# Saddle Slipping



## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

Sounds that the saddle doesn't fit your horse correctly. Have you had a Professional asess it on your horses back?


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## ALYJOMOFO (Dec 30, 2008)

saddle fit could be the issue...... or is your horse a bloater? do you have the girth done up tight enough?


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Welcome to the forum, Bulldog.

As ALYJOMOFO and MIEventer suggested, saddle fit and a bloating horse are the typical culprits. There is not much you can do with an ill fitting saddle except to change it but you can work with a bloater.

The way I cinch my horses works the same whether they bloat or not, and that is to do it in stages. I'll cinch them up to very snug then stretch each front leg, snug up the cinch again, walk them a few steps (or a few dozen feet) then snug the cinch again. 

When I mount, I do it quickly by putting my right hand on the saddle horn and my left hand on his neck (usually grabbing some mane). Once in the saddle I'll shift my weight to the right to center the saddle and off I'll ride. After 10 or 15 min. I may get down and snug the cinch once more if I have a bloater.

That's my routine, hope it helps.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

Bulldog2785 said:


> I am having trouble mounting because my saddle slips off any words of advice or tips. Any would be apriciated. Also I have a very wide quarter horse. About 15.3 hands


Sounds like your saddle doesn't fit then. You need a saddle with a wider tree and flatter bars, wide Full QH bars, and a thinner saddle pad.

Once you find a saddle that fits, I'd recommend a ThinLine pad over a thin single or double thickness woven blanket, or over a thin felt liner pad (1/2" thick or thinner). This set up works very well for wide horses, to provide cushion and is very non-slip. Or, if you'd prefer to use just one pad, then the new 1/2" ThinLine Pro-Tech Felt pad, 1/2" felt with 1/4" built in ThinLine material.


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## Pally (Mar 23, 2009)

luvs2ride, I agree the pad can be a big culprit. If the saddle does in fact fit (but just barely), a thick pad could make it too narrow. Or, from my own experience with the rolley - polley body types, even when the saddle fits with a thicker pad, it still seems to slip more than when I use a thinner, more pliable pad.

But as others mentioned, the actual saddle fit is the first thing you need to evaluate.

A mounting block may also help you out, as you don't need to put so much weight in the stirrup to get up there.


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## Bulldog2785 (Mar 26, 2009)

Thanks for all the help will have to try them out


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

You know, I have this problem with my Arab as he has nearly no withers. The tree and saddle overall fit him great - it's wide enough to fit his broad shoulders, while still leaving clearance on his spine. Any wider would be too wide, and any narrower would pinch. However with his conformation - short back, wide chest and ribcage, and low withers, I find that mounting from the ground can cause all sorts of saddle slippage, even with a nice elastic girth that's done up snugly - even after riding, the girth isn't loose and making it tighter will just cause him pain. I've found there are some girths that I have to stay away from - such as the thick fuzzy ones as they seem to slip more on him. The pro-choice elastic ones work as they have give and you can tighten them quite a bit, but they are still stretchy enough that they aren't painful for the horse, and anything too thick will just slip, padded, elastic, or not.

Also be sure the saddle fits correctly and the horse isn't bloating or holding their breath (if they are I've found a knee to the stomach - not incredibly hard just enough for them to exhale haha - works really well lol), and then go from there. However just know some low-withered horses saddles will slide from side to side and in that case even though my Arab is just over 15h, I use a mounting block lol!


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

CJ82Sky said:


> Also be sure the saddle fits correctly and the horse isn't bloating or holding their breath (if they are I've found a knee to the stomach - not incredibly hard just enough for them to exhale haha - works really well lol),


An old cowboy trick but I would not recommend it. It is a good way to make a horse cinchy and become a problem when being saddled. You know why you are doing it but they don't; they only know they are going to get "kicked" when being cinched.


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> An old cowboy trick but I would not recommend it. It is a good way to make a horse cinchy and become a problem when being saddled. You know why you are doing it but they don't; they only know they are going to get "kicked" when being cinched.


I've never had a problem (and my horse that used to hold his breath was a cowpony haha!) but also don't kick them hard, you just butt them w/your knee so that they exhale. I'll also switch which side I tighten (works better with an english saddle obv) so that the horse doesn't always expect it, sometimes after walking, sometimes right before mounting, etc.


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## luvs2ride1979 (Nov 9, 2007)

A more effective and a lot nicer way to get a horse to exhale is to simply walk them in a few circles before mounting up ;-).


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## CJ82Sky (Dec 19, 2008)

luvs2ride1979 said:


> A more effective and a lot nicer way to get a horse to exhale is to simply walk them in a few circles before mounting up ;-).


Yup. Wouldn't work for my QH. Nor would holding his nose, or making him back a few steps, or any of the other traditional tricks. But he was cowboy trained so maybe that was why?


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