New Wade Saddle Got Me Bucked Off All Weekend

[Huntet02]

Bought a nice Wade 7/8 Plate Rigging 2 wks ago. I wasn't able to try it on my horse before buying but used saddle at home for week or more and things seemed fine UNTIL I this weekend when I went up steep hills. THis weekend while on a mountinous trail ride found out the very hard way that this saddles cinch doesn't stay behind elbows no matter where I put it to start. The saddle and my 1 1/2 inch 5-Star pad all move back when going up a steep hill which caused my good ole reliable mare to go "very western very fast all day long"!! I didn't have a pulling collar on her with this new saddle I just hadn't bought it yet but feel thats beside the point as I don't believe the pulling collar would have done anything to keep the cinch where it needed to be.I've got a problem with the way it fits my horse...YIKES

SORRY FINGRE BROKe typing is bad.....

anyway after limping home after being bucked off good twice and fighting all the way home we looked at things and found that this new wade saddle and the placement of the front cinch is the main problem. The rigging is direclty underneath instead of up front and high which I know they are placed there to get a better center of gravity but its not working for me and my horse. This is my first "wade" saddle and Ive rode them before but I ordered this saddle through internet given a money back garantee(for little while) but the way this rigging is and my horse high withers it keeps making the pad and cinch slide back to the middle of my mares belly (god knows were the back cinch is then landing) causing mucho spontaneous combustion. So I have a serious problem. I just paid good money for this saddle and trying to figure out my options and need advice badly...

Signed worried about my investment

Edited April 5, 2010 by Huntet02

[Steve Brewer]

By your pictures I cn't tell where the rigging is set.Send some pictures of it on your horse.Could be you you have the wrong bar spread on the tree.

Steve

[mulefool]

A picture on the horse would definitely be helpful. If you are trying to place it on her back based on where you think the cinch should be, rather than where the tree should sit, it could be you are placing it too far forward. But hard to tell without seeing it on the horse. Chris

[Huntet02]

By your pictures I cn't tell where the rigging is set.Send some pictures of it on your horse.Could be you you have the wrong bar spread on the tree.

Steve

Thank you for your reply I will surely take some pics of the saddle on the horse tonight and get to you all....

[Huntet02]

A picture on the horse would definitely be helpful. If you are trying to place it on her back based on where you think the cinch should be, rather than where the tree should sit, it could be you are placing it too far forward. But hard to tell without seeing it on the horse. Chris

Thank you for your reply I will surely take some pics of the saddle on the horse tonight and get to you all....we tried placing it way far forward clear up on her mane to see how much it moved backwards and then lunged her and each time it would inch backward....we tried two different pads and the same effect. Dawg gone it but will take pictures tonight and get back with you...

[jwwright]

You didn't say where in Kansas you are...............but, if it's possible for me to see the saddle / horse , I'd be happy to take a look at the situation for you. JW

[Rod and Denise Nikkel]

Hunter,

The idea that there is a "right" place for a cinch is one of the fallacies about saddle fit that is commonly taught. So long as the cinch is on the breast bone and not behind it, it doesn't matter where on the breastbone it sits. The shape of your horse will determine where it sits since it will move to where it fits regardless of where you place it. It DOES NOT have to hang vertical.

The idea that the cinch placement has an effect on where a good fitting saddle fits is also a fallacy. If the shape of a saddle fits the shape of a horse (think two spoons nestled together), it will move to the spot it was intended to fit and stay there regardless of what angle the cinch is at. A forward angled cinch is NOT going to pull a GOOD fitting saddle forward. Nor will a cinch hold a good fitting saddle too far forward. It will move back to where it fits, and then stay there with a forward angled cinch. On the other hand a poorly fitting saddle is going to move around because the shapes just don't match (think spoon on fork or knife). The cinch may then affect where the saddle ends up. So if the rigging and cinch position do affect where your saddle ends up, it is a good sign that the saddle doesn't fit well.

In your case, either 1.) you are expecting the saddle to stay farther forward than it is made to sit or 2.) it doesn't fit well and so it moves around, or a combination of the two. From the reaction of your horse, I would expect #2 to be at least part of the problem.

The most helpful would be pictures of the way you normally saddle and where you place your saddle, what happens after the horse moves around so we can see where it ends up, and at least a side view of your horse without the saddle so we can see the basic shape of the horse. What style of saddle were you riding before?

Edited April 5, 2010 by Rod and Denise Nikkel

[bruce johnson]

Another thing I am wondering is a 1-1/2 pad is pretty thick and with new woolskin over that, the saddle may not be pulling down as much either.

[RWB]

Another thing I am wondering is a 1-1/2 pad is pretty thick and with new woolskin over that, the saddle may not be pulling down as much either.

I was thinking the same thing, Bruce.

Huntet,

When you get a new saddle, you really have to cinch up TIGHT those first, maybe ten rides. You need to mash that woolskin down to get it to conform to a horses back. And then with a brand new pad underneath it, you are going to have about cut your horse in two, to get everything to conform. New woolskin and a new pad, all that is pretty thick and squishy. Plus a 1 1/2" Five Star pad it REALLY REALLY thick. I have found that a 3/4" to 1" worth of padding is going to be plenty for the majority of horses out there. Provided your saddle fits. But if you saddle is so wide that you need a 1 1/2 inch pad, you need a narrower saddle. I would try cinching up a little tighter.

Ross

[Ken Nelson]

I was thinking the same thing, Bruce.

Huntet,

When you get a new saddle, you really have to cinch up TIGHT those first, maybe ten rides. You need to mash that woolskin down to get it to conform to a horses back. And then with a brand new pad underneath it, you are going to have about cut your horse in two, to get everything to conform. New woolskin and a new pad, all that is pretty thick and squishy. Plus a 1 1/2" Five Star pad it REALLY REALLY thick. I have found that a 3/4" to 1" worth of padding is going to be plenty for the majority of horses out there. Provided your saddle fits. But if you saddle is so wide that you need a 1 1/2 inch pad, you need a narrower saddle. I would try cinching up a little tighter.

Ross

I agree with Bruce and a good point you make! I have had several first time new saddle owners call me up and tell me their new saddle was way too narrow for their horse. Rode it a few times and it fit fine. These real thick pads, in my opinion, cause way more problems than they ever fix. One of the best old cowboys I have ever known used to ride one double weave all wool blanket on most of the horses he rode. Once in a while you would see him with two double blankets on a horse. He did always have a narrow and a wider saddle just alike except for the gullet width. Which one he rode depended on what horse he rode. Never knew this man to have a sore backed horse and he rode a lot, roped a lot out in the open and worked in all kinds of country. He was also pretty picky about how the horses he raised and bought were made. Knew of him to cull a pretty nice colt for having too flat a back. My 2 cents worth. Ken