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Angie
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 539
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, Jul 2, 2006 - 12:39 pm: |   |
Looking for feedback on the Corrector Saddle Pad, developed and sold by Len Brown, the guy who helped develop the Ortho Flex saddles. (he's not with the company anymore)
Claims to help any saddle fit better, with the addition of shims where needed. Looks to be a really simple thin pad. Pretty expensive and he does not accept returns.
Many positive testimonials on his website. He answers emails promptly and encourages phone calls. |
Aimee
Member
Username: Sumnera
Post Number: 20
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, Jul 2, 2006 - 8:14 pm: | |
Hi:
I purchased the Corrector pad a couple of months ago. I had been having ongoing problems with saddle fit with my new horse. I even bought a new saddle that was custom fitted and she was still getting dry spots. I've tried almost every saddle pad on the market with no improvement. I saw the ad for the Corrector in Trail Rider magazine and decided to give it a try.
I'm thrilled to tell you that my saddle fitting problems are gone. We no longer have dry spots and the white hairs that my mare was developing are almost completely gone. A second benefit to the Corrector is how much better your horse moves while wearing it. My horse was much more relaxed and moved more fluidly the first time I put it on.
My husband just tried it on his horse and was so impressed with how much better his horse moved at the trot and canter that he's ordered a Corrector for himself.
Of course, this is just our experience with the Corrector and I can't say it would be the same for your particular situation. In my opinion, the Corrector works and is well worth the $160 price tag. Hope you find this helpful!
Aimee |
ilona armoni
Member
Username: Ilona
Post Number: 186
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Jul 2, 2006 - 9:27 pm: | |
Aimee,
I'm so glad to hear that as I must have seen the same advertisement and didn't know whether it was worth trying out. You have convinced me as I don't yet have enough treeless saddles to go around when we go out in a group and I am so invested in happy horses that I am concerned for their discomfort, one in particular who has a very high withers and a sway back, she came that way. I use equipedic and skito pads but Rosa just never looks quite as happy as I suspect she should. I will order one and give feed back. She is a Peruvian Paso and their shoulder freedom and saddle cut-back and fit is most important for a good gait, not to mention being comfortable herself. |
Angie
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 542
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 8:07 am: | |
I ride with a treeless saddle also, BM sport by Circle Y. Len used to really go on about how bad they were on his website, and how much you really, REALLY, needed his pad if you used one of them saddles. He don't do that anymore, maybe the saddle makers got on him?
Aimee,
Can you pretty easily move the shims around? I am getting the impression that they just velcro to the pad? I have a sway backed horse, with one shoulder higher than the other, hoping it works for her.
Also have a gelding that needs some padding in the hollows behind the shoulders as the treeless is getting close to his spine at the withers.
I am not clear as to how this pad helps, having used it yourself, can you describe what you see it doing, how it's made?
Ilona,
What kind of treeless are you riding in? I have considered the skito pads also.
I love my treeless, my horses seem to also, but it is a little long on 2 of my horses. I plan on calling Len next week as he is willing to answer questions on the phone.
Thanks for posting. |
ilona armoni
Member
Username: Ilona
Post Number: 191
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 10:38 am: | |
Angie,
I'm not sure what you are referring to as a'a little long'. If you clarify I will be happy to give my input.
I have a Bob marshall endurance deluxe. I used to have the standard endurance which is a little shorter in the back. Combined with the Skito pad it is like riding on a cloud. I recently used the equi-pedic as my original tack with skito pad was stolen  but I remembered how different the ride was on the skito. I recently re-purchased the skito, and I was correct, it is a much superior ride. They added some stuff for me as Takumba is very high withered, and my fiancee can top 210lbs. He sometimes rides Takumba (he has to beg!) I know the people who make the skito pad are so helpful I am sure they would adjust it for you. The saddle and pad I use on all our horses and it is by far their happiest tack. |
Dove2
Member
Username: Dove2
Post Number: 36
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 11:13 am: | |
I just purchased a new western saddle because I was very concerned about the fit of my last saddle. It turns out I see a large dry spot on either side of the withers, larger on the right than on the near side. I was just planning to get a riser pad (ValleyVet carries one). Is this something the Skito or Corrector pad would better correct? Would one of these pads be better than the other for filling in this unmuscled area? (My Paint horse is 4 years old and I expect he'll eventually get more muscling there, but don't want any problems till then. BTW, his withers aren't necessarily high, but he is short-backed.) Also, if the Corrector Pad is thin, will it provide enough cushioning under a western saddle? I, too, have been most interested in Skito and The Corrector. |
Holly Wood
Member
Username: Hwood
Post Number: 1280
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 11:43 am: | |
Where is the rise in a "riser pad," Dove2?
If the rise is in the back, it will probably only serve to drive the front of the tree deeper and harder into the withers and will increase the pressure problem. I find that a pad that lifts in the middle would be better for relieving wither pressure. |
Dove2
Member
Username: Dove2
Post Number: 37
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 12:54 pm: | |
The Riser Pad is a smallish pad (synthetic felt) which you can put anywhere under the saddle. (go to ValleyVet.com and enter Riser Pad) I thought I'd try it at the base of the withers, where the hollow of the shoulders are, or a little behind that. I already have been using a built-up pad (more padding in the shoulder area) to get the saddle to sit level, and thought that would be enough to eliminate any pressure points. If I got a riser pad, I'd eliminate the built up pad and just use a regular pad. I really like the Clinton Anderson pad, that has hollowed out areas for where the bars points go, but the pad is too long for my horse. What kind of a pad lifts in the middle, Holly? |
Angie
Member
Username: Ajudson1
Post Number: 543
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 12:59 pm: | |
Ilona,
I'll try to get a picture up later this week, that would be best. Busy with long weekend plans right now, and it's raining...not great picture taking weather.
