower horses. I hate that so many people are being told they need a new saddle for every horse. That is an alternative fact, haha!

[Allusion]

Haha!! Alternative fact, good one.
I don’t ride multiple horses any longer; I had a youngster who I recently decided to sell to buy something that’s already going and showing, so I was catch riding while I was waiting for baby to grow up. My new horse got here last week and I hope to have her for a long time, no plans to sell, so should likely get something that fits her well?

[Foxglove6]

My saddle fitter recommended an anatomical girth. I wasn’t noticing the issue before but my horse’s shoulder blades are angled differently and one of them was pushing the saddle backwards as he tried to reach further out with that leg. The curved girth allowed the saddle to sit securely behind his shoulder blade while the girth sat in the heart girth channel on his belly. Really helped.

[jaybird660]

It can be that the wither area is broad or that the horse is more uphill than the others and the depth in the rear gusset isn’t deep enough and it seeks contact. It could be too upswept as well. Those are just three reasons I could think of offhand.

[Allusion]

Thank you both!

[x]

Can also be that the horse doesn’t have well-sprung ribs and there isn’t anything there, so the saddle just slides back. I’d use a breastplate, and not worry too much if it fits otherwise.

[Allusion]

She is very slight (she’s 17hh but very dainty), and doesn’t have a big barrel/sprung ribs, is uphill and has big withers with a bit of a hollow behind them.

I worry about using a breastplate as a “bandaid” but would love to not have to buy a new saddle!

[Soaponarope]

Allusion,
I would say first, that sucks. The saddle probably doesn’t fit your new horse. I would also say, if you like it, try your utmost to get something serviceable for the new guy and keep the Antares you love. I know that is hard. But there are a few saddles I wish we had held onto. Good luck and hope you work it out!

[x]

If she has big withers, and not very sprung ribs, you may have trouble getting any saddle to not slide back.

[ItchyRichie]

I’m not an expert at all so take this with a large grain of salt, but my saddle was sliding back on my horse a long time ago and I was asking a saddle fitter if I should do something about it and she said that Americans tend to ride with their saddles on their horses shoulders way too much and that as long as the saddle isn’t like obscenely far back and it fits where it rests not to worry about it.

[Hunter_Mom]

We had a similar problem with my saddle on Mare. A no-slip pad under hte saddle pad worked wonders. We did end up with a new saddle, but it was because the one we had didn’t fit DD, and she had grossly outgrown her old one. Go to the Dollar store & buy a roll of non-slip shelf liner. Put it on her back before you tack up and see if it works before you buy a more expensive one.

[Allusion]

Thank you everyone for the ideas and thoughts.
Soaponarope, there have been 2-3 saddles that I wish I would have kept hold of, so I will definitely keep that in mind. However, I think this mare is my ‘forever’ horse (or so I hope) so I am not sure I can justify keeping a $$$addle on a shelf, so to speak :lol:
Hunter Mom, good idea - but the mare is suuuuper sensitive, I’m not confident that she’d be okay with a pad pulling on her dainty hairs to keep the saddle in place haha!!

The Antares rep is in the area in the near future so I’ll get them to come see what we can do. Fingers crossed we can find a solution that doesn’t break my bank account.