Correcting saddle pad- Long but HELP!! :)

Well I posted a critique of my gelding and alot of you asked if my tack fit bc he has rather high withers and a very wide back. I carefully watched the "Does your saddle realllly fit" last night and even brought chalk with me to the barn this morning. No, it really doesnt fit. It once did, I think. But I've also been having a problem with him putting his head wayy too low and pulling the reins (fighting the bit). So I see my saddle somewhat hinders his shoulder from freely moving. This is a rather new behavior (3 weeks now) but maybe he gained some weight so its more pronounced.

He has high withers and although I can fit two fingers on each side of the tree, I can fit my whole hand between his back and the cantel, and then some. It sits slightly off to the right of his back. If I push the saddle further back (its fits better) it still isnt past the line of how long the saddle should be but my leathers would put the girth too far back, meaning eventually it'll slide back up and still bother his shoulders.

Before I go buying a new saddle i'd like to try a correcting pad.. I have looked at a few, please read over my post and take a look at whats I'm thinking of purchasing, please tell me which you think would assist in my particular situation.

Neoprene Gel Pad Liner - Horse.com
Cush-N-Air Saddle Pad - Horse.com
The Unbounded Round Saddle Pad - Horse.com
Roma Pro Tek Riser Pad - Horse.com
Dover Saddlery | Mattes Dressage Correction Half Pad .
http://www.horse.com/item/exselle-ha...01314/#Reviews

He has a bigger belly, round butt, but high withers... please someone help. I'm not being cheap, I'm really trying to avoid adding this cost among an out of state move i'm incurring right now. Otherwise he's going to have some long time off til I can get a new saddle.

A picture of how the saddle currently fits would help. Also a saddle pad reading would be very beneficial. Put a white baby pad under the saddle, ride in it for a few minutes and then take a picture of the underside of the pad. It will show uneven dirt spots where the saddle is not fitting properly and again assist in picking the right corrective pad.

Ok here we go.. keep in mind he kept shifting his weight so it looks way off..

I'm not good at fitting, but yes, your saddle looks like sitting too low on front (cantle and pommel are very uneven). There was a thread here by Horsechick, who (if I remember correctly) had similar problem and got suggestions on pads. Wait for luvs - she's good at giving suggestions on saddle fit and how to fix it (if possible).

Hey all, could still really use some help as to which pad would be best. I'd like to correct this issue asap so I can see if this is half the reason he's been misbehaving lately under saddle.

Honestly, you might be better off looking for a cheap used saddle anyway. Cambridge International saddles aren't known for being the most horse-friendly built saddles around. Some of your problems might be due to the fact that it's not put together quite how it should be. I'm speaking from experience with this - I bought one thinking it was the Cambridge that had been manufactured by StateLine, but it didn't even pretend to fit when I tried to ride in it, so I got rid of it & upgraded (fairly cheaply) to a much better fitting saddle.

I know its not a fantastic saddle, but keep in mind I've been riding in it for 6 months with no issues. I don't know if this is the problem or not, and as I mentioned, I am about to move out of state, money is very tight. I'd like to at least TRY a correcting pad and see if that helps. Did you see any paerticular one listed that might assist?

It's not horrible. I little wide in front, but I doubt it crashes down on his withers when you're in it, does it?

The saddle pad suggest two things. One is bridging. See how there are dirt marks in the front and back, but none in the middle? That suggests that the saddle isn't making contact with the horse's back in the middle. This will result in lots of front to back saddle movement and quickly create soreness where the back of the saddle sits, so it's easy enough to verify by seeing if he reacts to any contact in that spot. The other does confirm that the gullet is a tad too wide since there's very little dirt under the flaps of the saddle. In the pics, it looks like the saddle has been placed a little too far forward which will work in your favor. Pushing it back will give it a little more lift. It's very tricky with horses like yours who has a combo of high withers and broad back. Ideally you want it to sit 2 to 3 fingers behind the shoulder blade.

For the pads, either of the last two will help bring it up a bit in front. The Mattes is slightly better, but that one's not cheap. Anything with the thicker sheepskin form to it will fill out his shoulders a little and give the saddle a little more to sit on. Thinline makes a similar pad if you want to check theirs out too. Definitely not the riser pad. That will lift the saddle in back which is the opposite of what you want.

Good luck.

Thanks MyBoyPuck! I know it sits too far forward. That's why its restricts the shoulders. If you look at my OP you'll see that I mentioned it fitting better if I slide it slightly back, but then the girth is on the wider part of his belly (sorry I didnt take pics under the flap) so eventually is slides forward anyways for the girth to sit properly. And then its too loose. Its all very wrong. LOL But I will take a look at the pad you mentioned. Thanks a bunch I'd love to hear some others opinions and suggestions as well.