Used saddles has been doing a bit of research and found out that one of the most common saddle fitting problem on a sway backed horse is the term that we call "bridging".
This occurs when you put a too straight saddle on a horse with a curved back.
The saddle then makes a bridge between the end of the wither and the last rib, causing great pressure zones on the horses back.
Particularly at the back of the saddle leaving an impression in the horses back muscles very hard to cure, if possible at all.
How to saddle the sway backed horse.
On saddling a sway backed horse you have to make sure you have a saddle that is curved in the shape of the horses top line.
This is important regardless if you are buying new or used saddles.
This type of saddle might not always be very easy to find as most modern saddles are made for horses with a "god" back and not for a horse conformation problem like a sway back.
There are so called real sway backed horses and horses that have become sway backed from age or because of over work or bad riding.
The reason for the sway back is less important, what is important though is that we do the most we can to help a sway backed horse not sway away even more from the pressure of a wrongly fit saddle.
The right thing to do.
In an Ideal world we might be able to find the perfect saddle to put on our sway backed horse and if so these are the things we need to think about.
Number one is to choose a saddle with a tree with a rounded shape and padding.
When we have found the right model of saddle for our horse we have to make sure that we have the saddle width right so that it isn't too narrow or wide.
Then we have to make sure the saddle don't bridge.
And off we go! The second option.
I realise that not every one has the luxury of being able to buy a saddle to fit on this quite difficult to fit horse and would need some advice of how to be able to apply one of their already used saddles.
The obvious thing to do then is of course to try to fill the gap between the saddle and the back of the horse.
I would not recommend getting one of those saddle lifter pads as they lift the whole saddle and not just the bit in the middle.
My suggestion would be to get hold of a bit of dense mattress foam and cut out a piece that is big enough to fit the gap, making sure that it is thinner in the ends making sure that no edges can be felt under the saddle for the horse.
Cutting out a circular pad that you carv in the edges to make a flying saucer shape is ideal.
This occurs when you put a too straight saddle on a horse with a curved back.
The saddle then makes a bridge between the end of the wither and the last rib, causing great pressure zones on the horses back.
Particularly at the back of the saddle leaving an impression in the horses back muscles very hard to cure, if possible at all.
How to saddle the sway backed horse.
On saddling a sway backed horse you have to make sure you have a saddle that is curved in the shape of the horses top line.
This is important regardless if you are buying new or used saddles.
This type of saddle might not always be very easy to find as most modern saddles are made for horses with a "god" back and not for a horse conformation problem like a sway back.
There are so called real sway backed horses and horses that have become sway backed from age or because of over work or bad riding.
The reason for the sway back is less important, what is important though is that we do the most we can to help a sway backed horse not sway away even more from the pressure of a wrongly fit saddle.
The right thing to do.
In an Ideal world we might be able to find the perfect saddle to put on our sway backed horse and if so these are the things we need to think about.
Number one is to choose a saddle with a tree with a rounded shape and padding.
When we have found the right model of saddle for our horse we have to make sure that we have the saddle width right so that it isn't too narrow or wide.
Then we have to make sure the saddle don't bridge.
And off we go! The second option.
I realise that not every one has the luxury of being able to buy a saddle to fit on this quite difficult to fit horse and would need some advice of how to be able to apply one of their already used saddles.
The obvious thing to do then is of course to try to fill the gap between the saddle and the back of the horse.
I would not recommend getting one of those saddle lifter pads as they lift the whole saddle and not just the bit in the middle.
My suggestion would be to get hold of a bit of dense mattress foam and cut out a piece that is big enough to fit the gap, making sure that it is thinner in the ends making sure that no edges can be felt under the saddle for the horse.
Cutting out a circular pad that you carv in the edges to make a flying saucer shape is ideal.