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DubbelDun schreef:Overigens is mij niet duidelijk geworden of dit zadel nu wel of geen boom heeft??
DubbelDun schreef:Maar heeft Parelli wederom het wiel uitgevonden ??
Er zijn er al veel die hem zijn voorgegaan in het 'uitvinden' van een pad die je met shims op kon vullen al naar gelang dat nodig is.
Mijn OF van dik 10 jaar oud heeft dit nl al.
Citaat:Theraflex Saddle Pad
The Theraflex® Pad is a self inflating, auto-balancing pad that:
Evenly distributes the weight of the entire saddle tree
Improves saddle fit
Alleviates pressure points
Provides anti-slip performance
Protects the horses back
Allows the horses back to flex and move more freely
Allows the skin to breathe, and COOLS the horse through evaporative process.
Insures No pressure on the spine or its ligaments
Improves air flow and release of heat
Allows right and left balance for the rider
Improves the feel of riding by facilitating close contact
Improves the horses comfort and performance
This revolutionary non-slip, custom fit pad is designed to work with most English and Western saddles. The baffled air cells (through micro-porous filters) inside allow the pad to fill gaps that occur between the horses back and the saddle, providing optimum weight distribution and eliminating pressure points. The Theraflex Pad slowly reshapes as the horse goes from standing to moving thereby continuing to create a perfect interface between the moving back and the static saddle.
There are 5 basic Theraflex Pad shapes:
English Traditional
Parelli English Fluidity
Western Traditional
Small Parelli Fusion (which can also be used under small Western saddles)
Large Parelli Fusion.(for Fusion sizes Medium and Large)
The Theraflex Pad has performed well under treeless saddles to improve comfort for the horse and the rider, however it slightly increases weight distribution and creates a gullet.
The Theraflex Pad is constructed of a high tech bonded felt which is breathable and has an anti-slip property to it. The air cells fit inside Velcro pockets with the valves are exposed at the front for easy access. The Theraflex air cells are a revolutionary design, bringing the famous ThermaRest® technology into a saddle pad for maximum comfort and protection of the horses back. Just like the famous ThermaRest camping mattress, the air cells eliminate pressure points and distribute pressure evenly. The air cells inflate automatically when the valves are open and there is no pressure on the pad (no pump is necessary).
DIRECTIONS: Please read from beginning to end so you are properly educated about the use of the pad.
The first few times you use your Theraflex Pad, its worth taking the time it takes to get familiar with it and to learn how to place it under your saddle. Pretty soon it will become second nature to you.
(See also the section on Shims which help correct problems such as downhill saddle positions, hollow backs, etc.)
Make sure the air cells are inflated and the VALVES are OPEN (when you receive your pad, and when you store it.
When you open the valves, they draw air into the pad automatically. This is also how you should store your Theraflex Pad, with the valves open so it is ready for use next time.
CLOSE the VALVES and put the pad on your horse. Place it a little forward so you can slide it back and keep the hair flat underneath. Position the pad just behind the scapula cap (shoulder blades).
The reason you close the valves is so that you can control how much air comes out of the pad as you saddle your horse. This controlled release of air is how you tailor the fit of the saddle for your particular horse.
3. Place the saddle on top of the pad and center it from front to back and left to right.
The saddle should sit in the middle of the pad, not too much out in front nor out the back& just right. The space down the middle of the pad should be in line with the horses spine and with the gullet of the saddle& you want everything equal and straight. Make sure that the valves are not under the front of the saddle. This will damage the valves and press into the horse. (Alan says that it will not damage the valves, but it is very uncomfortable for the horse.)
4. Using the front strap, pull the pad high up into the gullet of the saddle so the valves are touching and even in height.
As you ride, the pad will settle and widen at the front to find its perfect place.
5. Cinch / girth up as usual. We recommend three stages of tightening the cinch / girth mainly for the horses comfort and acceptance.
Not only is this more respectful of the horses comfort, it allows you to release air from the Theraflex Pad before the final adjustment.
6. After the second cinching, open the valves all the way until the air stops coming out. This should not take more than 5 seconds). for 3 5 seconds and release the built up pressure from the air cells. NOW, CLOSE THE VALVES. Then tighten the cinch for the third time.
The Theraflex Pad should now have the ideal amount of air in the air cells to interface between the horses back and the saddle. In the case of lightweight saddles, press down on the CENTER of the saddle to be sure that the air is equalized and to avoid too much left in. During the release of air, make sure your horse is standing quietly and straight rather than crooked. This will make sure that the pad interfaces properly with the saddle at rest.
