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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
   
Location: North Dakota | I've recently had to switch saddles on my younger gelding. He just turned 4-years-old a couple weeks ago. I was using an older Circle Y saddle that had full QH bars (I believe with a 7" gullet) and this spring I have decided it's just too small and I can't keep using that on him.
For my other horse, he wears a WIDE Circle Y Lisa Lockhart Flex2 saddle and I put it on Shotgun and it danged near fits. A smidge wide but not bad at all. He is getting a little dry patch behind the shoulder, but he is only barely 4 and I know he has lots of filling out to do yet.
I'm just wondering if I should leave it "as is" or try some different padding for that dry spot. I use a 5 Star pad on him, that is 3/4". I did order some Classic Equine shims to try, and they are TOO much, in my opinion. I thought about a BioFit pad, but I've never used one before and I'm not sure if that would also be too much padding?
Here's the sweat marks from the other day, and some pictures of the saddle fit.
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 Love Me Some Robert Redford
Posts: 2335
Location: WV | No help but I like your saddle. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Just bumping up. |
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Veteran
Posts: 227
Location: Heart of Texas | It does look wide in the front, I would shim it. MUCH cheaper and you can shim it more or less as he changes. |
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Veteran
Posts: 294
| Just buy those Classic Equine shims. They should help. you could also make your own. |
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 I Want a "MAN"
Posts: 3610
Location: MD | What are good materials for home made shims? Tips?
Edited by CE's wrapn3 2015-05-07 3:37 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | CE's wrapn3 - 2015-05-07 3:28 PM What are good materials for home made sims? Tips?
I actually bought the Classic Equine shims for my one mare but she's got a sway back and they just didn't sit the way I wanted them to. So I actually took an old, thick fleece english saddle pad I had laying around and cut it up to make my own shim. Works like a charm! |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | My Double J is a tab bit too big for my gelding right now and I've been using a Professional's Choice ortho pad with the build up. I really like it so far! |
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | I have a biofit and the padding isn't that thick and they are pretty soft. So that may be an option you want to try. I like mine. |
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | I have the CE shims and they are thick. If you only need a small shim use a kitchen hand towel and fold it. It doesn't have to be specifically a shim. Anything will work. |
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Expert
Posts: 1446
Location: California | I have both a biofit and shims. I love love love classic equines, but I'm not super impressed with the biofit. I still use mine, but I wouldn't by another one. The build up padding, as someone else said, is isn't that thick and the pad itself is pretty soft. I would use the shims. |
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 Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| My 4 year old was doing the same thing and I can't afford a new saddle so I had to figure out how to keep him comfortable and stop the dry spots... My friend Becky told me to use her "Thin Line" pad.... I went on line and googled it.. Then I used it for a couple days... I was SOOO amazed NO dry spots... I can't believe it worked because there doesn't seem to be anything to it... You put this pad betweeen your saddle and your normal saddle pad.... I wouldn't of beleived it if I hadn't tried it.. I have one ordered NOW.... Good luck. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Yeah I already have the Classic Equine shims. They are too much.
Cutting a fleece pad is a great idea. I might have to see if there is a cheap one at the local tack store that I can cut into a shim. I guess I am not sure if a folded towel would be enough??
I don't mind buying him a new saddle pad for the time being, while he is growing. (Cheaper than buying a new saddle!!) So it's kind of "iffy" on the BioFit pad, I'm hearing from people?
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 Peecans
| I love my bio fit pad, it fits pefrect with my crown C and no shims. |
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Location: midwest mama | I had the exact same problem with one of my horses, and I got the CorrecTor pad by Len Brown. It has pockets in the front and the back of the pad (on both sides) that you can put 1,2, or 3 shims in depending on what you need. My new saddle is perfect with 1 shim in the front (on each side.) I LOVE being able to adjust the thickness.
I also tried the pads that have the shims built in, and the classic equine shims separately and they were way too much with no adjustment.
Good luck! |
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 Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Just us a now bow, or two if needed on top of your regular pad. Voila, problem solved. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 352
Location: Texas | suzy2qtee - 2015-05-08 7:02 AM
My 4 year old was doing the same thing and I can't afford a new saddle so I had to figure out how to keep him comfortable and stop the dry spots... My friend Becky told me to use her "Thin Line" pad.... I went on line and googled it.. Then I used it for a couple days... I was SOOO amazed NO dry spots... I can't believe it worked because there doesn't seem to be anything to it... You put this pad betweeen your saddle and your normal saddle pad.... I wouldn't of beleived it if I hadn't tried it.. I have one ordered NOW.... Good luck.
What kind of saddle pad are you using it over? One of their pads or a different kind? I have only used the english version never the western.
Edited by batkitty 2015-05-08 4:45 PM
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Playing the Waiting Game
Posts: 2304
| batkitty - 2015-05-08 4:44 PM suzy2qtee - 2015-05-08 7:02 AM My 4 year old was doing the same thing and I can't afford a new saddle so I had to figure out how to keep him comfortable and stop the dry spots... My friend Becky told me to use her "Thin Line" pad.... I went on line and googled it.. Then I used it for a couple days... I was SOOO amazed NO dry spots... I can't believe it worked because there doesn't seem to be anything to it... You put this pad betweeen your saddle and your normal saddle pad.... I wouldn't of beleived it if I hadn't tried it.. I have one ordered NOW.... Good luck. What kind of saddle pad are you using it over? One of their pads or a different kind? I have only used the english version never the western.
3/4 inch Wonder pad. The woolfelt pad. |
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