The adventures of Gilly the rescue horse and his side kick and partner in crime, Pokey the donkey.

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Being with a horse is a journey that never ends. What they have to teach us is amazing; but we must quiet our mind to hear them. ~ jca

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Thursday, March 4, 2010

Oh, boy, what a good find!

I was looking on eBay yesterday at saddles, saddle pads not really anything in particular and found a dressage saddle like I have; Thornhill Vienna II. I checked the seller and found that she carried a lot of really good English tack, gloves, riding breeches and a lot more. I also found some shims for my Parelli English Theraflex Self-Inflating Pad. A great price for these so I ordered them. She also has these pads for dressage saddles! I already have the English pad and it seems fine for my saddle so I probably won't be getting another one....well, not right now anyway! My pad looks like this below.



I have to say that these self inflating pads are worth every penny and they are expensive but Gilly is a horse that is a hard one to fit. I tried 5 saddles before I found the round skirted Abeta western saddle. I had a gorgeous Circle Y saddle that I loved but didn't even get to ride it. When I tried it on Gil the back of the saddle was up on top of his rump! He is very short backed and has big shoulders. You can see from the picture, taken a few years ago, how his back is. (got a little hay belly going there too Gil!) Those big shoulders want to push the saddle back but with the saddle pad and the shims in the right place the saddle stays put.

Here is Gilly 3 years ago with his dressage saddle on. This was the first time I had it on his back. The pad has a valve on each side to adjust the amount of air in it. I don't know how or why it work, it just does and I love it!

This is the dressage pad, longer on the sides than the English. Kelly at Netfilly has these pads; link below picture. You can check it out and read more about these pads. I know another woman, Sheri, who trains and shows dressage who also swears by them, matter of fact she is the one who told me about them. Sheri has three and is thinking of getting one of the dressage pads. (cause I called her today and told her I found these)

I just wanted to share this find with all of you English riders who follow my blog; sorry western gals, I don't think there is any western stuff. But there are some neat riding gloves, called Bionic gloves. I don't know anything about them but they sound like your hands would love them!

I know, I know someone is going to give me flack about using a saddle pad to make the saddle fit, but it works for me. When I take Gilly's saddle and pad off, his back is wet everywhere, no dry spots. Both of my saddles have wide trees and the Abeta saddle was recommended to me by a woman who trains Tennessee Walkers, she said these worked well for the horse to be able to move his shoulders well.

So any comments about this pad. Does anyone else have one? If you do tell me what you think of it; do you love it like I do?

Oh, by the way......the SNOW is melting, melting, melting!!! Yippee, it was actually almost 40 degrees today! How exciting....yes, I am a little giddy over this, I am hoping that this means spring is just around the corner!!!







12 comments:

Leah Fry said...

Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, to make the saddle work, unless you can afford to keep changing them out.

Jeni said...

Thanks for the review. I wonder if the pad would help with my no withers horse - Rosie? Saddle fits- i had it fitted by pro - but slips just a tiny bit.

jane augenstein said...

Leah, right, and I have bought enough saddles! Thank goodness I sold the ones that didn't work and didn't take too much of a beating on them.

JeniQ, I can't say for sure but my saddle doesn't move when I have this pad on. It stays put; other pads I had would always slide back and drop the saddle back behind his shoulders. That would throw me off balance in a very forward position. The nice thing about the air bladders is you can adjust each side. If the horses back is uneven you can correct the fit with the pad. I love it!!

Melissa-ParadigmFarms said...

When it comes to saddle fit I am in the camp of do whatever works, be it a new saddle or a new saddle pad. I use a Mattes pad with shims on one of my horses - I'm sure someone would love to tell me that is wrong but I don't care!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Hmmm! I'm thinking that your Gilly and my 'Sugar' both have a similar build. Short backs, necks that come stright down into the back and withers. Long, sloping shoulders. It's been recommended to me to buy a rounded skirt saddle, too. And a wide, FQHB. I'm considering an Abetta Western style Trail saddle actually. I'm probably going to be selling my Amish Made Henry Miller saddle because I've come to realize it's too large for me and the A-Frame style is just too insecure for my liking.

My friend Colleen uses those self-inflating pads, too. I think she bought hers through Parelli and hers are Western style. She, also swears by them.

They do make me laugh, though, when I'm behind a horse with one it's back. The sounds emanating from it, especially when trotting, are very entertaining. lol!


~Lisa

Unknown said...

I have a research paper by a guest speaker when I was doing my diploma with the university that said something about the inflateable saddle pannels/pads but I can't quite remember I'll have to see where it is.

allhorsestuff said...

Great review here Jane!
Loved the photo's of Gilly too.
That is an interesting pad...I wonder if it would work with high withers and a deep pocket below? My saddle slips forward, not back.

Well, great..gonna have to go check out those gloves!
Hope it melts VERY SOON... got the tack - now is all ready for you to ride!
Love ya's
Kac

jane augenstein said...

Melissa, yes you hear all kinds of ways about how to fit a saddle on a horse. I don't have tons of money to have a "custom fitted saddle" for Gil and I have read that since the horses back changes all the time...is it ever really a custom fit? Gilly's back has been through a lot of changes. The Parelli pad have made all the difference in the world. I can tell by how he is with it. Ride on!!!

Lisa, Lisa, oh, I love my round skirted Abetta saddle! Really light weight, easy to clean, good fit with the air pad, love it!
My saddle pad doesn't make any noise when riding. Once the valve is locked in place the air doesn't escape. Now if you loosen the valve it kind of hisses. Scared Gilly first time I released the air before taking off the saddle! LOL Now he could care less.

Sydney, oh, yes hope you can find it, would like to hear what was said.

Kacy, I would be willing to bet that it would work for Wa. Gilly's withers are high and he also has a deep pocket behind those big shoulders, makes a great place to sit bareback too! You would need the shims also to help fill out those pockets, same as I do. I tried to make the shims myself but didn't work out like the real thing. That's why I was hunting for them and found Kelly's site, so glad too!!!
I am seriously thinking of getting some of those gloves too, my hands hurt a lot and I think this would help!

Grey Horse Matters said...

Gil is adorable hay belly and all. These pads look interesting, thanks for putting them up. I'm going to check them out. Dusty and Blue are impossible to fit.

Dee Ann Kilbourn said...

It's all about the fit. Glad to hear you guys are thawing out. We are seeing some spring weather too, unfortunately, rain is in the forecast over the weekend... :(

Fantastyk Voyager said...

I'd be interested in trying one of those inflatable pads on my Nadia. She is very swaybacked now, poor dear, but at 26, I guess the figure goes downhill.

jane augenstein said...

Grey Horse Matters, I have to say that though expensive they are a live saver for me. I had tried a lot of saddle pads and saddles before I got the right combination! The good thing about these are that you can adjust either side as needed, great idea!

Dee Ann, right! more snow melting, yippee! may get to ride tomorrow.

Val, Val, do check them out it could help.

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