Note: some horses could spook at the soft hissing sound of the air releasing, in which case you may want to simulate the sound and desensitize him beforehand. See Troubleshooting for more info.
7. IMPORTANT: Play with your horse on the ground before mounting up to make sure he becomes familiar with the new feel of the pad.
Whenever you change something on a horse, Make No Assumptions& thats an important Parelli principle. This pad may have a different feel from the pad your horse is used to, and some horses dont do well when things change& at first. Take some time to play with your horse on the ground at all gaits and even jump him over a little log. If he goes to buck, ignore it and keep focused on getting him to do what you asked. Within a minute or so the horse is usually fine and settled. See Troubleshooting for more info.
8. Mount up and enjoy the ride! (Note: see the Troubleshooting section about too much air or too little air in the pad)
9. After you are mounted, and the horse is standing square while you sit squarely, if one side feels high, equalize by opening the high side valve slightly to release a quick burst of air.
10. Keep your pad clean & store it with the valves open.
Do not allow sweat and hair to build up or the pads anti-slip effect will diminish. Simply wipe off sweat and hair after each ride with a damp cloth. Open the valves and hang the Theraflex Pad by the front strap, or place it upside down over the top of your saddle or on its own rack. Leaving the valves open makes sure the pad keeps its shape and its automatically ready for your next ride.
(Letitia / Laura we should put in a photo from Alans research on how the pad relieves pressure points from a saddle. There should also be photos for every step and for English, Western and Fusion saddle)
CLEANING & CARE
(Insert care instructions starting at #3, put #1 & 2 at the end this means the order of the numbers change but there are still 5 points.)
Troubleshooting
Your horse reacts negatively to pad the first time
Some horses are very sensitive and emotionally have trouble with changes of any kind. In rare cases this horse may buck when feeling the Theraflex Pad for the first time. This is why its important to play with your horse on the ground before riding (savvy Parelli students do this every time before they ride!) and to persist until the horse is no longer bothered. In most cases this only takes a minute or two, sometimes even less but how you handle it is important:
Instead of just sending him in circles, focus on asking your horse to do something such as Squeeze Games over jumps or transitions while on the circle, etc.
You need to have an attitude of Get busy, you have things to do! This focuses the horse mentally and quickly calms them down emotionally. (eliminate the speaking)speaking.
Its common for people to worry and retract their leadership when the horse is having some trouble, but thats when they are looking to you for reassurance. If you act like nothings different, theyll settle quickly. If you make it an issue, theyll get worse.
If for any reason your horse has an extreme reaction, turn the horse loose in a safe place and give him time to work it out. Make sure your stirrups cannot get caught on anything or tie them up.
Horse might spook at hissing sound of air releasing
Prior and Proper Preparation Prevents& you know what. Again, a very sensitive, reactionary horse may be startled by the sound of the air coming out of the valves. Before taking the pad to the horse, use desensitizing techniques such as making a soft hissing sound while moving around your horse, stopping and starting it to mimic the sound it makes from the pad. Get to where you can drape your arm over your horses back and make the sound. Once he pays no attention, you can confidently introduce the pad.
Pad slips down / back / forward / goes crooked
There are a few things that can cause this:
Your girth / cinch is too lose so the pad floats around underneath the saddle instead of sitting securely between horse and saddle. You dont want to overtighten the cinch, but dont have it loose either.
A rider who drives with their seat can cause the saddle or the pad (or both) to slide forward. This is valuable feedback for improving riding technique. Horses dont like it when you drive with your seat as it causes them to hollow their back in defense. Have a quiet seat and ride with Fluidity.
A rider who braces in their stirrups can sometimes cause the pad to slip backwards. Once again this is valuable feedback as bracing in the stirrups causes a horse to put more weight on its forehand. The riders seat should bear the most weight with feet resting in the stirrups, not bracing.
When the pad goes crooked, this can tell you about crookedness or tension in the horse or the rider. Again, it is interesting feedback and will change as horses and riders discover more harmony and better skills. Slight crookedness in the pad is not an issue, but major displacements will require you to re-saddle. Check also that you have the pad positioned symmetrically when you first saddle.
(Note: A crooked pad is not usually caused by uneven muscling because the air dissipates to even that out, however the uneven muscling is usually caused by crookedness in the horses posture.)
