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Re: [RC] Sore back... Slipping saddle pads... - Stephanie E CaldwellSusan, Star's a pretty vocal little mare... she let me know long before she was bleeding. LOL Probably wouldn't have had any galling or as much soring if I'd dumped my saddle once I realized. Lesson learned for next time, just would have been a royal pain to hike back out and get it. I always wash my new saddle pads before using and find that this helps with slipping. << This one was purchased used. It's Toklat Woolback without the ultracell inserts. Really nice pad, like the looks of it... I don't think Star's problems are only b/c the saddle pad is slipping. Improper saddle fit sounds like part of the issue.<< My take after doing a close inspection of my tack I used this weekend vs my regular tack is the Toklat has *no* foam, my Walmart (did you know that alot of Walmart's stock horse stuff? Got my pad on clearance for $7.00 two years ago... used it every ride since) has at least 1" maybe 1 1/2" of foam. Her saddle was probably too wide with the Toklat since it's a thinner pad. Since to saddle was too wide and the pad slick anyhow it allowed the saddle to slide enough to gal her under the posts of the saddle, at each rear corner of the pad, at her girth buckles, and at her breast collar hook. Now for the girth gals -- these hurt also and can't be blamed on the saddle pad. What type of girth are you using?<< I've been using a Professional's Choice Neoprene cinch for over a year now. Her gals are at each buckle, not a usual place... I think that the saddle probably slid enough to drag the girth back and forth... Is that possible? Breastcollar clip -- not sure why this would be making her raw ifyou are clipping on the "D" ring on the center of the girth. Make sure your rings are in the center of your horse.<< I think it's the same as above... Saddle's sliding so much that it just rubbed her raw What is it about saddles that is making it hard to fit your mare?<< Star had a spinal injury from an english saddle and it took a year to get a diagnosis and I don't think I rehabed her correctly. I really had no help rehabing her, so I'm not suprised. She's real touchy about her back and even slightest things, like wrinkles in the saddle pads, will cause her pain. She's got good high withers, flat back, really comfortable bareback ride (good thing.. I've resorted to that more than once in the last two years when her loins were sore). And, she's just now stopped growing. She was sold to me as being 6 when in reality she was at the most 3, and I was too stupid to look at her teeth and see. So, she's lived a pretty rough life, and she has no pain tolerance. The original people that broke her beat her and used barbed wire for a curb chain, she has no feeling in her mouth... don't know what else they might have done to her, but she got to the point that all pain does is make her strike out. I'm looking to go treeless for a year or so until she's through growing and then have a custom tree fit to her little back. I'm a featherweight (119 lbs...) and she's a good ride bareback, so I think treeless will work for us. I tried a Bob Marshall and we both seemed to like it for the 5 minutes I rode in it :) TY, Stephanie =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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