Sorry the before pictures are really poor, I'll take some today of Pride's back and show you the difference in a 5 month period. I put + signs where all the areas on along his spine need more muscle, as you can tell he is really over developed in some areas and really underdeveloped in some. I just thought I would share this with you...
(I just email parellisaddles@parellisaddles.com)
Hello, Kaylee
Thank you for sending the photos of your horse, saddle and shim pattern you're using. Good job that you've been riding bareback...and his back looks quite healthy, without atrophied muscle evident in the photos.
You are right..we, too, have not had good luck with this sort of foam shim. In fact, most foam consistency doesn't enhance the function of the Theraflex pad's air cells. The felt shims seem to to a better job.
Now: with regard to trying to help lift that saddle (it appears to be fairly narrow in front, and your horse may be holding his shoulders forward a bit to keep out of the way of it, though it is hard to see without looking at a full profile of him. His back looks to be quite long, but we can't see if his neck looks a bit shorter than it should, which would indicate he's holding his shoulders forward by rotating his scapulae forward, which would make his back look long and his neck appear short (try lifting your own shoulders and looking in the mirror...the basic result would be the same)>
Though it's important to lift the saddle off his shoulders, if you stack 2 sets of shims directly on top of one another, you create a "shelf" that is too thick, and the aircells can't soften the deep edge. We prefer to stagger the position of the shims, and recommend a shim pattern such as the enclosed to help you create a gradual ramp to lift that saddle and provide good, soft, gradual contact between the weight bearing part of the saddle and his back.
Note: be sure you turn the front shoulder shim around the opposite way to the way your photos indicated you were doing it...the shim is shaped to offer more room for the swinging scapula. And be sure to put that shim on top of the center shim, staggered forward as indicated. I have put it in the vertical position, but it looks as if he has wide shoulders, and it may work to turn that shim to the horizontal position. In either case, I would put it down as low and as far back in the pad pocket as this enclosed iillustration.
We wish you and your treasured horse all the best, Kaylee. But we don't know how much you can hope to help that particular saddle to fit in a way that will enable him to use his body as you and nature would wish...
Yours naturally,
Letitia and the Parelli Saddle Team
  |
| Before Pictures |
No comments:
Post a Comment