Saddle Slipping

[Alex T]

well where shall i begin? well after many er vists from the saddler i ended up with a brand new leather saddle.all seemed well but the first show i took her too she bronched and reared up (luckly after id dissmounted rather sharpish!) which was most out of character anyhow i lunged when i got home and much to my horror the saddle was banging up and down on my poor girls back so it has since been dumped on the saddle stand and not used!!

i decided the best way to go would be an wintec wide and thanku to ebay one arrived very quickly!! it was fitted and deemed much much better than her leather one and didnt move. however now a month later it has started to creep forward she has lost some weight she weighed 417kg before and when measured this morning she ways 384kg. iv tried thicker nummnahs and a riser pad and the saddle still slips forward about an inch or two which means it is then tight around her shoulders.
it is fitted with the white gullet which i belive is extrawide? im wondering whether a red gullet (next one down) may be the way to go?! at the moment when ridden in the whited gullet i have about two fingers at the pommel.

what i really would like to know is the technical reasons why a saddle may slip as everything seems to on her and if it doesnt it comes off her back at the back!im thinking the underside of the saddle shape must be wrong somewhere??!oh shes a purebred arab .
thanks alex

 

[lor]

I would think it likely that saddle is too narrow, this will cause it to slip forward. Try getting a decent saddle fitter out, Poohsmate on here is one

 

[Daffy Dilly]

Take some photos of it on her back (before and after a ride, but don't do too much) and then people will be better able to advise.

You won't get the wide gullet in there though, this saddle is built on a different tree and only takes the white and purple gullets.

The saddle could be too wide, too narrow, if she has a forwards girth groove that could be pulling it forwards. The Saddle Company saddles are adjustable, and only about £500, so if she is going to continue changing shape that could be a good way to go. If you were to have one fitted no doubt you could then find the right size on ebay for less.

 

[Mossy]

If you put talc on the underside of the saddle and then put it on her back, girthed, without a pad you will see exactly where it is touching, or not! You will then have a better idea of why it is causing problems. Where are you as good saddlers are few and far between?

 

[Alex T]

daffy dilly-it says on the lable on the saddle it will take the red , white and wider gullets also says this on the box!yes she does have a very forward girth groove.

mossy- yes none of them seem to be able to fit her. ive had two so far the first one was appaling and i took the saddle back. the second one has fitted my other horse so i trusted her but er she doesnt seem to be able to fit her (other horse has high withers) and theres not many others though im now out of money for the moment so i gues its back too lunging again!!

i have a few photos but none of after iv ridden only the sweat marks!!

this was only at walk and trot shes finding it hard with the climate

though i do think i may have found the problem i decided to play with the gullets an have brought them home with me to measure against the flexi curve drawing ive taken and the white one is exactly the same shape as my other horses so certainly not wide enough for her i tried her in the next one up but the saddle still moved alittle but this one looks like it is too narrow when compared to the drawing so were certainly looking at it being too narrow i think?!

 

[Alex T]

bump!! any other thoughts guys? even with the wider gullet well much wider gullet it still moves and is off her back at the bacdk of the saddle!!

 

[Pink's lady]

Wintec wides aere way better for wide horses then the normal wintecs but they are still pains in the ass sometimes.

To check width take the gullets out and try them directly onto her back. Forget the flexi-doo-dah. Note where the points of the tree should sit then fit the correct gullet width to that point.


The width doesn't look too bad from the photo but the first one does look like the saddle is sitting slightly high at the front. They're not great photo's to tell however.

The tree is still fairly curved and will tip up at the back if the front sits even a little too low. A saddler can put a little more flocking into the saddle above the cair panels to solve this.

The other thing to look at is girthing arrangement. She has a slightly forwards girth groove - the girth wants to sit right behind her elbows and therefore drags the saddle forwards. Using the 1st (point) and 2nd girth straps will really help keep the saddle back. It does however drag the front down so getting the balance right is essential.

I would be inclinded to put the next gullet up in, get extra flocking out into the saddle at the front and use the first and second girth straps.

 

[jowyles]

I think they shape of the saddle is just not suited to her back and your going to need to try a different brand. The wintecs have curved trees so that is why it sticks up at the back.

 

[Alex T]

jowyles -everything i put on her sticks up at the back even the arabian saddle i had for her ,the brand new forrester i have sat on my saddle rack that was made for her does also ,the e jeffries i had before that did also!!

this by far is the best saddle which which does sit on her back and need less to say nearly £900 later im pretty out of pocket to try anything more expensive at the moment although obviously her comfort is my main priority!!

pink i will look into finding a saddler to do this though i am and pretty much have lost all faith in saddlers . i think her main problem is her shoulders there pretty big and everything seems to pinch around them!

 

[Pink's lady]

I too don't trust saddlers. But they only need to be good saddlers, not saddle fitters, to add some flocking to the front.

Shoulder have nothing to do with it - the saddle doesn't (or shouldn't) sit on the shoulders. It's only when the saddle slides forwards (which is a problem with the back/saddle) that it interferes with the shoulder. My horse has THE biggest shoulders and neck (she is unbeleivably deep) but her saddle sits back where it should, if her saddle fits. The wintec used to slide up and hit her shoulders.

Get the width right, have flocking added if it looks like it's sitting low and use the first two girth straps. If that doesn't work you'll need to entirely re-think your saddle.