shimming success?

Tried out Dorothy's fancy shimmed gaited-horse saddle pad today. It seemed so thin, I put a blanket under it. The saddle definitely sat on Butch's back better, more filled in front and flatter in back:

I took Butch on a 4-mile ride down in the riverbed, up and down as many banks as I could find, with lots of trotting and a bit of loping. He was very comfortable and went downhill every time with no hesitation or rush. Not once did he offer to buck. Halleluia!! Might have finally found the saddle-fit solution. And he was not as stressed as yesterday, so though the ride was longer, didn't come back quite as wet. Not to say he wasn't sweaty. I took these pics when we got back to study the sweat pattern of the saddle:

Although it was much easier to see after he rolled!

Then Butch got a bath. First time I have ever used shampoo on him. Big mistake! I think he is allergic! He loved his bath until I added the Mane & Tail; in an instant he was pie-eyed, dancing around, trying to shake the soap off. After rinsing it off I walked him round and round to dry before the sun went down. He kept tossing his head and shaking his coat while we walked. Put him in the round pen while I mucked his pen. He immediately went down and rolled back and forth, jumped up, started bucking, dropped & rolled, up & bucked, rolled, bucked... about two dozen times. In between he shook his ears and rubbed them on the rails like they itched. Finally settled down, and I was relieved to see him peacefully eating and drinking in his pen later.

Talked to Dorothy about her pad. She wisely suggested I keep it and try it for a couple weeks before deciding if I want it - noting that it sometimes take a few weeks of daily riding to really guage fit. At least now I'm okay with riding my good mule in this saddle, confident that he's reasonably at ease in it.