Western or English Theraflex air cells

Our latest research indicates that Foam shims are preferable to Felt shims as the main “lifter” to keep saddle pressure off the shoulders. Felt shims are still effective for Uphill horses, however. We recommend you experiment with both and see what feels best.

Copyright 2011 Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc. and Natural Horseman Saddles,LLC

Without HOLLOW

Though our saddles are built wide and angled beautifully to give a horse’s big shoulders room to move freely, you might think they feel “tight” when you try to put your hand underneath the front if you do not have at least one shim under there. This is because the saddle will “fall down” in front without your “managing” that extra space by lifting the saddle just a bit. It’s a wonderful system. Don’t be hesitant to experiment with the placement of the shim. Always test with your hand reached under the pad as he is walking forward (you walk backward, and you may need someone’s help leading your horse). You should be able to feel all the way back to the stirrup bar, and tell that the shoulders are moving well, without too much pressure on them. .

Illustrations are intended to indicate shim position INSIDE the pad ‘s shim pocket. Shims should be placed as shown, ON TOP of the air cells in Theraflex pads as well as on top of the SmartFoam inserts in our Smart Pads. Shim position and placement would be relatively the same for other pads, but our research has indicated clearly that Smart Pads and Theraflex yield best overall results. Smart Pads may be easier to use and more “forgiving”.

BASIC Shim Patterns for UPHILL or Level HORSES

Parelli Saddle Fit Education PAGE 7

ALTERNATIVE Foam shims can offer more “lift” in front. Make sure the thin tapered

part is toward the top/rear, (so shim puts no pressure at the top of the shoulder nor back muscles) and the thick part is toward the front, fairly

low and set back in the pad pocket.

WITHERS are HIGHER than or LEVEL with croup, with NO HOLLOW nor Muscle Atrophy evident in this case. HOWEVER: we still recommend at least 1 shim to make certain there is no saddle pressure on moving shoulder.

For WESTERN or CRUISER Saddles For ENGLISH SaddlesNote: We usually place shoulder shim in a relatively horizontal position when horse’s shoulders are round in shape. If they are more

A-frame shaped (steeply angled off the spine), you may want to place a FELT shim in a vertical position if horizontal foam shim is not satisfactory...but horizontal foam shims work well in Smart Pad.

Vertical position

only works with felt shims:

Note: We have found that Foam shims are often more satisfactory than Felt ones when using the SMART PAD. However, If horse’s

shoulders are very broad,

you mayfind that a single

felt shimis sufficient

for lifting pressure off

the shoulder.

For UPHILL horses, it is important to set the shim behind the scapula’s max backswing point, to

keep pressure off the working shoulder.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The shimming patterns we recommend are designed to work effectively with PARELLI SADDLES, which are constructed specifically to fit the horse in motion. Parelli saddle shapes have ROOM built in to accommodate pad/shim interface that is truly effective and supremely comfortable for the horse. More than a decade of research and careful observations of what is necessary to enable a horse to be happy has reinforced our conviction that this is important. We cannot guarantee that shimming non-Parelli saddles can be as effective. In fact, shimming under a saddle that has “rock” in the tree’s bars (center of the saddle’s underside curves downward to fit the horse’s back when it’s “down” while he is standing at rest) may add too much pressure in the center back area.

FELT shims cannot be tapered, so be certain that they don’t add pressure where you don’t want it. Note the scoop/curve in the felt shim is designed to leave room for the scapula, so it needs to face forward as shown when in vertical position.

ALTERNATIVES: (Feel free to EXPERIMENT! You AND your horse will benefit!)

Note: if your horse is extremely atrophied along the spine, you may also need a shim at the back (see illustration at

lower left) until muscle re-develops, to make sure that there is no pressure point near the back of the saddle.

It may be necessary to add another Felt shoulder shim to lift front of saddle for sake of your Balance Point access.

ALWAYS check this by reaching back under the saddle as you ride along. It should not feel uncomfortably tight.

Also: Shifting the foam center shim toward the back a bit further might relieve such pressure without adding another

shim. Copyright 2012 Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc. and Natural Horseman Saddles,LLC

For ENGLISH Saddles

Note: above illustration is of our SMART PAD. Below, some alternative suggestions on our THERAFLEX pad’s air cells. Both pads have sensational technological, dynamic and therapeutic features/benefits. We recommend the Smart Pad for long rides, trail/endurance, and high-torque performance sports. You can adjust shim position through front access opening without

unsaddling! Read more about the 2 pads on our website.

Our latest research indicates that Foam shims are often preferable to Felt shims the main “shoulder-area lifter” and “center fill” for atrophy along spine. Felt shims can still be effective in combination with foam ones, but less helpful by themselves in most cases.

Experimentif you think

there is room for

improvement!

