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Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse

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Last activity 2016-11-04 3:41 PM
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r_beau
Reg. Apr 2010
Posted 2016-11-03 4:11 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Born not Made


Posts: 2931
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Location: North Dakota
Have you tried a Circle Y Flex2 WIDE (like the lisa lockhart version)? 
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 4:59 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
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Location: S. California Beach
Β Not flat enough
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 5:08 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
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Location: S. California Beach
Β Yes just bad...perched way on top bullet screws were 1.5" above his back. Hes a tad downhill and i dont want to end up on his neck. Lynn said i could buy a nueva wide Im not buying anything til i can try itMay take him to the NFR this year
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BARRELHORSE USA
Reg. Sep 2011
Posted 2016-11-03 5:15 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse




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Here in Tx/Ok we use the term ... mutton withers .. on these types
of conformation. It is very common in foundation bred horses.

You have to depend on more contact area with your tack and certain
materials are more "sticky" than others.

We don't buy saddles to fit specific horses we use other means to
keep a saddle in place and comfortable for the horse. (A light weight
youth or ladies roping saddle with rounded bars can be a good choice
to use in barrel racing.. just change the horn to fit your hand)

*****************************************************
STICKY TACK SETUP >>>>
A good high quality mohair roper cinch from DM tack..
(square topped D rings puts cinch pressure vertically w/no elbow rubbing
the roper cinch gives you more contact area and weight/pressure distribution)

A 2 1/2-- 3 inch breastcollar snapped in low on saddle or cinch D ring
(no downward pull on swells of saddle = no sore backs; snug fit to
girth and saddle or girth D rings .. might need a wither strap too)

A 2 finger snug fitting back girth dropping straight down on the rib cage
when saddling horse .. (it will slack off as saddle pad depresses with horse's
movement)

A good open backed horse hair saddle pad to keep any movement to a minimum
(old style pad had a canvas backing with horse hair contact on back and
ran $30-40 and if you look hard you can still find them) color makes you
think of CarHart canvas work jackets .. rust and green are common colors
Too many of todays expensive pads have no "grab" to hold them in place ..
the super smooth finish is for the owner to feel and not for keeping saddle
in place .. )

This completes what we call a sticky tack setup for mutton withered horses.

The above tacking up is a good practice to use on any horse you ride ...
by increasing the area of contact and proper positioning of your tack
your saddle movement and sore back problems disappear.

Another tip ... stop posting up and down in a western saddle ..
ride deep seated with some rhythm to your hips ...
go watch Cervi ride her mutton withered Stingray ... ..
. and stop pounding your horse in the kidneys .... lol ...

NO NEED TO BUY A DIFFERENT SADDLE FOR EACH HORSE YOU OWN..

I am as guilty as the next person ... When you have the money to
spend on something new .... you will find a reason to spend it ..
If you have no money to spend ... you will become inventive
and end up solving a problem that will last a lifetime.





Edited by BARRELHORSE USA 2016-11-03 5:19 PM
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 5:24 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
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Location: S. California Beach
Β  i have one horse and no saddle that remotely fits no matter the set up
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TheDutchMan01
Reg. Jan 2010
Posted 2016-11-03 6:14 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse


Elite Veteran


Posts: 883
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Location: Southern Indiana
margoannrodeo - 2016-11-03 5:08 PM

Β Yes just bad...perched way on top bullet screws were 1.5" above his back. Hes a tad downhill and i dont want to end up on his neck. Lynn said i could buy a nueva wide Im not buying anything til i can try itMay take him to the NFR this year

I tried a wide special and it was too narrow and just too much rock. It's supposed to fit this type of horse best but it didn't. I don't see how the Nueva trees would be wide enough at the wither with such a narrow gullet.
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 6:37 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
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Location: S. California Beach
Β i would have to agree i didnt see the tree as flat
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draftmare
Reg. Oct 2016
Posted 2016-11-03 7:22 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse


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Have you tried Martin? They go pretty darn wide, and I don't think they have a lot of rock to them.
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 7:23 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
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Location: S. California Beach
Yes several martins just not right
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BARRELHORSE USA
Reg. Sep 2011
Posted 2016-11-03 8:02 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse




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margoannrodeo - 2016-11-03 7:23 PM

Yes several martins just not right

If my suggestions didn't work better than other things you have tried
then try these ..

