Kieffer Lech Profi with plastic panel top, on 17 yr old Thoroughbred gelding

When I first evaluated this horse, I found a "divot" in the muscle on his back, about halfway down where the saddle would sit, on both sides. This can by typical of an ex-racer who wore a half tree, but owner says she thinks the horse never even went into race training. A divot can also be caused by a pressure point such as a large lump in flocking, or a cracked tree. It's unusual to see matching divots on both sides, unless caused by a half tree or other poor design.

The divots were a little large for old half-tree marks. Also the horse was noticeably tender there, as if the cause was recent.

The saddle did not have lumps in the flocking, the tree was sound, and there was no visible reason for the divots. Then I took it back to my workshop and opened it up. Click on any picture or link to see a large-sized image.

The top of the panel, in the back, is a plastic plate.
Outline of the plastic plate, for clarity.

The front of the plastic plate comes to a point.
Showing how the plastic plate lifts and moves separately from the leather.
This plate will interfere with the movement of the saddle; the panels will not flex and move uniformly front to back, but instead will flex at the middle, precisely like a cracked tree.

Here is the bare panel sitting on the horse, for comparison.
The front of the plastic plate sits just over the "divot" in his muscle.

Plastic plate removed from the panel
Check out the delightful rivet backs under the D-ring;
These will cause another pressure point in the panel.

The most suitable leather I had on hand happened to be blue.
It best matched the temper and thickness of the existing panel leather.
I made several notations in chalk to allow precise centering of the stitching.

Preparing to stitch the panels on. 		Stitching in place.

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