I designed the CorrecTOR for the Rider who couldn't think of a
different saddle (as mentioned at the top of the page). When working on the English version I drew from years of experience
in riding, designing saddles and palpating horses to determine the ill effects of saddles on them. Some of this hands-on experience
came from Seminars I did in; Canada, Austria, Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico, and all over the U.S. including 3 Veterinary
Universities.
The English unit was
a challenge because the saddle tree area is much smaller than western, and the CorrecTOR itself would have to be
much smaller to be accepted by the riders. It also had to show little resistance to the saddle, so the rider wouldn't
lose contact with the horse. It had to stay in place by itself so a riding cloth could be used above it. Therefore
attachments to the saddle were not possible.
It had to stabilize the saddle, position it right behind the shoulder, eliminate the points of the head from
impinging upon the shoulder movement, and eliminate the efficient seat aids {via pain} designed in most English saddles,
the higher priced often being the most severe! This is a pretty tall order and I had put it off because I knew it. But
I had English customers requesting Correctors after the 1st ads on western appeared.
What
I came up with worked better than I had expected. It took a lot more work because I decided to mold each insert to the
shape of a horse where it was to set. I did this from a mold of a horses back that you see the corrector on in the photos.
It's a great all round back shape that I took from a horse years ago.
Putting the unit together was then a
challenge as well. It's very difficult to glue 2 molded plastic shields with compound curves in
front and 2 in the rear and keep all the vent holes in line over the slots cut into each . Just pressing down on one
of these shields when gluing to the 1/4" felt will flatten it, hurting its ability to function. When any one layer
touches another the poisition has to be perfect. It was fun and took a lot of technique in putting together. None of
this lends itself to simple mass production, but it works.
Now let's put the unit on the horse.
Put the CorrecTOR on the horse
first! Then the riding cloth or fleece Numna if you're using one, goes on top of the corrector.
Place the front of the corrector
over the horses shoulder a couple of inches. Next put the saddle on and leave the 4 holes on the upper front of the
Corrector/ ahead of your stuffed panel[ft. of saddle].
Tighten the billets on both sides of the saddle. If you need to keep your saddle forward, Tighten the reat billets
1 hole tighter in rear.
To keep it back , 1 hole tighter
in the front. The Corrector does such a good job of keeping the saddle off the shoulder, do not worry about tightening
the front billets tighter to hold the saddle back.
Now put your girth
3" or less from the elbow of your horse. This puts your girth on the fixed ribs where it should be. It will slide
to there later and loosen if you try to girth further back.
Leather, canvas, or neoprene, they all work fine. Just don't do your horse the disservice of ELASTIC
on the girth. Your horse will perform much better with a stable load. If you're girthed well forward [on the sternum]
he can breath just fine and perform better than with bouncy elastic.
When girthing English or Western, do not just pull up on the billet. stand on the near side, facing
the rear of the horse. With your left hand lean against him with all your weight Until he pushes back against you.
Now pull out and then up
on the billet with your right hand while pushing against him with your left. Do this quickly and use your shoulders for strength.
Finally thumb the tongue of the buckle thru with your left. It's not as hard to do as to explain. It'll stop chincy reactions
and it takes your horses mind off of holding his breath. He's not jerked or pinched and he doesn't mind being girthed tight
when done in this very humane manner. Did you ever stop to think of what catches your saddle from rolling? First the points
on the head of the tree and 2nd, the girth. these are major problems that affect your horses performance and behavior. The
CorrecTOR STABILIZES YOUR SADDLE SIDE SIDE, BUT YOU'RE THE ONE THAT HAS TO TIGHTEN IT. It doesn't have to be overly tight
while riding, because it will loosen after you get on. Elastic is not Good, it's always loose and the poor horse has
to deal with an unstable saddle under a shifting rider.
The head of
the tree no longer pinches the withers, but the girth can still hurt your horses behavior. From the Spanish Riding
school in Vienna to top dressage and endurance riders, I've worked with them all on the problem of girthing. Learn this
method, you'll be glad you did! The English CorrecTOR is really easy to use. I can't help looking at the whole picture.
Your horsemanship will improve much more quickly if you do too!
There are NO Returns or Refunds on the Corrector.
Not even Wal Mart allows such on used underwear, nor
do quality Saddlepad Manufacturers!
