Parelli saddle placement??

I was reading a post on a different forum about the parelli saddle placement.. and how her saddle completely slipped to the side causing her to almost get trampled..... The girth was tightened as well. So it got me thinking.. how SAFE is it to place your saddle that far back???? I know its so they can have a full range of movement in their shoulders... but if the saddle fit CORRECTLY wouldnt they have that anyways...?

Ill find a picture of what im talking about sooner or later! Lol

Why don't you post something a little more positive? If the cinch was tight the saddle would not have slipped even if it was a little further back than most of us do. Unless Pat Parelli tightened the cinch he's not to blame.

I think you are pointing the finger at the wrong culprit here. The parelli saddles themselves, although very well made, are modeled very close to the Balance Saddles, which are also very nice. The difference with the saddles is that the Parellis came up with this crazy "point of balance theory" where the point of balance is far behind where it would be in any other type of riding. The saddles put the rider in more of a recliner position.

I have taken saddle fit classes and classes on the equine body, saddle placement should be behind the scapula to prevent the saddle from blocking the motion. That is not just a Parelli thing.

I have a mare that has a completely round wither area, if anyone rides her with less than perfect balance, the saddle will move to the rider, its not the saddles fault, not the horse's fault, its a conformational challenge.

I think in the case that you mentioned, I would blame the accident more on the rider's lack of balance, as I have personally not seen many decent riders come out of the program. I have ridden a few times to dismount and see plenty of daylight through my girth, yet the ride never had any difficulty with staying centered. Its just a matter of riding the horse rather than riding the saddle.

Well... We get threads on this forum all the time about all different saddles sliding all around. Should we blame all makers? Lol! Could be lots of reasons: didn't tighten the girth, doesn't fit the horse well, bad pad, anything. I don't think it's Parelli-specific thing.

All saddles need to be placed behind the scapula - otherwise they are on wrong, simple as that. As Flitterbug said, any horse with no wither and a barrel will be roly no matter how tight you dot he girth - Pepper, the little appy we have, is like that - You just have to ride centered.

I agree

Wow, the only time I can remember ever having my saddle pulled that off center, there was about a 1000 pound steer on the other end of a rope LOL. I am curious now and I would like to see a picture of where they indicate you should place a saddle if it is different from what the rest of us do.

I had my saddle slip completely sideways. The cinch was tight, I saddled her and my instructor always checks before I mount . The horse was annoyed about being asked for a lope and did this funky, twisty maneuver while going into a lope that my riding instructor said she'd never, ever seen a horse do before and fwoop, off to the side I went!

Can't blame Parelli for that, I've never even seen how he says one should saddle their horse.

Gosh, you really like to start Parelli bashing threads. It is as if you have found the perfect way to ensure your thread (and by default, you) get lots of attention. I thought you have done Parelli and found benefits to it? So much for the courage of your convictions.

Sorry if this is antagonistic but I think your thread was meant to be.

People seem to think that if your saddle rolls, you are not a good rider, not riding balanced, etc. but honestly, after trying lots of different saddles and trying to find one to fit my Mustang, the horse's conformation plays a BIG roll in how secure your saddle is.

Round backed horses are notoriously hard to fit a saddle securely on, and you really have to have a well fitting saddle to feel your saddle is secure on one.

On the other extreme is my Foxtrotter mare. Because she has a good set of withers, I can throw just about any saddle on her and it will be secure. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a good fit on her, but she has withers that will hold almost any saddle. I am frequently checking the cinch when I ride my Mustang, but I can ride with a really loose cinch on the Foxtrotter.

But no matter what the conformation of the horse, a well fitting saddle will be more secure than a poor fitting one.

I find flex trees to be less secure than regular trees.

I don't know exactly what Parelli recommends for saddle placement, but I DO think that the farther back a saddle is, the more likely it is to roll.

I guess what I am saying is, before we all start to jump to conclusions that someone is a poor rider because the saddle rolls, you have to take into account the conformation of the horse, the fit of the saddle, and the circumstances of the accident.

I have had a saddle roll with me twice in my 16 years or so of riding. I consider myself a decent rider. But sometimes "life happens," especially when riding out on the trail. It doesn't mean necessarily someone is a poor rider. Your horse's conformation and fit of the saddle can make a major difference in how you ride out a spook or buck.

I guess I sort of got off topic, but frequently when people speak of saddles rolling and such, the first response often is "well they must not have good balance because I can ride with a loose cinch." If you think it can't happen to you because you are a good rider and doing everything right, then you just haven't met the right circumstances yet!