[Circle C]

first off..get the weight off her

second: get her in shape (muscle wise)

third: if nothing fits her then, get a custom fit saddle for her

[Circle C]

a lot of ppl get saddles fit to a specific horse and then wonder why in a year they dont fit... b/c with reg work, the horse builds muscle and can develop completly different, and so their "shape" changes. Then they have to go through the "fitting" process all over again, especially for young horses who are still growing and developing

[faroutfax]

Woah guys! Please don't jump to conclusions about her weight I said in my original post that I realized that she was overwright and that she would not be ridden in this condition.

Our previous farrier made a complete mess of her feet. She was on regular farrier care but he let her hooves balloon. She was very uncomfortable naturally and had been much less active. About 2 months ago we said enough was enough, Stormy could barely walk at this point it was ridiculus considering she was on a regular schedule.

Anyways fairly recently we got a new farrier. She has only come once, but she seems to do a great job with the horses. But she had to literally (no exageration) cut off about half of Stormy's feet (which was about 5-6 inches!). I wish I had before pictures. Since then Stormy has been understandably very sore and has not been moving regularly, she usually just stands around and eats.

Sooo... -deep breath- like I said she is not normally this huge and once she gets comfortable she will be worked, but right now it would be down right cruelty to force her to excersize to loose weight.

Also she has been very wide since birth. Even when she was dramatically dropping weight when she was a foal (she was orphaned at birth) and you could see her ribs a mile away she was still a table (just not as dramatic of one).

Anyways back on topic now that you know the big long story

[faroutfax]

Here is a pic of one of her feet, taken the same day as the pictures of her back.

You can see that alot is wrong but it is much much much better than from before we got the new farrier out.

You can see the big dish in her foot from the pressure of the extra 5" of hoof she had. And where I circled in pink, on her farther hoof, is a massive crack. I goes straight up into her cornary band.



So now ya know

[faroutfax]

Originally Posted by TrailBlazer

Maybe you could borrow one or find a used cheaper one for a while (when it is time).

There aren't many people in the area I could borrow from that I know of. But I can always ask around. Oh and I pick up any charper used wide saddles I can find. But no luck so far.

Originally Posted by TrailBlazer

Billy Cook saddles are fairly wide but I am not sure about that wide. Maybe after she sheds a few pounds.

I have a Billy Cook for one of my other mares. I tried it on her and it wasn't even close unfortunatly. I would have loved it if it fit though, I love that saddle.

[4hooves4me2]

Back on topic..

My hereford fits my Belgian - you might want to check out some of them.

I hope you find something that works for you.

[luvs2ride79]

Originally Posted by faroutfax

Sooo... -deep breath- like I said she is not normally this huge and once she gets comfortable she will be worked, but right now it would be down right cruelty to force her to excersize to loose weight.

Sounds like you've got her best interest at heart . Can you put her on a dry lot and restrict her food? I wouldn't be feeding her any grain at this point and only limited hay, 2% of her GOAL weight a day of grass hay or Timothy. Give her a supplment like Select II to make up for the lack of fortified feed. It's pelleted and she should readily eat it. Just mix it with 1 cup of feed or whole oats.

Anyhow, I still stand by my treeless recommendation. If you get one to fit her at her widest (healthy) weight, then you'll only need to change saddle pad shims or pommels (if the saddle has a removable pommel) when/if she changes shape again. Sensation saddles seem to work well for wide horses. Treefree saddles have changable pommels and you can order custom widths.

Good luck!

[faroutfax]

Originally Posted by luvs2ride79

Sounds like you've got her best interest at heart . Can you put her on a dry lot and restrict her food? I wouldn't be feeding her any grain at this point and only limited hay, 2% of her GOAL weight a day of grass hay or Timothy. Give her a supplment like Select II to make up for the lack of fortified feed. It's pelleted and she should readily eat it. Just mix it with 1 cup of feed or whole oats.

We have no access to a dry lot at the moment. The only option is really out in the field she is in right now (which is 25 acres of grass). She doesn't get any extra feed right now.

