The Power of The ProtecTOR with a Stylish Saddle Design.
It all begins with an idea.
The COWBOY DRESSAGE saddle shown is a 16" seat size and only weighs 22 lbs. At 25" long it is shorter than a barrel saddle. The old time Chuck Shepard fork was widened to an 7.5" gullet. It comes with a Special ProtecTOR pad which is a 30"/32" that measures 30" at the top front to rear.
The 3 point rigging slots, you see below the BAREBACK CUT-OUT IN THE SKIRT, allow you to adjust where the saddle rides on your horse. The latigo is attached in the front slot, insert the last wrap of your latigo in the front slot to hold your saddle back. Put it in the rear slot to pull it forward. Use all 3 on the round back & it's in the super-glue mode. It's close contact, no big steel bars or plates & Dees. It's 2 layers of Light Skirting with Rawhide in between them. Close and no bumps with a nylon latigo or lighter leather.
The 1st ever BAREBACK CUT SKIRT. Soft ElK SKINTHE ELK IS ON THE SHEEPSKIN LINING, SKIRT IS CUT UP TO BARS ABOVE! YOUR THIGH FEELS YOUR HORSE!
The Western ProTecTOR has four 1/10" thick Aircraft Interior Plastic horse shape shields. Making the protective SHIELDS of the ProTecTOR is the most difficult task. The 4 protective shields have 112 linear inches of slots. Some are cut parallel others Tapered.
Then each of the 4 individual shields are molded, by hand, to the general horse shape they're designed to sit on. The slots are not just for Ventilation, but to let the protective shields move better with the horse. When the horse's shoulders bend the front shields upward, the shields act as a flexible lever to hold the saddle off the shoulders. That's how they keep your saddle positioned and eliminate interference with the shoulder and body movement. The tree bars hold the back 2/3rds of the front shields down to the horse & in front of the saddle.
The ProTecTOR & Saddle are working with AND against each other. OPPOSING FORCES, a basic of how one keeps the other positioned -- all initiated by the ULTIMATE FORCE TO BE OPPOSED=PRESSURE---from the front of the bars. Einstein elaborated on the theory of "Opposing Forces" ... it's used throughout your own body as well as that of the horse to maintain stability during movement and integrity of the muscular-skeletal system!
There are 42 holes and 38 slots in a Western ProTecTOR and 2 extra for English.
The 112"of air-filled slots in all four shields (not completely seen) are ventilated by the top layer of Nylon Netting. The Reiner & Roper models do not have the Netting but a layer of 1/8" Polyester felt on top of the shields. There is a 1/4" layer of soft polyester felt under the Protective shields. and an 1/8" thick Wool felt outer layer.
THERE IS LITTLE OR NO BREATHING IN ANY PAD, ONLY HEAT TRANSFER CAPABILITIES. That's why the ProTecTOR Pad has an Elliptical cut 1 & 1/2" WIDE down the top center. It's also cutback in front & forward in rear. It is cooler for the horse, is cut to move with him, and why it doesn't work to put a one-piece pad underneath it