Recently replaced my western saddle with one that fits – my prior saddle, which was fqh bars was tight on my big mare’s shoulders, you couldn’t slide you hand up under the front of the saddle without rolling her skin. I recently had a new saddle made, which is a close contact (butterfly cut) reining saddle which fits beautifully and allows her to move her shoulders, I can slide my hand up under the front of the saddle without restriction.
I use a front cinch – Pro Choice Alpaca string – and a full back cinch, both are tightened snuggly. Sometimes I use a breast collar, mainly when trail riding, not when showing. Saddle fits beautifully, I can mount and dismount without a cinch and the saddle stays in place. However, every saddle pad I have used gets pushed out to the left side.
My mare has a huge shoulder on the left and her right shoulder is pretty flat, compensation due to a tendon injury on the front left which also created a club hoof. Mare is 12 years old, sound, well-muscled, ridden at least 5 days a week. Trails, endurance, w.e., obstacles, western pleasure, hunt seat, halter, cattle work, western dressage, etc… She lives on pasture mostly 24/7 – currently boarded where she is only stalled during bad weather.
I have a Thinline western correction pad that I have used both with and without a wool show pad, I also have a new 5 Star pad (7/8 thick) that I have tried with and without a wool show pad, both under the 5 Star and over the 5 Star. Pad quickly migrates to the left and slides down my mares side. Saddle stays in place, is not loose, doesn’t shift… just the pad moves. The rear of the pad moves the most and end up very crooked. I have not lost it yet. One note, the saddle was made with 100% sheep wool on the bottom instead of the normal synthetic wool.
I already have a couple hundred dollars stuck into saddle pads, looking for suggestions – should I pad up-shim the left side? Not sure how I would shim the 5 Star… Should I put a non-slip liner under the pad? Does the non-slip – grippy pads pull on the hair? I don’t want to make my mare uncomfortable or cause any aggravation…
Ugh, I am so frustrated with tack…. Asking for your advice… Wish there was a place I could go and just ride with a bunch of different saddle pads and see what does and does not work…. Thanks, Kim
Won pad. Never had one slip.
Can you borrow a Diamond Wool with shims? The kind where there are three pockets on each side. Maybe you could shim the one shoulder. But shimming the left side, if that’s the bigger side, seems backwards. Seems like you would want to shim the smaller shoulder.
I know the frustration. I had a saddle that didn’t fit and my pad always went backwards. Drove me insane.
I agree with the Diamond wool with shims. I also agree that you would shim the right shoulder–not the left.
You tighten the back cinch snugly? Why?
Offhand, if the pad is slipping out due to asymmetrical shoulders? Pad up the flatter side (since you can’t reduce the fuller side), less thickness on the fuller side. You might be sitting crooked too, try to stay equal on both seat bones and square shoulders,. Just a little thought on your part, not hard…
Over the years (decades), I’ve had way more pad problems with any kind of saddle going thicker instead of thinner. Overpadding because we think it makes them more comfortable actually makes most saddles wallow plus you lose most of the benefits of a close contact saddle, turns them into a listing ship at sea instead of a snug sweet spot balanced with the horse. Even more true when you double pad for a show. Less is more.
Great suggestions… I’ll add a few comments…
bugsynskeeter - Won pad - I don’t like the neoprene, holds/creates heat even with the vents and I prefer natural fibers, just my preference.
cloudly18/imaginique - Diamond Wool - I’ll look into the shim pad, I need to see if they make a close contact round skirt cut pad - I’m looking for close contact, same shape as my saddle, which is close contact with round corners.
findeight - Back cinch question - I rope and trail ride, snugging up your back cinch add stability to the saddle when a cow hits the end of the rope - your saddle isn’t going to pitch forward, you also take away the risk of your horse getting a hoof or leg hung up when traveling down hill. Its not tight like the front cinch, its just snug.
I’m going to question my friends and see who has a Diamond Wool pad I can borrow…
Thanks!
Didn’t mention you roped and rode rough terrain. It’s all good.
You know…you might be able to find somebody to make you one? I ran across an upholstery guy, custom automotive seats-not furniture, he had made some pads for his GF that were pretty decent looking. Matter of the right kind of tools and knowledge of suitable material. Might ask around.
If the saddle fits great, I don’t like much padding. I just put a nonslip pad underneath a 3/8 wool pad if the pad slips.
They do. That’s what I have. Might have to check the Diamond Wool web site to find all the different pads they have since few distributors sell all styles.
You and I are almost always on the same page, but loose back cinches are a huge pet peeve of mine. Not only does a loose back cinch completely defeat the purpose of having one, it also creates a safety hazard. You only have to see a hind leg stuck inside a loose back cinch once… The back cinch doesn’t need to be as snug as the front cinch, but it shouldn’t be loose, either. If you don’t want to listen to me, then here’s Al Dunning’s take on the matter (about midway down the page): http://horseandrider.com/advice/western-cinches-key-facts-28836.
Thats fine…we removed them or ordered without one. Didn’t need them for the kind of riding we did, no roping. Kind of a nuisance for routine riding…my Reining/WCH/SBF friends generally leave them off as well. IIRC there’s very few saddles rigged to need one anymore and even then you can get it too snug. I’ve seen some that don’t realize it’s not the primary means of keeping the saddle on or getting it to fit properly.
I HATE a flopping back cinch. Yet see it ALL the time. I supposed I should have worded it " Do you need a back cinch". Text only is hard to convey meaning with.
Otherwise we are on the same page, as usual. I hate flopping breast collars too, accident waiting to happen.
Definitely on the same page. Glad to see the world hasn’t turned upside down!
Living in the world of “barrel on legs” Arabians, the back cinch (and sometimes a breast plate, although a crouper would be more helpful in a lot of situations) is a critical piece of my tack! :lol:
I know this is late, but I ended up buying a CSI pad, which works great and stays in place. The felt underpad conforms to her body shape and the stiff cover pad stays stable under the saddle and doesn’t shift.
