First EDIX impression pad tests!!!
The facts... - These are both on the Tiamo kid's saddle. - Both with kids around 50 lbs on Ciara. - Both are walk, sitting trot, posting trot and half seat walk and trot for approximately 30 minutes. - Both using a merino western 8 pocket pad in the appropriate size for the saddle.
The first picture shows the results of the impression pad between the saddle and the saddle pad. I like to do this to give us an idea of how well the saddle being tested performs by itself. It also illustrates why shimming for saddle balance is SO important. The first picture shows hot spots (the area where the playdough was pushed all the way out) under the pommel. This makes sense because Ciara is slightly downhill. That puts disproportionate weight on the front of the saddle. If you're not shimming to your horse's conformation, these are the types of pressure points that your horse is experiencing.
The second picture shows the impression pad results from between Ciara's back and the saddle pad. So, this impression shows how the saddle and saddle pad (shimmed appropriately to address her downhill conformation) are working together. That's a pretty good impression! I, personally, want to see as even of pressure as possible all down the length of the panels of the saddle and inlays of the pad. This shows that weight is being distributed to as large of an area as possible, minimizing psi (pounds per square inch) as much as possible to keep the horse's back protected and healthy.
More impression pad test results to come! As well as my much delayed post about why the heck I'm doing all these impression pad tests
I am using Christina Cross' impression pads. You can find them at https://www.facebook.com/CassySadddleImpressionPads/
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