# Help - NW mountain straps sliding sideways



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

Hello,

I've bought the mountain straps quite some time ago but it took me until yesterday to use the set on one of our goats.

Seems I fitted them wrong. The padded part kept sliding sideways from the moving hindlegs and in the end the whole set slid down to one side of the goats back.

Tried shortening and also putting them up higher or lower - no use.

Any ideas what I need to change?


----------



## Bwana Ken (May 9, 2011)

Try them on a different goat?

I know that sounds like a smart-ass answer, but I'm actually serious. I have a NW saddle with the mountain straps and we first used it on our goat "Si" and it worked perfectly; no problems. The next day we put the saddle on a different goat (whose original saddle was slipping) and the pad would slide clear around to the side after walking just a short distance. No amount of adjusting fixed the problem. 

I don't know what else to tell you; it just seems that some goats are harder to fit saddles to than others.


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

thanks! Are these two goats different in conformation?


----------



## Bwana Ken (May 9, 2011)

Yes, they do have different conformation. The goat that is "hard to fit" is pretty big (tall, long-legged) and, I'm sorry to say, could stand to lose a little weight.

The goat that the mountain straps fit well on was slightly shorter and a little slimmer. Wish I could give a better assessment but the fact is I don't really know why that particular goat was so hard to fit a saddle to.


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

well, in my case, the goat on which the strap is sliding is tall and long-legged, as well. He's a narrow type but I think that maybe the longer stride - therefore more movement - could cause the padding to slide. Will test the straps with a smaller goat in the next days.


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

might have found the reason in this case but have to take a closer look today.

The straps that form the "V" on top of the goat's back are unequal in length and pull the whole strap system slightly to one side.


----------



## idahonancy (Dec 13, 2008)

I struggled with this on only one goat. He is slim and has tall square hips compared to my other 2 who's hip are round and slope down. I have not had time to get a picture for you but I use a small plastic device that slides over the 1 inch strap. This piece is called a "slide". It is often used to keep a loose end of strap in place or keep a plastic buckle secure. It worked great to keep the mountain strap from sliding to one side on this goat. Put in on the strap near the padding and it will stay in place


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

thanks for the idea. I will investigate why the "v" straps are unequal in length - have to take off the pocket pad and take a closer look, was too late (dark) yesterday) - and maybe adjusting the longer one will already solve the problem.


----------



## sanhestar (Dec 10, 2008)

so, took of the pocket pad and the mountain strap and measured the two straps that form the "V". One is about 2 mm shorter than the other. Not much difference but apparently enough to pull the whole system to the shorter side.

Will dust off my sewing machine!


----------