1. DUCT TAPE YOUR SADDLE ON THE HORSE

2. SUPPORT 1/3 OF YOUR WEIGHT IN YOUR STIRRUPS
TO KEEP FROM BECOMING TOP HEAVY AND MAKING SADDLE SLIP

3. SELL THE HORSE TO SOME UNSUSPECTING KID THAT WILL PUT
AN OLD RAGTAG SADDLE ON THE HORSE AND NEITHER WILL EVER
KNOW THAT IT WASN'T SUPPOSE TO FIT ...

GOOD LUCK ..

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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 8:23 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
20001001001001002525
Location: S. California Beach
Β I need to find something that remotely fits before i look at pads breastcollars and back cinches. The fit i have experienced are utterly atrocious why would i take an ill fitting saddle and add pads and and a back cinch. Slipping is the farthest thing from my issue. Finding something to fit his back is the struggle.
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brlracerchick
Reg. Jun 2010
Posted 2016-11-03 8:31 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Thick and Wavy


Posts: 6102
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Location: Nebraska
margoannrodeo - 2016-11-03 5:08 PM  Yes just bad...perched way on top bullet screws were 1.5" above his back. Hes a tad downhill and i dont want to end up on his neck. Lynn said i could buy a nueva wide Im not buying anything til i can try itMay take him to the NFR this year

 Double j has a demo program
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Three 4 Luck
Reg. Sep 2003
Posted 2016-11-03 8:48 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Accident Prone


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Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR
draftmare - 2016-11-03 7:22 PM

Have you tried Martin? They go pretty darn wide, and I don't think they have a lot of rock to them.

The bar angle is too steep on the standard Martin trees. The special ordered ones might work, but I'm not spending that much money.
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margoannrodeo
Reg. Jan 2005
Posted 2016-11-03 9:08 PM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Oh excuse me!


Posts: 2473
20001001001001002525
Location: S. California Beach
Β  AgreeThe double j demo program you have to pay 200 for shipping plus hold 2500. So crazy to tryHoping they will have tons of options at the nfr its only a 4 hour drove
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HorsesNHarleys
Reg. Oct 2006
Posted 2016-11-04 6:43 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Buttered Noodles Snacker


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Lookin For Diamonds - 2016-11-03 9:21 AM  I had a dbl j X-wide. It has a flatter bar angle for flatter back. Was the promax too narrow? Caldwell also has the maxxed out 8" gullet and the xl maxxed out 8.5" gullet. The Caldwell saddles fit much better than the dbl j. If the Promax was too wide they also have the Pro Racer which is a 7" Gullet with the flat bars. I had a horse built just like yours and the only thing that half way fit him was a Martin Iron Horse. Then Charon @ Caldwell hooked me up with the xl wide maxxed out and it fit like a glove! 

I have a Martin Iron Horse and it really seems to fit a wide range of horses really well.  I got it because both of my mares at the time had flat backs.  and it fit them both great.  My problem is now it doesn't fit me.  :-(  I have been trying to stick with it and tell myself I will lose weight but I think I need to face the sad facts and move on to a bigger seat....  :'(    Good luck on your search, saddle fitting is soooooo fustrating.  Like you I went through too many to count until finding my Iron Horse.  
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draftmare
Reg. Oct 2016
Posted 2016-11-04 7:50 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse


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Posts: 138
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margoannrodeo - 2016-11-03 8:23 PM

Β I need to find something that remotely fits before i look at pads breastcollars and back cinches. The fit i have experienced are utterly atrocious why would i take an ill fitting saddle and add pads and and a back cinch. Slipping is the farthest thing from my issue. Finding something to fit his back is the struggle.

