Why might I need a correction Numnah?

When Fitting Remedial Horses a Mattes Saddle Correction System is sometimes required, this is in those cases when muscle atrophy is so extreme that there is just “No Muscle on the Horse’s Back to Support The Saddle”.

We often see cases of atrophy as we often visit people who have had issues with badly fitting saddles, please see our blog post Remedial Horse Help which is also available for more information . 

Correction Numnahs are not usually required but in cases where a saddle has been constantly sitting on one side the muscle can become extremely uneven and we can shimm one side to replace the muscle in the area where it has been lostr which will keep the saddle level while the back recovers . The shimms can then be removed once muscle has returned.

Again if ponies are fitted in saddles that are too narrow, shifting the riders weight to the back of the saddle there can often be extreme wastage at the back of the saddle, I’m sure you have seen little show ponies who look as if someone has taken ” an ice cream scoop” to their backs at the rear of the saddle . These ponies sometimes need a correction system with rear shimms in order to keep the saddle balanced. Shimms are placed in the rear of the numnah, again to replace the lost muscle .

Correction numnahs can also be very helpful if your horse changes shape a lot as they can assist in refitting if a horse has dropped weight for some reason and you are expecting them to bulk back up, rather than changing the saddle or in cases where horses have lost weight they can be used so you can continue riding until your saddle fitter can come and make adjustments . The drop test can be used to accurately assess how many Shimms you need. Drop test your saddle and if it drops more than 1/2 a finger insert Shimms into the pad until the drop is 1/4 of a finger. This video shows how to drop test and you are welcome to contact us to help you.