What type of saddle pad to use for high withered horse?
withers are not gigantic, just well pronounced. saddle tree not too narrow. what type of saddle pad would be best for a horse showing saddle pressure discomfort in the withers and upper shoulders. Would a pommel pad be best or would a riser pad, that elevates the back of saddle , thereby leveling the saddle out be better? thanks in advance!
2008-11-03T08:23:49Z
I tried a p[ommel pad before and it made me feel like i was going to slide right off the back of saddle, becasue it raised the saddle up in front, alot.
2008-11-03T08:38:58Z
i ride english, but have been thinking to get a good western pad. all the english ones, including the really expensive gel pads, are just too thin.
Anonymous2008-11-03T09:12:22Z
Favorite Answer
Extra saddle pads under a high withered horse can make the problem worse. It depends on the type of pad and the build of your horse, of course, but often the extra pads just put more pressure than ever on their withers. The true good solution is to find a saddle that fits him properly so his wither is free. That means you need a saddle with a high gullet, and wide enough to allow him freedom there. If the saddle isn't high enough in the gullet, there is no pad out there, either Western or English, that will solve your problem. Riser pads can help, in some cases, and once again they can aggrivate things. This saddle fitting issue is so confusing and so important it almost drives me crazy. I did find someone that finally helped me with my hard-to-fit mare. It was a local lady who does Port Lewis saddlefitting. You can go onto the internet and type in Port Lewis Workshop and you'll find info on them, and local people who can do testing. Basically all they have is a special saddle pad filled with thick putty, you put it under your saddle and ride for 1/2 hour and when the saddle fitter examines the pad later you'll see exactly where all the pressure is on your horse. You can try it with various pads and devices and truely see if the pressure is helped, worsened or unchanged with combinations of pads. The cost is about $100 or so for the saddle fitting, and worth every penny. They also can custom make saddle pads to exactly fit your individual horse (in both Western and English styles) that will fix a horse that is too wide in the shoulders, or sway backed or all the other problems. I think that may be the way to go, if you can find a saddle tester like that in your area. Otherwise you are just going by trial and error, and at the price of new saddle pads that gets costly, too. Good luck. Your horse is lucky to have someone who recognizes their problem and cares.
The best thing for you to do would be to use two pads. If the back of the saddle is really up off his back that much, I would try to sell your saddle and get a better fitting one. They can do a lot of damage to a horse, and if he is showing discomfort than it would be a good idea. I am a barrel racer though, It harder on our horses backs, I always use two pads no matter what, because my horse runs MUCH more comfortably. And I do it regardless and I have a billy cook saddle that fits her like a dream. But i always want to be safe.
Do you ride English or Western? I ride western and I used 2 pads on my horse who had high withers. I put a smaller oval pad to help even out his back, then a normal saddle pad on top of that. It seemed to really help him, and kept the pressure off his withers.
What would be best is to get your saddle reflocked by a saddler who can also to some extent customize the fit for your horse. If your horse is showing discomfort then the saddle may not fit him. In that case, padding is only a stop gap meaure. However, it takes a saddler to tell for sure.