Re: SADDLE FITTING

[Laney Humphrey <laneyh@mbay.net>]

Hi all!
	Diana Thompson of Santa Rosa CA also teaches this type of shimming as part
of saddle fitting.  She gives clinics all over the country.  (She is also
the editor of "Whole Horse Journal" a great publication!)
	She encourages her students to use anything handy (towels, thin rubber
matting, etc.) to experiment with.  All that's really needed is 2 people,
an uncomfortable horse and a round pen or other smallish area with a flat
surface.  Believe me, it doesn't take a practiced eye to see when the horse
moves freer and looks happier, or when the rider looks more balanced.
	Diana would be the first to say that not all saddle fit problems can be
fixed with shimming but it can sure help with adjusting an almost right fit
or in accomodating changes throughout the year.  It is also a great way to
identify bad fit so that your next saddle won't be a repeat of what's wrong
with the present one.  
	There are 2 articles in "Whole Horse Journal" about how to make a shimmed
saddle pad for horses with dropped backs.  These techniques can be used to
create a custom pad for any horse that's hard to fit a saddle to.  The
articles are the Jan-Feb, 1997 and Nov-Dec 1997 issues which can be ordered
for $8 each, plus $2 handling  from Whole Horse Journal 75 Holly Hill Lane,
Greenwich CT 06836-2626.  Diana can be reached at 707-542-4646 about both
the mag and clinics. 
At 07:48 AM 11/6/98 -0500, you wrote:
>    "",    pad sections and  whatever to get uniform pressure on the
>horse's back.     as the horse  changes at   different stages of 
>conditioning, and even varies from one side to the  other.     (VT)