Originally Posted by luvs2ride79

Anyhow, I still stand by my treeless recommendation. If you get one to fit her at her widest (healthy) weight, then you'll only need to change saddle pad shims or pommels (if the saddle has a removable pommel) when/if she changes shape again. Sensation saddles seem to work well for wide horses. Treefree saddles have changable pommels and you can order custom widths.

Good luck!

I completely forgot to reply to your post, sorry about that. I've been mulling over treeless saddles for about a year now. But I'm just worried about heavy riders or long trail rides making her sore. How well do they do with rides like that? How about mounting and quick turns like in barrels or spooks

I'm very interested for my other mare too, who is also wide but not nearly as bad. We need a new barrel racing saddle, and preferably something that is light. I'd also like to be able to feel her movement abit more, especially since we are working alot on seat ques.


Oh and BW guys, sorry if I sounded agit upset in my last posts I'm just really frustrated at what the farrier did to her, you could imagine. She isn't the only one he made lame I'm not mad at you guys for trying to help


Also what about the new Wintec Wide? Does anyone have any experience with them? Can you use the normal wide plate in it (my other mare's width)? I could justify that purchase because I could use it on both girls

[luvs2ride79]

Originally Posted by faroutfax

We have no access to a dry lot at the moment. The only option is really out in the field she is in right now (which is 25 acres of grass). She doesn't get any extra feed right now.

Grazing muzzle maybe?

I completely forgot to reply to your post, sorry about that. I've been mulling over treeless saddles for about a year now. But I'm just worried about heavy riders or long trail rides making her sore. How well do they do with rides like that? How about mounting and quick turns like in barrels or spooks

I'm very interested for my other mare too, who is also wide but not nearly as bad. We need a new barrel racing saddle, and preferably something that is light. I'd also like to be able to feel her movement abit more, especially since we are working alot on seat ques.

I am a heavyweight rider, well over 200 lbs , and I LOVE my treeless saddle! I use a ThinLine pad under my Skito Pad. The combination gives lots of weight distribution and is non-slip. I also use a Mohair girth and an english or aussie style breastcollar for trail riding, which helps with stability up and down hills.

I have a friend who is also over the 200 lbs mark and she barrel races and games in her treeless. She LOVES it and feels very secure. Lots of endurance and long distance trail riders use treeless saddle successfully, and they are judged closely on the back health of the horse. A recent Tevis Cup winner (07 or 08?) was using a Freeform treeless saddle!

They don't work for every horse and rider, but when they do, they are pure heaven! I would recommend finding a good dealer to demo some saddles and pads before taking the leap into buying one. Be sure to communicate with your dealer for help on pads, shimming, girth choices, etc. Fitting a treeless is just as important as a treed saddle, but the beatuy is that you have much more adjustability with the saddle and pad(s).

I'd like at Sensation, Treefree, Barefoot, and Torsion saddles. These are two dealers I know personally. Both have a LOT of experience riding and fitting treeless saddles, and they have a good demo program.
http://kaarenjordan.com/
http://www.saddlingsolutions.com/TF.html

Here's a picture of my mare with her new saddle shortly after I got it. I changed the stirrups out to padded caged endurance stirrups. It's an Endurance Bob Marshall saddle. The Endurance saddle can work well for moderately wide horses, though the Bob Marshall trail or barrel pommel tends to not work well on wide horses. Mine is an 18", equivalent to a 17" western saddle.

[luvs2ride79]

I forgot to add, mounting can be an issue. I found a great trick with a lead rope to stabilize the saddle. Clip a lead rope to the breast collar ring or cinch ring on the right side of the saddle. Run the rope down the girth/cinch, then around the right front leg, then back up the saddle/right shoulder and over the withers. Back on the left side, hold the rope tight and some mane with your left hand. Use your right hand on the pommel or seat and bounce up into the saddle. The rope/mane hold will help keep your saddle from tipping toward you!

Some people can learn to mount treeless without any problems, but I am heavy, have bad knees, and never did mount gracefully even when I was thin, lol. So, I need the extra help of a ditch/stump/rock AND the lead rope trick, LOL!!