How to prevent saddle slipping

[Felttippenandpaper]

My horse has no withers and is quite wide. His saddle fits well. However, unless I do up his girth very tightly (which I don't), it always slips to the side. A breast plate helps but I don't think it looks very comfortable. Is there a (low priced) non slip saddle pad anyone can recommend?

I use a gel pad under the numnah of our round pony, get your saddle fitter to fit one next time they check it.

Great, thank you.

I disagree. The saddle should not slip if it fits correctly. I would get a second opinion. Using a gel pad is just likely to make him uncomfortable. A different girth may help.

I'm inclined to agree. I worry it would just pull on his skin if the saddle is trying to slip. I'll get it checked again. Thank you. Do you think a breast plate is a good idea? It does help but I worry it's a bit uncomfortable across his chest/withers. I will get it rechecked again too.

I agree, you definitely need to get the saddle fitter out to have a look, ideally one experienced/interested in fitting cobby round barrelled types as they are so difficult to fit too properly IMO. Sorry to say but you might need a whole new saddle or at least some reflocking... I wouldn't mess with gel pads or risers myself, too easy to give them a sore back that way, and I don't think a breastplate will be helping you that much, as it's designed to stop the saddle moving backwards rather than side to side. Agree trying a wider/leather girth more likely to help you while you're waiting for the saddler, or invest in a bareback pad if you're able to ride in one, the plus side of wide cobs is they're super comfy to ride bareback?

I love the idea of a bareback pad, thanks! Any tips or particular ones you can recommend? We only hack so that might be perfect!

Ahh, I'm thinking of a treeless saddle actually, like the TCS. I'd want stirrups! Do you know anything about them?

Tcs are great! the feel you get is like riding bareback but with the security of stirrups. It does show up any shortfalls in your riding, but that can be a good thing!
Also you could get a fully elastic girth, can’t remember the name sorry, will have a look.

Brilliant, thanks so much. I've just been doing some online research, it all seems very complicated with the padding, girth and stirrup options. I'm definitely keen though, I hate the thought of him being uncomfortable when we ride. I see they do a 14 day trial too so that's good.

Here you go! These are great. https://flexigirth.com

I believe TCS are very good with their customer service and can help you get the right setup for you both.

That's amazing, thanks so much for the link.

The only thing I'd say (and I know I did suggest a bareback pad, but I was meaning as more of a temporary solution while awaiting the saddler) is that while the TCS look good and they are comfy, I've used similar things to great effect on little tubby kids ponies who are similarly hard to fit traditional saddles to, buuttt if even part of the issue with your current saddle situation is that you are not perfectly balanced yourself as a rider (no shade, who amongst us as amateur riders really is), you will likely still be a little bit lopsided, or even more so, in one of these treeless saddles. And that itself can cause the horse discomfort - personally and IMHO only, for regular use and if the horse's comfort is top priority I would still rather invest in a properly fitting traditional saddle. I know instinctively this feels counter-intuitive as it's much more weight on their backs than a treeless, but it's much, much easier for the rider to stay in balance and light on a 'normal' GP saddle, particularly in the faster paces, it's pretty hard to ride in a balanced light seat on one of these pads for instance. Obviously if you are a super fit and balanced rider disregard all the above, racing work riders do all their work/gallops on treeless saddles after all and you'd never accuse them of being unbalanced. But please don't think I'm accusing you of being a bad rider or anything like that!

Perhaps the solution is have one of the TCS on trial and see how you and he get on with it?

Thank you, that is so helpful. I will definitely do some more research and careful consideration. That's really helpful, I'm definitely as flawed as the next amateur rider and my priority is my horse's comfort so I'll keep that front and centre, whatever I do. Saddle fitter again will be my next move, I'll go from there. Thanks so much

All my ponies are round with no wither, i've never had a saddle slip. i only use close contact saddles though, (mostly Fylde and FCS) and leather girth.

It might be a case of a whole new saddle for you, but as others said, make sure you use a fitter who's used to wide ponies.

If it slips it doesn’t fit.
I had a no wither native, speak to Steph Bloom (or look her up online). She’s amazing at fitting that type.

Just be aware of any gel pad altering the fit of your saddle.

Fylde Saddlery are very good for saddles to fit wide / barrel shaped ponies.

Do you have a photo of the saddle on your pony at all?

Please also bear in mind that even a subtle hind limb lameness can cause a well-fitting saddle to slip.

Ahh, well that is interesting as he has mild stringhalt. I did suspect that was contributing/causing the slipping.

Yeah, that could be contributing. A different saddle might work better for him, so it is worth considering that.

Just throwing my 50 pence in about gel pads - putting them directly on the horses back can pull at the hairs and be really uncomfortable and sore.
Agreed that it sounds like something is making the saddle not fit properly - have a chat to your saddle fitter or get a physio to come out and check to see if he's changed shape.

Not wanting to come across rude but have a had someone film you from behind? Is there an imbalance or unevenness? As a pp said, unlevelness in the horse will alter your position and then you will try to compensate. Is your weight even on both seat bones? Are your stirrups even? Do you change diagonal regularly when trotting or does your horse push you onto favoured one? Tightening the girth can make it harder for saddle to right itself naturally, not suggesting it should be loose but you're right that over tightening isn't the answer. It's not fun when neither of you are comfortable but hopefully you can find a solution soon.