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Western saddle for downhill horse (pic heavy)

10K views 29 replies 9 participants last post by  CatrinaB87 
#1 ·
I have a 9 year old paint gelding who has come back from being too thin and underworked, and I am pretty sure the saddle I have just doesn't fit right. It's a no-name that I bought used, and it fit him when I purchased it. Now that his built up some muscle, not so much. It starts out sitting where it is supposed to, and the seat is level, but as I ride it slips back and dips down, so I end up riding a down hill horse, in a down hill saddle, and I keep feeling like I'm going to fall on my face!

Here is the saddle, after a ride, see how the pad AND the saddle have slid back? I have tried different pads too, but am open to suggestions.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Rein

The only picture I have of him where he is really standing square. He has a "hunters bump" and a pretty long back. His downhill build is noticeable here.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Mare

This is an idea of how much weigh he has gained
Mammal Horse Pasture Mare Foal

I know that i need him to lift his shoulder, but I wonder if the saddle is preventing that? It's already slipped back here
Horse Vertebrate Bridle Mammal Rein

He looks decent here, and is carrying himself well, and I know that it is difficult to see where the saddle is but it's tipped.
Horse Animal sports Bridle Mammal Rein

Here he is standing on a slight rise, so he looks nicely built on the back.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Mane Sorrel

Good view of tipped saddle, and the breast collar doesn't help.
Horse Mammal Vertebrate Bridle Rein

There's that long back with his hunter bump. His picked up a little bit of muscle since this, but at least this saddle fits. At least I think it does, I could be wrong..
Mammal Horse Vertebrate Horse supplies Mane


Any recommendations for saddles or advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
 
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#6 ·
The biggest problem I see is the swayed back. He still needs some groceries, his rump isn't as filled out as it could be and he still needs muscling up more.

Having said all that, I think at this point I'd not try finding a new saddle YET, just keep the breast collar on him and if need be add a crupper to try and keep it mostly in place.

If you can feed him some alfalfa, either hay or pellets, it's good for adding flesh on the top line. I like feeding my horses down on the ground so they have to stretch to reach it, even put the feed down in a bit of a hollow to make him really reach. I'd work on putting more weight and muscling him up before I tried another saddle.

You're maybe going to need some specialty pads too, you might try one of those now that helps fill in that gap to help eliminate pressure and, hopefully, help keep the saddle from sliding. Reinsman Contour Swayback Tacky Saddle Pad 32 x 32 447t

Way cheaper than new saddles!
 
#7 ·
I would try using a wither pad and moving my pad further forward so it isnt slipping to far back. When you have a horse you are trying to recoop from lack of muscle its really hard to get a saddle to fit good and in the mean time you sometimes have to add just a little extra padding to keep them comfy. With one of the mares here now I use a 3/4" impact gel pad plus a 3/4" shock absorber. With an ill fitting saddle on her she bucks. She lets you know she is uncomfortable. So I added the extra shock absorber and all my issues where solved for the time being till she gets back into shape.
 
#8 ·
I didn't realize he was sway backed. I have used a pad similar to the one that you recocmended and it causes my saddle to tip up, and then it still ends up sliding backwards. Maybe I am just using the wrong kind? The pad that is on him has three compartments that you can add padding that add up to being like what you posted, but maybe that just isn't enough. Off to the next one!
 
#9 ·
What about a bridge pad? I really don't like the look of those saddle pads, and I tried to find some others online, and they just got uglier. Ultimately I will buy an ugly pad if it means my pony is happy. BUT I found this, and wondered if it would work and be able to fit under my pad without slipping? My only concern is that it wouldn't stay in place.

Circle Y Saddles - Bridge Pad

I am seeing that they offer it completely encased in tacky, and it's less expensive than a new pad altogether.

Thoughts?
 
#11 ·
You could try that one. All you can do is try different things until something works. I suggested the stuff with the Tacky so that it hopefully wouldn't work its way back so far as your pad in the pics.

I said a sway back because due to lack of muscling and top line, it is creating a valley so that your saddle will bridge and rock. The most expensive pad is still cheaper than one or more saddles, so until he's completely filled out and built up, I'd go with LOTS of padding and tacky too fabric to keep things still until he gets there. Once he develops a top line and fills in all the gaps, then you may find it a lot easier to fit him.

Using the pads you have, I'd pull them forward about 2 inches and then set the saddle on them, that might help a bit with the tipping too.
 
#10 ·
When your saddle pad sits so far back kits riding up and over his loins and hips it can cause the back part of your saddle to rise up and the front tip down. A good fitting pad is just as helpful as a good fitting saddle. When my hubsband tacks up he sometimes "forgets" to leave some of the saddle pad infront of the saddle and his saddle will do the same thing that yours is doing. His saddle fits his TWH like a glove but when his pad gets screwed up and isnt setting properly then his saddle shifts all funky looking. When I tack up I always have equal amounts of saddle pad in front of my saddle as I do behind my saddle. I would try putting him in a smaller good quality pad. I have no experience with bridge pads so I cant say anything there. We have a 26 yo welsh we use a wither build up pad on but he is only rode by kids once in a blue moon.
 
