ortho-flex fitting question

[Chelle Sherman <cms@fluent.com>]

Hi - if you've successfully used an ortho-flex saddle, this message is
for you. I have an ortho-flex dresseur that I've owned since 1991. It
still has the old panel system, and this has not presented a problem,
until now. The saddle has always fit well on any horse I rode, but not
on my new horse. On him, the saddle tips slightly toward the back,
putting pressure on his loins and making me feel like I'm constantly
behind the motion. I know where to place the saddle, and it is not
riding up on his shoulder, but his conformation is such that his withers
continue to slope back almost to the middle of his back. He is also
built sort of uphill - tucks his butt way under him when he moves, and I
think this contributes to the imbalance. I can see that the pommel is
higher than the cantle. I think that if the saddle were shorter in
length, it might help. So, my questions are:

1. Would switching to the new panel system help to correct this? I've
heard that the new panels are more flexible and have more pivot in the
middle. They are also shorter. But, I don't want to spend $350 and lose
my saddle for 6 weeks if this won't work. Does anybody have experience
with switching to the new panels? Success? Failure?

2. Would shimming work in this situation? I have a set of shims, which I
could place in back to raise the saddle a bit. Anybody have experience
with this?

Thanks in advance!

Chelle


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