Saddle issue, downhill horse, help!! UPDATE & pics

[Shermy]

My horse is now 5 yrs old. He grew an inch, evened up, but sadly, his butt grew too.

So, he is still downhill, just an inch taller.

I had gotten a Tucker Old West, WIDE, worked for quite awhile, almost a year, BUT I am getting white marks, sigh!!

He gets chiro about every 6 weeks, just did about 2 weeks ago. He is NOT sore, but the saddle leaves dry spots, worse on his left shoulder, dry spots on both sides of his withers.

Sooo… while I HATE saddle shopping, I think I need to get a different saddle for him. My Tucker fits my other horse perfect, so am keeping it. I really LOVE that saddle, so this whole issue is very sad.

I trail ride, need to be comfortable. I like a high cantle.

Was looking around tonight, and the Steele saddle Outlaw struck my eye.

http://steelesaddle.com/product/steele-outlaw/

I can spend all day in my Tucker, so again, need comfort…

I like the loaner policy on the Steele, need a pic, will take that tomorrow…

Anyone have a downhill horse?? Is there a certain type of saddle that works better? My fear is that I will buy a new saddle, Chex will keep growing, even up, and will change yet again, but I guess that is what happens when you get a young (ish) horse.

Saddle shopping is just overwhelming and did I say, I HATE it?

Help!!

[UrbanHennery]

How small/big are the dry spots? Bigger than your fist and you’re likely okay with a downhill horse, especially if he’s not sore anywhere.

I use this saddle pad on my 5 year old reiner. Saddle fit has been checked by several saddle fitters and saddle pad was specifically recommended. The pad lifts the saddle just a bit and allows his shoulders to move more freely as well as making me feel less like I’m tipping forward.

http://www.equibrand.com/BIOFIT-SHIM-PAD-p659/

[Aces_N_Eights]

Are the white spots from your saddle being too narrow or from it sliding forward from him being built downhill and creating pressure spots?

[quarterhorse4me]

If he is not sore, I agree with UrbanHennery that you may want to play with a pad first. My last gelding grew an awful lot between year 5 and 6. You may be jumping the gun and hate to have to find a new saddle a year from now. BTW-I do like the Steele Saddle, but if you are happy with the Tucker for trails, you might want to stick with a sure thing if you can keep one that fits your boy.

[Shermy]

I have a pad very similar, raises the saddle, but lately, dry spots r bigger, I will take pics, I have found if I use a thinner Air Ride pad, the dry spots r a tad smaller. A friend let me try her 1/2" WON pad, same, but since is neoprene underneath, u could really c the hair pattern, his left should is getting pinched ;(.

I think my Tucker was ok, but he has filled out a lot, I think even tho, is a wide, saddle it is too narrow.

I was hoping to wait until he was 6, but I don’t want to ride him in a really ill fitting saddle. My saddle only comes in a wide, so I have the widest saddle I can get in it.

I will take some pics today. My trainer doesn’t think it is killing him, but it is getting worse, so I think I need to look around… I just hate it! My trainer thinks I should try a cutting saddle, so weighing different saddle types.

[Buddy0227]

Diamond Wool makes a nice pad that can be shimmed in the front, middle and back of the pad…works for me.

[Aces_N_Eights]

If your saddle is getting too narrow I would be careful trying to shim and adding pad under an already too narrow tree, if overdone if can create pinching making the problem worse. Or over shimming the front to lift it up creating the tree to tip back on his kidneys.

[quarterhorse4me]

I looked for the Tucker for my extra-wide mutton withered gelding and ended up getting the Circle Y Cottonwood Flex 2 with the extra-wide tree. It was not my first choice but I have actually been happy with it for trail riding. He has a cutting saddle we use for other things but he has gotten so big it may be out of the question this season.

[UrbanHennery]

pictures of the saddle on the horse (no pad) and pictures of the dry spots would be helpful. You don’t want small dry spots as that shows really high pressure. Big dry spots can mean a lot of different things, especially on a downhill horse.

[goodhors]

So a question for a trail riding owner, is have you tried the age-old crupper on your saddle? It will hold the saddle from working forward while riding, prevent pinching if tree fits horse well when properly postioned. Yeah, not the “cutest look” in add-n equipment, but HELPFUL in keeping saddle where it belongs.

