Maybe I Finally Got the Shims Right with Bingo

This week I finally came to the realization that, at least on horses with the croup high &/or sway back conformation, the key to getting my new Pegasus Butterfly saddle working correctly, is to shim my pad correctly.  I also established that when I made my stirrup leathers uneven (to reflect that my right leg is shorter than my left leg), my seat stays centered in the saddle without much extra work on my part.

Last Sunday I tried putting the 1/8” Pegasus shim in the center of my Back on Track/ThinLine Contender II saddle pad when I rode Cider.  The good part was that the saddle did not shift as much; the not so great part was that Cider did not move as well as I wanted her to.  Shannon had to use a girth extender on my 46” mohair string girth so it would reach the billet straps; it is amazing that two 1/8” shims, one on each side, can require a 2” longer girth!  Tomorrow, if it does not rain, it will not matter because my 48” string girth finally came.  I do not get the impression that the horses like the feeling of the girth extenders against their bodies, especially when the girth buckle ends up below the bottom saddle flap.  Anything that feels odd to a horse can and will affect how they move, and for Cider, using a girth extender seems to be enough to provoke minor resistances.  Shannon did say that I stayed centered in the saddle a lot better.

On Wednesday, as I tacked up for my lesson, I took a good look at the bottom of Bingo’s sway back.  Since it was to the rear of the saddle, I decided to slide the 1/8” shim so its rear edge was in the same place as the rear edge of the ThinLine shims, maybe ¾” further back in the pocket, instead of on the center of the ThinLine shims.  This made all the difference in the world!

Debbie tightened the girth up before I mounted.  Every other ride in this saddle I ended up HAVING TO tighten the girth by one or two holes after several minutes in the saddle.  Wednesday I did not even feel the need to tighten the girth again, the saddle was moving a little bit but not enough to irritate Bingo with a tighter girth.  The saddle, right after I mounted, did shift to the left a little bit, but once I centered it again the saddle stayed centered.  Before, after every turn, in place or the more gradual turns around the jumps, my saddle had shifted to the left.  It was very nice not to have to re-center my saddle constantly during my ride!  The saddle did not feel like it was “perched” on his back like it did when the 1/8” shim was right in the center of the pad.

Bingo was not that willing to extend his walk, but he did stride forth better.  The biggest difference was when I asked him to do his super slow walk.  Before I found it hard to get Bingo to go as slow as I wanted him to, and I constantly had to adjust his stride with my legs and my hands.  This time he experimented, found a slow speed of the walk he was comfortable with, and I did not have to use my aids to stay at that speed.  After a little bit I asked Bingo to go just a little bit slower and he promptly obeyed me, and he continued at the lower speed without me using my aids much.  At first I had to use my leg aids a little bit while he figured out I wanted him to go slower instead of halt, but after that he walked really slow until I asked him to go faster, on the straight and through the turns.

Debbie hardly yelled at me about my position throughout my lesson, a big change from my lessons since I got my Pegasus saddle.  She only got after me about my right lower leg once, and once I got my right foot forward an inch she was happy with my legs.  She was happy with my hands throughout most of my ride once I got my left hand down a little bit.  The most amazing thing was that Debbie said that my stirrups looked even, and this was with my left half-hole leather on hole #10 and my right leather on hole #13.  I was amazed.  My legs still did not feel completely even, but not enough to shorten or lengthen a leather a half inch.

Probably the best thing resulting from moving the 1/8” shim further back was that when I sat in the saddle I could get my seat-bones FORWARD, over the strongest part of Bingo’s back instead of them sliding back and down to the weakest part of Bingo’s back.  This made my seat more secure as my seat stayed over my feet.  I did not have to hitch myself forward to get into two-point and my seat did not slide to the rear when I sat down into the saddle.  This has been a problem for me in all the other saddles I’ve been riding in, like my Crosby saddles and my Stubben Siegfried.  I REALLY appreciate not having a pommel arch on this saddle, in all the other saddles my pubic bone would run into the pommel when I went into two-point and I would have to hoist myself up in order not to end up with my pubic bone rubbing against the pommel.  In the Pegasus Butterfly saddle, correctly shimmed, I just have to roll my seat forward and I am in two-point without any other movement of my body.  When I put my seat bones back into the saddle, they immediately settle in the right place in the saddle’s seat and I no longer slide back.

I was elated after my lesson.  Even though not everything may be perfect for Bingo, he seems a lot more comfortable now.  I am sure I will have to fiddle with the shims in the future, especially when Bingo finally builds up his back muscles, but for right now I am finally feeling secure in my new saddle!  Now I can get back to concentrating on riding Bingo to the best of my ability instead of constantly getting the saddle centered correctly on his back.  I can relax and RIDE.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran