Saddle slipping left again! Where to shim now?

[Castlegate]

According to fitter...my mare has an extremely loaded right shoulder which results in my saddle being tossed off to the left. We bought a new saddle over a year ago at his suggestion and we also shim the right side.....all was better for a long while and now its sliding again badly...I dont think I can shim it anymore....

[Donkey]

According to fitter...my mare has an extremely loaded right shoulder which results in my saddle being tossed off to the left. We bought a new saddle over a year ago at his suggestion and we also shim the right side.....all was better for a long while and now its sliding again badly...I dont think I can shim it anymore....

Has your fitter seen it recently? Can your saddle be reflocked? Or is it time for saddle shopping? :no:

[JB]

If the right shoulder is "loaded" (I'm assuming you mean bigger), and the saddle is sliding to the left, why are you shimming the right side? :confused: :confused:

[Castlegate]

sorry JB...I meant left side...I am shimming left side...

[JB]

Oh, whew! LOL!

Where is the shim, exactly?

Do you have pictures, looking from the rear of the horse, of the shoulders a year ago, and one more recently?

[Castlegate]

No pics...at least none you could see anything in...right now I have a thin line contour pad on (to prevent slipping) and then I have both the shoulder area and cantle area shimmed with the thin line shims...

[JB]

Is there anything lopsided about the horse's back under the cantle? If not, I'd suggest trying just the shoulder shim. The cantle shim is probably pushing the back of the saddle to the side.

If this horse is safe to ride bareback, hop on for a walk and trot on a circle and see if you don't slide to the left. You may be, unconsciously, trying to compensate somehow and not sitting straight.

[EqTrainer]

If this horse is safe to ride bareback, hop on for a walk and trot on a circle and see if you don't slide to the left. You may be, unconsciously, trying to compensate somehow and not sitting straight.

Yup. You have got to get your weight on that other side even if you feel like you are going to fall off of it. Horse won't change until you do...

[Melelio]

Yup, check YOU! For 20 years I hunched to the right from an old shoulder injury. Had no idea I was doing it. My horses now are all heavy on the right side, from holding my sorry a&& up! My black gelding has a much more developed right shoulder due to it, and he was saddle slipping badly.

I have since fixed the dumb shoulder, realized what I was doing, and have compensated by sitting up straight again, and constantly have to watch my posture for slumpage to the right. I do it all the time. Will take awhile to fix my old habit.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, my custom saddle that hasn't been fitting him (sliding to the right) didn't slide a whit, and he was happy happy happy in it!!!!

Stupid rider......