Dry saddle spot, pics incuded!

[PASOFAN]

So here it is, chico is now 7yrs, saddle is gettin to small now. I am going to be riding him in another from now on. Look what I found when I took the saddle off this past weekend trail ride..

http://www.2hottotrot.com/data/500/DRY_SPOT_ON_CHICO.JPG

See the dry spot? Cant miss it, the funny thing is I dont know why but look at the opisite side:

http://www.2hottotrot.com/data/500/OPISITE_SIDE_NO_DRY_SPOT.JPG

So WHY does the dry spot show up on one side but not the other?

Do you think a thicker pad, or thinner pad might change this? I LOVE the saddle and hate that it is doing this to him, but I wanna see if I can make it work again.. The pad I am using is a nice air ride pad...

What do you guys think??

[GeorgeGuns]

There are a couple of reasons.
You may be sitting more heavily on that side, and while your weight may be back, it still gets transferred to the whole saddle.
His ribs may be more on the right than the left. This would make the saddle fit better on the right side as the ribs fill in that side better
His shoulders may be uneven - a well fitting saddle will help free up the shoulder that is more rolled and even out all that.
I'd have a saddle fitter examine him before getting a new one, you may need some shims no matter what saddle you get.
Hope this helps!

[TrueStepPaso]

Ditto, Coreen.....


Did you inspect the saddle to see if its a bit "deformed" in that area? Does it stick out?
Don't go with a thicker pad....that will just make it worse by putting more pressure between his and that particular spot.
You definetely want to remedy this problem as best you can, because this will affect him eventually....

Good Luck!!

[appyday]

Yep thats a pic of a dry saddle spot lol

[PASOFAN]

Thanks for the advice, I hope to try my columbian saddle on him and see if that fits better.

Yeah, that big dry spot was my dead give away that it wasnt working, his gait is trotty too so I sure gotta get this changed now..

[cowboy ed]

one dry spot like that doesnt necessarily mean you have a saddle fit problem.
what kind of saddle are you using? how long did he wear it prior to taking this picture? got any pics of him with the saddle on?

[PASOFAN]

It is a synethetic abetta trail saddle. Rode for about 2hrs before I took that pic..

Rode in the grasslands 1hr w/the same issues and same spot..

I use a air ride pad...

I will dig some pics of the saddle on him for ya Ed!

[cowboy ed]

when you say, "...the same issues", what do you mean?

[PASOFAN]

Same issue I mean the dry spot. I have pics of me on him...

http://www.2hottotrot.com/data/500/ND_RIDE_CHICO_PRETTY.JPG

He isnt cinchy at all, but when I rub on the dry spot after a ride, he gets agitated and moves off...

I put the saddle back a full hand from his leg for the girth... Still does this.. I thought I had the saddle up to far but I still got a dry spot...

[hast]

Try changing pad. When I attended a seminar by the vet school in Gainesville, they did NOT like air pads or gel pads because often they didn't distribute the weight properly. Good old wool or sheepskin were their preference. (I use an English sheepskin pad under my saddle with McClellan tree and my saddle with a questionable fit, now fits perfectly.)