#14 ·
what I do that also helps me with saddle issues is take pictures right after I am done tacking up, about 15 minutes after I start riding/working them, and then ever so often after that, and then when I am done for the day. It helps me to see movement in my saddle/pad/girth, etc. When I added the extra shock absorber pad to my mare I was amazed at how much better everything stayed in place. That may be something that may help you visualize what is happening better. I would like to try one of sway back pads just so I can have some experience with one but the only horse that would need one isnt rode faster than a walk and no longer than 45 minutes to an hour and nothing moves on him so I dont have a use to try one. I know my farrier has recommended to several different people that have bought horses from auction that were underweight/undermuscled at the time of purchase.
 
#21 ·
No, but only because they are pretty hard core trainers with roughout breaking saddles and reining saddles, neither of which I intend to purchase. It's really not a boarding barn either, just a friend of mine who owns reining horses and lets me rent out a paddock. My SO and I are the only boarders there.

Are you suggesting though that I try a few of these saddles to see if it is in fact the saddle? Because that makes so much sense that it's painful that I haven't thought about it.

I'm going to pretend that was my idea the whole time, just to save a little face :D
 
#22 ·
I would recommend this saddle pad, my friends horse is built down hill pretty bad. You take the inserts from the back and put them in the front slots and it makes the saddle sit flat. They come in many styles, also are not bad price wise. Hers was $120



I do recommend buying a new saddle though, that is a very cheap and not well constructed saddle. If you cant afford new then I would go with a used brand name saddle. If you don't know how to fit them properly then don't ever be shy to ask for help, especially because it sounds like you are reining barn? A trainer or someone should be able to help! Also a shorter skirted or round skirted would be best, the shorter the skirt the less "up hill" the saddle will be going on your horses butt.

How old was this horse again?
 
#23 ·
That's actually the pad I have, and I tried moving te inserts around and it really didnt help. If I move the pads to the front, the saddle is too right on his shoulders. If I leave them where they are, they cause the saddle to tip up at the butt, down at the shoulders. If I take them all out, the saddle fits ok but slides backwards. :(

And yes it's a reining barn. I'm sure the trainer there would be able to help, but it may be that I need to just suck it up and trailer him down to my LTS and try on some saddles and see which will fit.

It probably is poorly constructed. At the time I didn't know any better and it was within my price limit. Unfortunately I don't have the money to drop on a new (or used, for that matter) saddle so I would have to sell this one before I can purchase another.

He just tuned 10 on may 10th :)

Thank you for your input!
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#28 ·
I'm not sure if this has been addressed already, but I'll go for it anyway.
First off, congrats on getting the weight on the horse. He looks like he has decent muscle.
Next, you mention that you need him to lift his shoulder up. Yes, he does. HOWEVER, I think you need to understand exactly what you have here. Your horse is very, very downhill. There is no way of getting around that. No matter what he does, all of his weight will be on the forehand. That's just life. Unless you throw 6" shoes on his fronts, that will never change. Because all of his weight is on the front, he won't be as fast at picking his legs up. You also need to realize that just because of the way he is built, he is at a MUCH greater risk for getting arthritis and/or injuring himself, either through accident, or just wear and tear. You should probably have him on some preventative supplements, or MSM at least.
Next: his back is very short. Most english saddles will hit him in the hip. Almost all western saddles are going to be too long for him.
Because he is so horribly downhill (I cannot stress enough how his conformation effects his whole body. He will have more weight on the front of his body than his bones were built to withstand. I'd be very careful about overworking him, as he is likely to develop bone and tension/muscle related issues later on in life) all your saddles will slide forward into the back of his shoulder. When a horse moves forward, the shoulder bone actually slides backwards, towards the rider. That area is largely cartilage. The saddle is actually digging into this area. Over time it can permanently damage the area. Again, unless you have a totally custom saddle made for him that is incredibly built up in the front, you are not ever going to find a saddle that fits him, as any saddle you put on him will dig into his shoulders/withers. This is not the saddle's fault. Your horse just has horrible conformation. :)
I'm going to tell you how I personally would deal with this: I would not use a saddle on this horse. He was not built to carry a saddle. No saddle will ever fit him, because regardless of whether the angle of the frame is right, or whether the gullet is wide enough, or even whether the length is correct, it will always migrate into his shoulders, causing discomfort or even pain/injury. It's just how gravity works.
I think it is awesome you're taking care of this horse. He looks so much better than in the skinny photos. However I think you need to realize that this horse will be more likely to develop arthritis and other issues later in life, and I want to caution you in making sure you do not work him more than his body can handle. This means thinking about giving up the saddle search. I'd personally spend my time with him doing ground work, doing light, bareback rides. I'd still do little local shows and trails, but not much else.
 
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