Try shifting shims forward or back until it feels

just right!

For WESTERN or CRUISER Saddles

If you do not want so much “lift” in front, (or, if your horse’s center back area is not sunken as far as in the photo at left)experiment

with using thick or thin FELT shims. EXPERIMENTING with different combinations will

help you observe & compare what your horseis feeling and telling you.

Note: For very high withered horses, take special care to shim so that the pommel of the saddle does not make contact with the horse’s wither nor spine. For instance: if you put a high-spined horse in our SuperWide Natural Performer before his muscles develop, this could be an issue. We would recommend adding an extra pad temporarily and

checkingwith your

fingers under the front of the

saddle after mounting.

Note: Cruiser saddle model

has high wither clearance.

Positioning the shims set back from the front of the pad pocket

provides more room for the shoulder to operate.

Illustrations are intended to indicate shim position INSIDE the pad ‘s shim pocket. Shims should be placed as shown, ON TOP of the air cells in Theraf-lex pads as well as on top of the SmartFoam inserts in our Smart Pads. Shim position and placement would be relatively the same for other pads, but our research has indicated clearly that Smart Pads and Theraflex yield best overall results. Smart Pads may be easier to use and more “forgiving”.

BASIC Shim Patterns for UPHILL HORSES with High Wither :

Parelli Saddle Fit Education PAGE 6

WITHERS are HIGHER than or LEVEL with croup, but slight HOLLOW and noticeable atrophy should be filled in by shims until Trapezius and Longissimus Dorsi muscles re-build.

or LEVEL

When any horse has a low-center area along the back, it must be filled enough to offer soft support that keeps good connection with the saddle. This encourages pushing up/rounding up under/into the saddle, and you’ll feel that the hindquarters can get deeper underneath and be more powerful. We recom-mend adding a shoulder shim on top and staggered forward to lift all saddle pressure off the shoulder area. We’ve built lots of room un-derneath Parelli saddles so that the shoulders and back muscles can have space to move and develop. Shims help keep that space cushioned properly. Keep them clear of scapula swing.

For WESTERN or CRUISER Saddles For ENGLISH Saddles

ALTERNATIVE: (Feel free to EXPERIMENT! You AND your horse will benefit!) If “Downhill” posture is severe, a second shoulder shim might

help tremendously (Felt or Foam). If you need to add it, you may put it inside OR outside the pad pocket...staggered in

front of the other shoulder shim. If “Hollow” is severe, consider using another center shim (Felt or Foam). Note: experiment with

shifting center shim more toward back or front, and notice what gets best result.

WITHERS are LOWER than croup in this example, so saddle will need lifting out of center sag PLUS lifted in front.

Copyright 2011 Parelli Natural Horsemanship, Inc. and Natural Horseman Saddles,LLC

Illustrations are intended to indicate shim position INSIDE the pad pocket. Shims should be placed as shown, ON TOP of the air cells in Theraflex pads. If you wish to use other types of saddle pads, shim position and placement would be relatively the same, for best effectiveness.

Note: we usually place shoulder shim in a horizontal position when horse’s shoulders are round in shape. If they are more A-frame shaped (steeply angled off the spine), you may want to place the shim in vertically. Vertical

positioning:

We have learned that it is essential that the saddle be lifted up out of a hol-lowed center back area of a horse. The comfortably cushioned support that our tapered foam center shim offers will encourage him to lift up/round up/tuck his belly...and the saddle will have less of a tendency to rub at the back. Of course, if the withers are lower than the croup, one or more “Downhill” shoulder shim patterns should be added...and we like some sort of shim at the shoulder whether the horse is uphill or downhill. If the center hollow is VERY deep, you may need to add another center shim.

Note: Cruiser pads have an “English” shape, but contain Western size air cells, as Cruisers are made on our Western tree.

BASIC Shim Patterns for HOLLOW HORSES: Downhill, Level or Uphill

Parelli Saddle Fit Education PAGE 9

For Western AND English, we like to

position the shim not all the way forward

in the air cell pocket, as shown. This gives more room for the

shoulder to operate.

Note: in alternative example at left, Foam center shim is shifted forward, and can help lift front of saddle a bit, too. Add shoulder shim if necessary to help in “Downhill” cases..

Note: For very high withered horses, take special care to shim so that the pommel of the saddle does not make contact with the horse’s wither nor spine. For instance: if you put a high-spined horse in our SuperWide Natural Performer before his muscles develop, this could be an issue. We suggest adding an extra pad temporarily and checking with your fingers under the front of the saddle after mounting to make sure underside of pommel’s center is not touching the wither.

Also note: When angling the shoulder shim for Western,

it is ok for the little “fin” to protrude above the pad pocket.

“Hill Therapy” and Cavaletti would help strengthen/lift his back, too.