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Member
Posts: 11
| Just seeing if anyone else has had this problem and what they did to resolve it. My horse has a bigggg shoulder and somewhat big wither. When I first set my saddle on him everything looks like it fits well. As I ride him my saddle slips back maybe 2 inches and sits behind his shoulder, then the conchos of the saddle are pressing into him, and the D ring of the girth is not lined up with the girth. It's like the saddle fits in the hallowed out part behind his shoulder. I've tried Ed wright, double J, cactus, ed wright, crown C, bar H, tod sloan, and am currently ridding in a cactus charmayne James record breaker. All with 6.5-8 inch gullets. They all do the same thing. Bought this saddle cause I thought maybe a wider gullet and flatter bar would help. Seems to not be the case. I've had a well known saddle maker suggest to shim the saddle I have behind the shoulder where the d rings of the girth set, helps some, but still doesn't look great. He also said the gullet was too big. So confused! Do I need smaller gullet, flatter bar, saddles with a flat so they almost cradle around the shoulder? I know there's many different thoughts and theories and probably other forums about saddles fitting on the shoulder and behind the shoulder... Just looking for some suggestions in saddles, pads, your experience, ect. Just want him to be comfortable! |
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Veteran
Posts: 111
| I have the same problem......so im curious too! And im also riding in a CJ Cactus. :) |
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Member
Posts: 11
| Did you get the CJ for the same reason? |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
 
| The saddle is not fitting him in the shoulders, the horse is pushing the saddle back so he has full movement of the shoulder.
Crown c is actually supposed to fit behind the shoulder
Also horses shouldn't have a hollowed out spot behind the shoulder, this comes from poor fit.
To fix the hollowed out part you will need to shim. |
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 Go For It!
 
Location: Texas |
I keep my saddle off the shoulders... I like for them to have free movement in their front end... that said, I use a no bow leg quilt folded in half longways and drape it across the shoulder on my high withered horse, between the pad and the saddle. Works great to help free him up in the front end and helps the saddle sit properly.
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | I ride in a Caldwell and they are built to sit on the shoulders and still allow full range of movement.
It sounds like your tree may be too narrow for your horse and that is why it is getting pushed backwards. Also, if you have a horse with high withers but are not using a contoured pad, this can drag a saddle back too. |
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Veteran
Posts: 294
| yep. Your going to have to shim. I have a crown c also. I could never get the shim just right so I ordered a Best Ever Cadillac pad with the built up front. It works great for now. |
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 Undercover Amish Mafia Member
Posts: 9992
Location: Kansas | Behind |
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Member
Posts: 11
| That's what I've been using too! I've never heard of anyone doing it till it was suggested to me. Was curious if many others did it as well. What kind of saddle do you ride in? |
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I ride CJ's and put them behind the shoulders. I have 6 or 7 5 Star pads of different thickness to try and if needed I shim. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| I would loveee to own a caldwell, but it's not really in my price range right now. I've talked to Sharon for awhile and have sent her pictures of my horses back. She suggested a ultra rocket or a maxxed out.. Gotta start saving for that! |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Behind. I rode crown c's for a year and shimmed and also worked a lot on building top line and filled that hollow in.
Now I ride a Pozzi pro. I think prior to filling that back muscle in and building his top line I would have had the same issue with you're having |
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Member
Posts: 11
| If I were to set the saddle I have behind hit should the girth is angled back. What do you do for that? Would a crown c with a shim in the front be best for that? This is why I'm confused! Would love to take him and get him fitted for a crown C or fx3. But the only people that seems trustworthy enough to do that would be in Greenville with the Martin people.. Thats a possibility in April but not now at the moment.
Edited by EAblondayyy 2015-03-06 11:36 AM
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | There isn't one answer for this question. You put the saddle where the saddle maker designed the saddle to fit. |
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 A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
Location: NC | I tried the shim thing on a saddle with a gullet that was too wide. It still didn't give enough clearance for the withers to make me feel confortable doing it. So I just went with a smaller gullet that actually fit my horse. The bars on the 'wide' saddle felt about the same so the flare wasn't much in the 'wide' saddle. I can't say I agree with shimming. It just didn't sit well with me.
Different saddles are meant to sit different places on the horse. Best bet is to get in touch with the saddle maker. Or someone well versed in saddle fit that isn't trying to sell you anything.
It's possible your girth is way too long &/or the pad is way too thick. You should t need thicker than a 1/2 wool pad with a good fitting saddle. And most horses would do well in 28/30 size cinches. There's an article somewhere on how to measure proper cinch size. You might be surprised how small a girth is actually needed. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| I've never thought about cinch size. I've always had cinchs fit in the same way on every horse, never thought about what smaller would do. Great advice, thanks! |
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| EAblondayyy - 2015-03-06 11:34 AM
If I were to set the saddle I have behind hit should the girth is angled back. What do you do for that? Would a crown c with a shim in the front be best for that? This is why I'm confused! Would love to take him and get him fitted for a crown C or fx3. But the only people that seems trustworthy enough to do that would be in Greenville with the Martin people.. Thats a possibility in April but not now at the moment.
Crown c does a demo program, they will send you a saddle to try. April isn't that far away. I may be inclined to wait till April and have the horse fitted by Martin.
My understanding is the cj saddles were designed to sit on the shoulder that is why the girth d's are angled back so the saddle fits on the shoulders and the girth is where it should be.
Crown c the adjustable riggin if you are using the saddle correctly the rigging should be the most forward. Crown c has the adjustable riggin for the non believers (people who don't believe the saddle should be behind) this way they can get the classic gullet and have the riggin in the farthest position away from the pommel. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Contact Meleeta Brown who has the Freedom Fit Barrel Saddles. I had a gelding like that and her saddle made a ton of difference. She will be able to help you figure out what is best for your horse whether it is her saddle or not. |
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Member
Posts: 11
| So to talk more about crown c and fx3. The hole shimming thing is to help them have more movement to fill out heir top line correct? So if I were to purchase a Martin 1.) does the crown c and fx3 fit a horse the same? I know fx3 is to make you sit in your pockets more and the crown c is suppose to keep you centered. But do they fit a horse the same. And 2.) Do you try to get the gullet size bigger so it would be too big for the horse without the shim. That way it has room to grow? That's the point right?
I've called for a demo saddle and they have a long waiting list. Will most likely end up stopping in Greenville to get him fitted to one. Seems like a good way to go, buy a martin, shim it, let his top line build back up. Then see what other saddles fit like..
Thoughts? |
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The Resident Destroyer of Liberal Logic
Location: PNW | cheryl makofka - 2015-03-06 11:10 AM
The saddle is not fitting him in the shoulders, the horse is pushing the saddle back so he has full movement of the shoulder.
Crown c is actually supposed to fit behind the shoulder
Also horses shouldn't have a hollowed out spot behind the shoulder, this comes from poor fit.
To fix the hollowed out part you will need to shim.
Not necessarily, my horse has a low spot behind his shoulder because he has a low back/high withers. His saddle fits him like a glove. Some horses just have that conformation. |
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