Stylised diagram showing the ‘ideal shape’
. It looks as if the wedge should be the other way around, with the thinner edge against the
gullet space, but this shape will cause the material over the gullet to tighten up and lift
away from the donkey’s back once the pack saddle is turned over and in place.
As you work your way back up the bars, take the time to make sure that you have no
bumps or hollows as you can’t sort these out later, it has to be done as you go. Every bump
or hollow will cause a pressure point, which may lead to sores on your donkey. We need to
provide a platform that will spread the weight of the cargo over as wide an area as possible
and as evenly as possible.
One of our harness team making his
first pack saddle. He is concentrating
on filling the space a little too much,
and is getting a sausage shape. He
did manage to correct this by
beating and working in more layers
of straw above the original, but it’s
better to try and get the shape right
as you go. This takes practice and
time.
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