I wasn't sure if that poster was being serious or not...

I was once told that I should a) drug my horse up and just ride and b) just ride despite the saddle not fitting. It makes me feel like maybe I AM the crazy one, but I also want the best fit for my horse so that she can work at her best.
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Prickly Pear
Reg. Oct 2003
Posted 2016-11-04 8:50 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Cactus Cowgirl


Posts: 2791
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Three 4 Luck - 2016-11-03 8:22 AM I own the same model in a different color.  His back/wither area is wider than his shoulders, his back is super short, nothing has a flat enough bar angle and they either run up too far forward onto the top of his shoulder or they ruffle his hair badly.  He seems pretty comfortable in the Shiloh Jerri Mann, but the bar angle is too steep and it ruffles a gigantic area of hair towards the top where it's too wide.  He loved my wide treeless, but I can't ride him in it--can't get my leg on him at all, so I feel perched and precarious, like I'm straddling a fence.   I have an old Allen Ranch that looked like a decent fit, better than anything else I tried, but it ran up on him.  The Merrill runs up, the Contender was just plain bad with the shoulder flare.  I finally got the Contender sold yesterday, so I'm shopping.  Meanwhile, I'm riding him in the Jerri Mann because he will actually move out willingly in it and I don't end up feeling like I'm sitting on his neck.

I could have wrote this exact thing for one of ours.  She is incredily wide and is so wide through her loin area that the saddle keeps riding forward.  Following this thread! 
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r_beau
Reg. Apr 2010
Posted 2016-11-04 9:02 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse



Born not Made


Posts: 2931
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Location: North Dakota
margoannrodeo - 2016-11-03 4:59 PM  Not flat enough

Oh crazy! How frustrating. 

I know you said you are using a treeless right now. Boy, besides going 100% custom, that may be your best bet.

Do you have any pictures of any of the previous saddles you've tried ON your horse, so we can get a better visual? I know you posted pictures of her bare back, but it would also be nice to see a saddle on her.

Or maybe with the current treeless one you have now.



 
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GLP
Reg. Oct 2013
Posted 2016-11-04 9:18 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse


I just read the headlines


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My sister had a little mare like this years ago. She ended up riding her in a roping saddle.
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draftmare
Reg. Oct 2016
Posted 2016-11-04 9:24 AM
Subject: RE: Saddle for a Flat Backed Horse


Veteran


Posts: 138
10025
HorsesNHarleys - 2016-11-04 6:43 AM

Lookin For Diamonds - 2016-11-03 9:21 AM Β I had a dbl j X-wide. It has a flatter bar angle for flatter back. Was the promax too narrow? Caldwell also has the maxxed out 8" gullet and the xl maxxed out 8.5" gullet. The Caldwell saddles fit much better than the dbl j. If the Promax was too wide they also have the Pro Racer which is a 7" Gullet with the flat bars. I had a horse built just like yours and the only thing that half way fit him was a Martin Iron Horse. Then Charon @ Caldwell hooked me up with the xl wide maxxed out and it fit like a glove!Β 

I have a Martin Iron Horse and it really seems to fit a wide range of horses really well. Β I got it because both of my mares at the time had flat backs. Β and it fit them both great. Β My problem is now it doesn't fit me. Β :-( Β I have been trying to stick with it and tell myself I will lose weight but I think I need to face the sad facts and move on to a bigger seat.... Β :'( Β  Β Good luck on your search, saddle fitting is soooooo fustrating. Β Like you I went through too many to count until finding my Iron Horse. Β 

In a similar situation right now. Friend has a Martin for sale that fits my mare really well, but is a bit snug on me. I just barely have one finger between my thigh and the pommel. I need to lose weight anyway, so I am debating on getting the saddle and hitting the diet hard, or to keep looking. I have looked at so many saddles, I just so badly want something to fit. However, it is still a lot of money on a hope of losing weight...
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