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Post by DorothyB on Oct 19, 2015 12:16:02 GMT -5
I have been using the Skito pad for a few months now. The white hairs on his side went away. Mostly going well, but on two longer rides, Shiloh stopped towards the end and kept looking at his sides. The first time, this was so unusual for him that I actually dismounted, loosened the girth and led him for a bit. This last weekend, I had another endurance intro ride. This is the first one I've ever had that actually had two loops. I went planning to use the skito pad for the 10 mile loop and the equipedic for the 5 mile loop. However as I was grooming prior to tacking up, I realized that Shiloh now has a small sprinkling of white hairs again - but this time they are where my legs go between this back bone and the widest part of his sides. So, I did the first loop (which turned out to be 15 miles) in the Equipedic and the 5 mile loop in the skito pad. I guess I will try beveling the edges of the Equipedic pad. Tips on how to do that, please? I really, really love my LJ and don't want to change to a heavier saddle and deal w/ saddle fit, etc, etc. Thanks!
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Post by Idaho Linda on Oct 19, 2015 13:11:45 GMT -5
You bevel foam with an electric carving knife.
You may need to add a center shim to your Skito. I did that to Fuerza's. Caall or email Tom and ask for suggestions. Chances are that for the longer distances you need to spread out the weight-dispersing properties of the foam.
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Post by DorothyB on Oct 20, 2015 18:39:58 GMT -5
Now if I just had an electric carving knife . . .
I'll try calling Tom next week - I have a lot I'm supposed to finish this week.
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Post by Mary Ann on Oct 21, 2015 18:57:54 GMT -5
Dorothy, remember that horses have two haircoats per year, and are activated by increasing or decreasing light levels. They begin to grow the next one around the winter solstice (Dec 21) and the summer solstice (June 21). Shedding is pretty easy to see when the winter one gets pushed out a couple of months later in the spring, but observant people find short hairs shed out in August, too.
You can have minor damage in one coat but not the other. I've seen horses who come in to the show season with a clear coat; but when the season wears on, the white hairs appear, and will take on the length of their winter coat. I've also seen the reverse too, but not as often. The damage that's revealed by the white hairs is already months old because they keep a haircoat for about six months before releasing it for the next.
If you see white hairs again when his winter coat sheds out next spring, don't worry; it's likely old damage. Sometimes it returns seasonally for many years.
If you still wish to bevel your Equipedic, you can probably find an electric knife cheap at your neighborhood thrift store. Be judicious; too thick is like a sock in a tight shoe. But taking away too much can actually backfire and leave that area with less protection.
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Post by DorothyB on Oct 22, 2015 15:00:54 GMT -5
I'm confused . . . The white hairs that I saw back in May? matched the horizontal lines where the two pads are on the sides of the Equipedic. Those hairs disappeared - so maybe the June shedding. I was thrilled that they went away The new ones match where my legs go down his sides, so thinking those are the Skito since I switched to that a few months ago. But if the damage is already months old then it wouldn't be from the Skito? Do the actual existing hairs change color or do new hairs come in white? The good news is that I'm riding a LOT more. We did 15 miles at 4.2 mph last Saturday, then had a break of less than three hours and finished with 5 more miles at 4.1 mph. As we came in from the 5 miles, the photographer was taking pictures. Many choose to do a short trot for the photo op. Shiloh had enough left that I told him to not be crazy and gave a teensy smooch - and got a nice brisk canter that lasted until I asked him to stop. We could easily have done the last 5 miles at closer to 4.5 mph - except the rider was tired and sore We were actually over 5 mph the first 6 or 7 miles of the first loop - until I realized that we had gotten off trail and would be doing a lot more than 10 miles, so slowed him down. In 10 days is an 11 mile ride for me & Shiloh on Sunday. I'm taking Lucky also, so keet & I may ride Lucky & Shiloh around camp some on Friday or Saturday. Keet did 50 miles last Saturday on Holly and they will do 25 miles each day Sat & Sun while Shiloh and I have fun.
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Post by Idaho Linda on Oct 22, 2015 18:21:52 GMT -5
Dorothy, don't think too hard. The white hairs will probably go away with the next shedding. Are those lines horizontal white hairs right where your leg crosses the edge of the pad? If so, you have a sharp edge there and you need to bevel it a little. You wouldn't think that the edges of memory foam would cause pressure, but you have already seen that it can.
Alternating between pads could be beneficial. You are just doing a whole lot of miles in equipment that doesn't spread your weight out over a larger area. That is one of the basic arguments of treed vs treeless. The treed saddles--especially western--spread the weight out over a much wider area. But, if the tree doesn't fit properly, the pressure ends up getting concentrated somewhere--usually the ends of the tree. There is no perfect solution. Bevel the foam where there is pressure. You don't have to bevel it out to a thin wedge, just make sure you cut the sharp edge off. You don't want any 90 degree edges where there is going to be any pressure.
If you aren't riding much--like most folks--nothing matters too much. The saddles don't really have to fit. The blankets can be poor quality. The girth/cinches can be made of most anything. But, when you start putting in the kind of miles that you are doing or decide to take off and ride your horse across the United States, all those little things become a problem. It is just like your own shoes. I am sure you have some that are alright to wear for a few hours--say dress shoes. But there is no way you would want to take off on a 20 mile hike in them--or even two miles, for that matter. Saddle fit is a continuously changing task. Horses gain weight, gain fitness, lose weight, lose fitness... It is enough to make you pull your hair out. Just remember, THERE IS NO PERFECT SOLUTION. This is always going to be a work in progress because you care. When you notice something isn't working, you are going to change it.
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Post by ride4fun on Oct 22, 2015 23:16:51 GMT -5
Dorothy you may need to create something that acts like a saddle skirt to go between the LJ and your pad (either equipedic or skito) (or try a supracor pad, which also somewhat resists bending and spreads the weight beyond just cushioning any sharp pressure points.) With supracor you may want to use a liner pad like the pad the came with the LJ
If you think about a traditional western saddle the skirts spread the weight so that the tree doesn't concentrate pressure in too small of an area, and the tree supports the saddle seat.
One of Dad's hunting buddy couples was talking saddle fit fixes one year. They had old saddles they loved that were not working for horse comfort so her husband make some plastic panels attached to their pads and that did the trick. He did a lot of fabrication of various kinds as a working retirement to supplement his firefighters pension so he had an advantage in figuring out how to do that, but if your Skito is like mine it has pockets for the foam inserts so one could cut panels out of some kind of plastic storage tote in the shape of the memory foam inserts and try that as a treeless "saddle skirt"
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Post by Idaho Linda on Oct 23, 2015 12:19:46 GMT -5
I agree--you have to spread the weight/pressure points out more to handle the mileage/time you are riding. Beveling helps, but it also reduces the padding. And the "how" involves experimenting. I put another layer of center shim in the LJ I use on Fuerza which really stiffened up the pad and spread the weight better. You might find something that works better in your situation. I assume you are doing a lot of posting--that is a lot of pressure over just a tiny place with the LJ. This is the great thing about envelope pads. You can put whatever you need in there.
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