RE: I,m just another lost saddle hunter needing help

[Steph Teeter <step@fsr.com>]

Patty,

Before you give up entirely on your wide saddle you
might want to try some creative shims and padding. You can
make shims which will lift the saddle in the front
(Cashel makes a great wedge pad for this) and also
fill in the gap left by the wide tree. 

My horse has a downhill back and the solution 
that  is working very well for me is to use a
wider tree saddle and shims. Since I've been using
this 'system' and also working him over poles and cavaletti
on a lunge line, his back has really filled out - I can
see and feel the difference in his back, especially the
trapezius muscle. The saddle which once seemed too
wide now is a perfect fit. (though I still need shims to
correct the downhill back).

There is an excellent chapter on saddle fit and backs in
the Mary Wanless book, For the Good of the Horse. In the
chapter there is mention of a new saddle system 'Balance
Saddle' - which uses exactly this approach. In short, start
with a saddle which is too wide, use shims and padding
to correct it, and eventually the horse's back will 'grow' into
the wide tree as his muscles develop- and you may even need 
to go one step further with an even wider tree before your
horse's developing back and the saddle are matched.

In a talk at our convention last weekend, Steve Gonzales
(SR Saddlery) gave an excellent presentation on saddle
fit, with emphasis on the downhill back (he asserts that
80% of saddle fit problems are due to downhill backs) and
the use of shims to correct problems. At the end of his
talk, he said that he uses an oversized tree on all of his
own horses, and then uses shims and paddings to acheive
the perfect fit for each individual. He showed us how to
make great shims out of 1" closed cell foam - cheap
stuff you can buy at the hardward store. To raise the
front of your saddle, or fill in the space caused by a wide
tree, he created a 14" x 6" x 1" wedge - tapered down 
to nothing (14" x 6" x 1/4") in the back, so there is no 
lift of the cantle. He then recommended using these shims
in addition to a Skito pad, which provides good cushioning
all over.  

For folks whose horses have white spots behind the whithers,
and  soreness or rubbing over the loins, you probably have
a downhill saddle fit. Try the shims - it's pretty effective!

Steph

p.s. I need to thank Dolores Arste (Frank Baines Saddles) for 
turning me on to this book and talking me out of using a narrower 
tree!)



-----Original Message-----
From:	guest@endurance.net [SMTP:guest@endurance.net]
Sent:	Thursday, February 04, 1999 6:32 PM
To:	ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject:	I,m just another lost saddle hunter needing help



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From: Patty Jackson 
Email: JBCO@JPS.NET

I realise the topic of saddles has been
beaten to death by now, and I thoroughly
searched the archives before deciding to
do this.  My vet has "ordered" me to buy
another saddle.  My Stubben has a 32 cm
tree and is too wide.  I knew the seat
was too big for me anyway, (18in, need
17in.), and thought :"No problem, I can
find another saddle easily".  

I came close to buying a Big Horn 
Cordura Endurance saddle.  Today I test
drove one for 10 miles.  It seemed to 
fit well and I was comfortable. (which
was a surprise, I loved my dressage
saddle.)  My horse moved out much better
at a trot, her shoulders seemed to move
more freely.  BUT--when I took the 
saddle off there were variations in the
sweat pattern.  She was semi-dry behind
the shoulders in the hollow spot just
behind the withers.  There was a very
wet sweaty spot at the very front of the
saddle on both sides, and she was quite
sweaty over the lower back at the back
of the saddle.  Is this a bad fit?
She has a bit of a low back and I wonder
if this is just going to be a problem
and also need to search for the right
pad.  (I had to borrow an old beat-up
Toklat western pad for my test ride.)

Any coments, good or bad on the Big 
Horn?  I'm a limited distance rider for
now.  I would like a new saddle before
my horse does her first ride (American
River in April).

I can spend up to $800, not much to 
work with, I know.

I like the style of the Big Horn but I 
am concerned with the amount of area
it covers on my horses back, though
her shortened stride did return to 
normal today with this saddle.

Any words of wisdom are welcome.

Thanks!

Patty J.

JBCO@JPS.NET