A while ago I had to replace my English saddle when the old one started getting too narrow as April got into better shape. The "new" one fit much better and her sweat marks up until very recently were always big solid rectangles exactly where the square pad sits with no dry spots or hair disturbance.
For the past couple rides, she has had about a three-inch-wide circular dry spot just behind her shoulders. The first time I noticed it, the hair was not particularly disturbed. The second time, it definitely was. Her behavior is a completely useless indicator of her saddle fit because she always acts the same regardless of what's on her back - high-spirited but never bucking or pinning ears or indicating pain in any way.
There is so much conflicting information about dry spots. The "oldschoolers" say any and all dry spots indicate poor saddle fit, and disturbed hair is even worse. More recently, saddle fitters say big eight-inch dry spots are perfectly normal and small one-inch dry spots are cause for concern. Well, where does that place my mare's three-inch dry spot? :-|
I am imagining that perhaps she has slightly lost condition in the past month after I switched jobs and rode a tad less, making this saddle ever so slightly too wide and creating a pressure point just behind her shoulders. Key word is imagining.
Is this a scenario where adding a sheepskin or equivalently space-filling half pad would be an appropriate course of action? I do not plan to let her lose any more condition (though I never "planned" for any condition loss to begin with ). I currently only ride her in a thin square pad and that was never an issue when her saddle for sure fit.
For the past couple rides, she has had about a three-inch-wide circular dry spot just behind her shoulders. The first time I noticed it, the hair was not particularly disturbed. The second time, it definitely was. Her behavior is a completely useless indicator of her saddle fit because she always acts the same regardless of what's on her back - high-spirited but never bucking or pinning ears or indicating pain in any way.
There is so much conflicting information about dry spots. The "oldschoolers" say any and all dry spots indicate poor saddle fit, and disturbed hair is even worse. More recently, saddle fitters say big eight-inch dry spots are perfectly normal and small one-inch dry spots are cause for concern. Well, where does that place my mare's three-inch dry spot? :-|
I am imagining that perhaps she has slightly lost condition in the past month after I switched jobs and rode a tad less, making this saddle ever so slightly too wide and creating a pressure point just behind her shoulders. Key word is imagining.
Is this a scenario where adding a sheepskin or equivalently space-filling half pad would be an appropriate course of action? I do not plan to let her lose any more condition (though I never "planned" for any condition loss to begin with ). I currently only ride her in a thin square pad and that was never an issue when her saddle for sure fit.