Second option, is adding some rim pads to your front hooves, leveling up his back. This is fairly common in some breeds or lines of horses, because having a shorter front end is genetic. Putting pads on to raise the front, makes horse back level, allows him to have better motion in many cases. Turns a nothing horse into a winner in the show ring. Granted this may be more of an “English or Breed” fix-up, but it WORKS for the horse. He is COMFORTABLE shod this way.

Trying the addition of pads in front, is a LOT less expensive than a new saddle, would certainly show the benefits of adding pads in his way of going, in a short time of use.

If he still has those dry spots with the hoof pads on, maybe the saddle DOES NOT FIT like you think it does. Totally different issue then, can’t be blamed on a downhill conformation if his front and hind are leveled with pads under front shoes.

[Shermy]

I have a 5 star, the one that is like the bio fit, lifts up the saddle in the front and a thinner Professional Choice air pad. I borrowed a WON pad, so I have played w/padding. It seems the thinner Air Pad is the best. BUT, nothing has fixed it, just the thinner pad makes the spots a little smaller, I think it really I do to the saddle pressing on his shoulders, so the 5 star and corrector pad are thicker, therefore, taking up more of his shoulder room.

He has exploded, just growing a lot, so I think since he has VERY little withers, my Tucker is too narrow, even tho, it is a WIDE. Saddle fits my other horse, so will keep it, since I really like it.

Today, I took pics, fellow boarder has a horse that has NO withers, had a western Dakota saddle made for her, let me try it. It fit my horse!! Solid sweat marks, said I can use it and there is another much older saddle that fit her horse that no one is using, will try that saddle tomorrow.

I used my thin Air Pad today. So, I have a saddle, prob two that I can use until I find a saddle.

We put out raised poles, so I did ride like I would normally, leg position was a tad different than my Tucker, but didn’t take that long for me to adjust to it. I actually felt really comfortable in it. Surprising since she is so tiny. Had to adjust stirrups and girth a lot, she has a little POA pony, would would be a pain to have to adjust it everytime I rode, but I could do it. I am hoping the spare saddle works, so I could leave it adjusted to my horse, but assuming what works for her horse will work for mine. Horse is a QH w/literally NO withers, so am very hopeful that saddle will work too.

Anyone know the brand Dakota?? This lady is TINY, I am not, BUT I was actually fairly comfortable. She thought was a 15" seat, I would prob get a 16", but was ok riding in it. She had a saddle fitter come out and special ordered it for her horse, said it was around $1,250.

On it, it had Dakota 212. I think it may be @ two years old. I found a link of it…

http://www.cowboywaywesternstore.com/datrfl212.html

The saddle “looked” decent, but after I heard the price, I wondered if was a cheap (ish) brand. This lady rides, but not as often or as hard as I do, so am willing to invest in a decent built saddle, but this one really did fit my horse great!

Also, he had a bad case of rain rot this spring, removing it meant his air pull out in tufts, that grew back white, so the bright white spots are from that, but you can see white hairs are coming in because of the saddle fit That has just happened not too long ago, so like I said, I think my Tucker did work for him for awhile, just not now.

This is a pic Steele wanted, him w/a broom over his back…

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/shermy/photo_21_zpsda728ad8.jpg

This is after the ride a few days ago, using the WON pad, you should be able to see the circle of sweat and hair around the rub… this is on his left shoulder. Both shoulders rub, but it is worse on his left side…

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y66/shermy/saddle1_zps8ede61eb.jpg

So, I am hopeful, I feel like NOW, I know it is that my saddle is too narrow for him, so am on the search for a saddle for him. The Steele Outlaw caught my eye, may order a demo of it…

http://steelesaddle.com/product/steele-outlaw/

[Shermy]

Also, I looked today, the corrector pad I had is the exact one that was liked in an earier post, the Bio Fit. It does make the saddle more level, comfortable, but makes the dry spots bigger. Assuming is taking up more shoulder room than the thinner Air Pad. So, isn’t the answer.

I haven’t had the chance yet, but will tomorrow to try the spare saddle that fit the horse w/NO withers, so if that works, I will have a spare saddle that no one is currently using. Wont be using my Tucker on him, which makes me very sad, but I don’t want to pinch his shoulders…

[Aspen1]

Bigger dry spots are better than little ones. It means the higher pressure is distributed over a wider area. Lots of horse with big dry spots never white hair or get sore. Small dry spots means all the pressure is concentrated in one small area. Those are the horses that get those silver dollar sized round white spots on their withers. Not good…