I am having a saddle fitting issue and thought Ridecamp would be the best place to start asking about it :). I have a Wintec Pro Dressage saddle with CAIR panels that I use for both arena work and trail riding. I ride it with a dressage pad; I don't train hard, but I ride pretty regularly. My APHA was previously neglected, underweight, and malnourished and ridden by a VERY large man in a VERY heavy western saddle with a tree that was too large (his withers are completely white, and he's a solid chestnut paint) and his muscles are not very developed along his topline, and he's a little hollowed out behind the scapula on both sides. He's got a long back.
The Wintec didn't seem to be causing any problems--no signs of soreness, even sweating, no ruffled hairs, nothing on his spine or withers--but as he is shedding out this winter, I see white hairs sprinkled in all along where the panels are resting, in the same shape as the panels. Is this due to poor saddle fit, or is this a friction and/or heat issue? Would this be due to the thinner pad I've been using, or the Cair panels, or both? Or do you guys think it's a saddle fit problem? I was thinking about ordering a Woolback pad, or is there something else I should try? I used to ride this horse in an old-school Ortho-Flex, but I didn't like how far forward it put my feet, so I switched to this Wintec.