It might have too much hair build-up or dirt on it.
With a double cinch saddle, the front cinch is set forward, so make certain that the back cinch is tight enough to equalize pressure.
Too much air in the pad
This will make you feel like youre riding on a bubble. You cant feel the horse and may even feel a little unstable.
Let some air out in one or two very short bursts and it will feel a little softer and more connected to the horse.
Be careful not to let too much air out or the pad will not perform.
Too little air in the pad
This makes the pad dysfunctional as the air will not have enough effect. The Theraflex Pad actually does not need a lot of air in order to work, but it does need some air! If you have let too much air out by accident, simply start again. You can accelate this, if the horse is not cinched , by blowing into the valves to reinflate the air cells.
Rub marks / ruffled hair on the horse
This is a sign of disharmony between horse and rider. Friction is caused when the rider is stiff and prevents the saddle from moving with the horse. Sometimes the location of the ruffled hair can provide valuable feedback& if the horse is rubbed on one or both sides of the shoulder area, it tells the rider about stiffness in one or both of their shoulders. If the horse is rubbed at the back of the saddle or pad area, it can tell you about stiffness in hips or heels.
In a hollow backed horse, its important to make sure the saddle isnt sitting down so low that the pad now runs into the horses hip. This can also happen if over-shimming in front and putting the saddle out of balance and on too steep and angle. See diagram. The saddle and pad should never interfere with a horses shape and sometimes ground work with cavalettis or Hill Therapy is necessary to redevelop muscles on the horses topline before riding again. A weak topline is a weak back and compromises the horses comfort and health when ridden.
(See articles on&. At& Parelli.com, etc.)
Dry spots
A dry spot can tell you about no pressure or too much pressure. When the whole back is sweaty and an area is completely dry there are three things to consider:
There is no contact with the horses skin at all, as is the case down the spine of the pad.
There is excessive weight being exerted from the saddle on this area. It is common to see dry spots on the shoulder area which tells you that the saddle is riding in a downhill position, too low at the front. This is most likely to happen on a horse with a downhill posture and when the rider leans forward or braces in their stirrups thus putting even more weight on the front. The solution is to use shims to compensate for the lack of structure and muscling in the horses shoulder and upper ribcage area, to give clearance for the shoulders and shift the weight off the forehand.
The horse is using his back differently, for the better, and pushing his muscles up into the pad. In this case, the dry spots are temporary and usually disappear after two or three rides. If it doesnt, you need to address your shimming pattern and perhaps even your riding patterns such as bracing in the stirrups or riding up forward on your seat bones.
While dry spots have to be addressed to determine the cause and alleviate it, they are not painful to the horse in the way a saddle is that restricts the use of its back.
Poorly muscled toplines are so common in the ridden horse because the saddle is not designed to fit a horse in motion, it is shaped to the horses back when at rest. At this time the muscles are flat and the back is down. As soon as the horse moves he will naturally try to lift his ribcage and withers, but when the saddle prevents this he will alter his posture, keep his back dropped down and adjust his way of moving to avoid pinching, discomfort and even pain.
A poorly muscled back should be of great concern to the rider as it indicates major saddle problems and will lead to soreness in the back, lameness and eventual breakdown.
Note: Dry spots can lead to white marks if not addressed.
White marks
There are two types of white marks that can occur on a horse& white flecks of hair and solid white-colored scars.
The white hairs are usually temporary and are evident on soft tissue areas, such as the area behind the shoulders. They usually do not cause any pain, but are evidence of too much weight on the front of the saddle which puts weight on the horses forehand. This is damaging to the horses front legs.
White scars occur on the shoulder blade itself and may be seen in one part or on the entire range of movement of the shoulder blade. The cause is pressure from the saddle where the skin is pinched between the bone of the shoulder blade and the saddle. These scars are usually permanent and are caused by a saddle that presses onto the shoulders because it is too narrow or downhill.
For information on how how to rectify a downhill or narrow saddle using the Theraflex Pad and TheraShims, see info on Shims.
Note: Dry spots can be the early warning signs of pressure that may cause white spots.
Skin Indentations
After a ride you may see indented patterns on your horses skin in the shape of the air cells or the outer rim of the pad itself. This is nothing more than what happens to your skin from the elastic in your underwear or if your shirt is crinkled under your belt, and you are more likely to see it in well padded horses!