Attachment of the Velcro Saddle Panels

 

 

Below video is in German 

 

Attachment of the Velcro saddle panels for HIDALGO leather tree saddles

 

-Minimum contact surface of the saddle Spinal channel width: approx. 8-10 cm / approx. 4 fingers (depends on the horse's back) It is best to start at the back and then adjust the front second

 -V-shaped towards the front--as wide as you need to clear withers and make deepest part of seat level with the ground---never more narrow than 8-10 cm at the back gullet. 

Your HIDALGO leather tree saddle does NOT have a gullet bar . The front chamber is completely flexible and will quickly adapt to the horse's back with use.

The saddle is secured by means of the correct Velcro fastening of the saddle panels, in the case of not optimally muscled horses with the possible attachment of small wedge pads between the saddle and the saddle panel or the use of suitable pads / saddle pads (e.g. lambskin saddle pads with 4 chambers and felt or latex filling or Grandeur saddle pads, which are now accurate made to measure for your HIDALGO saddle) adapted to the back of your horse. We also recommend pads from Equitex!

IMPORTANT: A leather tree saddle must first adapt to the back of your horse! In most cases it has to be broken in a bit to fit perfectly. A good comparison is the dying of leather shoes, boots.

Of course, from the start it must not be on the withers or be too long.

The leather becomes a little softer (but the leather tree will never lose its shape or sit through, as the saddle has got its stability / shape through seams and a shaping element in the area of ​​the stirrup suspension) and adapts to the shape of your horse's back. The seat settles down a bit and adapts to the rider, as does the leg position.

There must always be freedom at the withers, you should be able to reach in between with your fingers, even when the horse lifts its head and weighs the rider. The saddle must not rest on the withers or spine!

Basic rules:
The further apart, the deeper the saddle comes (e.g. for wide horses with flat withers)

 The further forward together (please keep the minimum distance, the withers must not be squeezed), the higher the saddle will be in front (e.g. for horses with more withers)

If the saddle is still too tight in the area of ​​the withers despite the closer Velcro fastenings in the front area, the following options are available: Raising by attaching the small wedge cushions (longer side closes with the saddle at the front, wedge cushion becomes narrower towards the middle of the saddle), Raising with a suitable pad or saddle pad with inserts, higher cushions at the front (e.g. 6-5-4 cm, standard cushions are 4-4-4 for front-center-back)

The focus may initially be a bit too far back. However, this balances out after a very short time. Please do not forget that it is a flexible leather tree. Usually you will notice immediately after mounting if the center of gravity is wrong.

In some models, the saddle is initially a little more over the horse. After about 20 rides, the saddle has clearly settled and adjusted.

With most saddles, you sit very close to the horse from the start

You can place the panels further in front or in the back (e.g. with short horses or panels behind the shoulder), so you can always adapt your Hidalgo individually to the respective horse.

You determine the length of the panel individually and the thickness (front-center-back)

A saddle that has already been adapted / ridden in can very well be adapted to another