My saddle is 26" long, and my farrier said it was too long on my Arab. I have been looking at pictures of BM saddles on websites, usually of endurance riders, and the saddle length looks the same on some.
What I thought was happening was the saddle was affecting her withers, thus the bump. (Know that I know more, I think the bump may be from mounting all those years without a mounting block)
She was acting up in the treeless saddle, so I bought an used Wintec, the Aussie style. She was worse in that!!! That saddle is 22" long I believe, so I figure it's digging in her back behind the saddle.
At any rate, using the treeless, I put some foam under the saddle, where her back is lower, and she is back to being happy. I am though concerned about any problems with the saddle length, and am also saddle shopping.
I have a 4 year old who I have been an a few times, bucks up a storm with the treeless, but likes the Aussie. She is also shorter in the back. I don't like how the Aussie fits her though, I think it is too wide for her, and just plain looks silly on her.
Dove2,
If you mean the pad that is like 2 parts of felt joined by nylon straps, I would pass on that, and get a better saddle pad. Right now I am leaning toward the corrector because you can shim it up as needed. I found the riser pad to be too much, and created more problems. Don't know about the Skito pad....
A lady I spoke to with Smith Brothers, the western sister company of Dove Saddlery, said that the wool backed SMX, Professional Choice, pads are what most endurance riders of the western style treeless use, and they make a pad with extra padding in the hollow behind the shoulder there. (I know you didn't say you had a treeless, but that was our discussion) May be another option for you, and cheaper than the other 2. But then again you are limited as your horse changes shape.
Ah, the pain, the agony, the choices!!! I sometimes want to just wave a magic wand, problem solved!!!! |
Holly Wood
Member
Username: Hwood
Post Number: 1283
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 1:18 pm: | |
Ahh, Dove . . . I don't know . . . I have searched for a pad that will raise the middle of the back just behind the withers, but usually, I can find "built up" pads that have extra padding OVER the withers or extra padding under the BACK of the saddle . . . either way, it seems that one increases the pressure on the withers by just stuffing more padding into the gullet in the front, and one tips the saddle more forward and causes the tree to dig into the shoulders more. If you have a horse with TB withers and well muscled shoulders and then a hollow behind the shoulder, then I haven't found a pad to relieve the pressure of digging into the shoulders. A narrower gullet, to keep the saddle off the spine at the withers will just pinch the shoulders, and a wider gullet that won't pinch the shoulders, will just fall on the high withers. I have tried to improvise with a folded blanket over a fleece pad to fill up the hollow behind the shoulders and make contact with the bottom of the saddle so it won't bridge, but I find that the folded edges of the blanket leave marks through the pad onto the horse's back after a long ride, and I imagine that might be rather uncomfortable . . . sort of like a wrinkle in a sock. Maybe the Corrector Pad will fix this kind of problem? I haven't heard of the pad before, but if it solves problems like this, then to me, it is worth the expense. |
ilona armoni
Member
Username: Ilona
Post Number: 193
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 1:26 pm: | |
Dove2,
you may want to go to their website. I know you can call Len and ask him all the questions you have. He is knowledgeable and helpful.
The Corrector pad is a completely different technology than the skito pad. They both serve independant functions (I think).
www.thecorrector.net/
There are several Bob marshall saddles to choose from, they are not all the same length. |
Aimee
Member
Username: Sumnera
Post Number: 21
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Monday, Jul 3, 2006 - 5:47 pm: | |
Hi Angie:
I posted once before, but it disappeared so if this appears twice, I apologize.
Yes, you can move the shims around very easily. I have a horse with one shoulder larger than the other so I am able to shim just the one side. I would recommend purchasing one of his envelope pads or socks to hold the shims in place. I went with the sock because it was cheaper.
The pad is made up of some type of very thin plastic sandwiched between felt. The plastic has holes in it for breathability. It acts like a treeless saddle in that it flexes with the horses movement. This allows their shoulders to move freely and also removes pressure points.
Hope this helps.
Aimee |
winger
Member
Username: winger
Post Number: 39
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, Mar 16, 2008 - 6:32 pm: | |
I also have the corrector pad but the only problem is the more shimming in the front and back the bigger bridge you get in the middle and the more pressure you get on the shoulders and loins.. |
Sarah Blanchard
Member
Username: sarahb47
Post Number: 24
Registered: 4-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Mar 17, 2008 - 2:26 am: | |
We're using a corrector pad on an older QH mare with a fairly severe swayback. Can't use a treeless as it sort of folds up in the middle. I've adjusted the shims a couple of times as her muscling has improved with work and good nutrition. Shims are held in by velcro and can be moved, but do that carefully so you're not creating an overlapping effect that would create new pressure points.
We're now using the corrector under a Thinline western pad, with a felt pad over the Thinline. Seems a bit much to layer 3 pads but it works for this mare. If you don't build up with the corrector, the weaver synthetic saddle bridges badly. The thinline does a nice job of reducing concussion, and the felt pad just ...looks more appropriately western, and adds enough padding to bring her back up to something moderately level. Fitting the horse with lordosis is tough, but this is a great lesson and trail mare, and well worth it.
Sarah |
