Adjustable saddle or made to measure saddle for young horse?

[Meadow21]

Which do people consider better for a young horse? Mine is 4 and still growing and filling out. I have seen plenty of nice, lightweight adjustable saddles which can be completely changed if she changes? Or is it better to go strait for a fitted/made to measure saddle? She will eventually have a made to measure saddle I am just hesitant to spend over £1500 on a saddle which may become unusable? Or am I just being paranoid?

 

[teddy_]

Personally, I'd not recommend a M2M saddle for a four year old. My last horse was still changing shape at the age of seven. Not saying that's the case across the board, but definitely within the realms of possibility.

I use a Bates Caprilli GP (older style) on my youngsters as they're neutral saddles IMO and, seem to work well with larger shoulders. I use this with a Nuumed saddle cloth and a sheepskin / memory foam pad. Horses for courses though in terms of which adjustable you choose .

 

[hock]

I wouldn’t buy new for a youngster I don’t think. I’m having a second hand WOW saddle fitted to a youngster of mine but only because I’ve genuinely found a really good saddle fitter. I guess that sums it all all up for me really, it’s about the saddle fitter more than the saddle. (They all have their go to favourites).

 

[sbloom]

Adjustable headplate means so little, the tree and panel have to fit, and only the width of the front arch can be changed. The choice isn't just between those and new/M2M (and good ones can be way more than £1500), go second hand leather, wooden treed with a recommended fitter. And bear in mind if the tree isn't wide enough, and often if it's not flat enough, then padding/shimming isn't going to sort it either, though with the right saddle it is something I use quite often for young horses.

 

[ihatework]

To be honest I’d never buy a MTM again unless I had a seriously tricky horse to fit.

For a young horse, good quality secondhand leather saddle, fitted a fraction wide and padded to balance. So much on the market in the 4-500 bracket and you shouldnt loose too much when time to sell on.

 

[paddi22]

second hand one fitted and flocked correctly. pick it up cheap and sell on.. or most times I keep for times when horse might lose muscle down the line (like after a long break or injury)

 

[awelshandawarmblood]

I have my 4 year old in a second hand adjustable Fairfax original jump so I can change the gullets.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I would get a made to measure one yet chances are it won't fit next year, I went through 4 different saddles from the age of 4 to 9 he just got bigger and wider, the adjustable saddles don't suit all horses just because the gullet can go wider as sbloom has said.

I would get a good recommended fitter and source a suitable second hand saddle for now, and I would get it checked regularly as they change shape so much when they are young.

 

[Wheels]

second hand one fitted and flocked correctly. pick it up cheap and sell on.. or most times I keep for times when horse might lose muscle down the line (like after a long break or injury)

This pretty much. Good quality 2nd hand and use the knowledge that you may need to change it very regularly over a period of a few years or you may get away with flocking changes depending on the horse!

Sell on, buy another good quality 2nd hand, rinse and repeat until the horse is at least 8 yrs old, then you might be lucky and have one that can have a permanent saddle after that

 

[iknowmyvalue]

I would always go for an adjustable gullet nowadays. You might still find you have to change the saddle down the line, as sbloom says it’s not just that part which has to fit, but you might be lucky and not have to! My horse has had the same saddle since he was a youngster, and only ever needed the gullet changing and the occasional bit of shimming.

 

[mariew]

To be honest I’d never buy a MTM again unless I had a seriously tricky horse to fit./QUOTE]

Me neither. Just because they are m2m doesn't mean they will for. And they will be difficult to sell on and likely have a big drop in value. (Can you tell I basically threw 2k away on a shocker of a m2m).

A young horse will change loads so I would go for a well fitted saddle but avoid paying loads and buy a recognised brand in black as it's much easier to sell on once you need to change again.

 

[sbloom]

I would always go for an adjustable gullet nowadays. You might still find you have to change the saddle down the line, as sbloom says it’s not just that part which has to fit, but you might be lucky and not have to! My horse has had the same saddle since he was a youngster, and only ever needed the gullet changing and the occasional bit of shimming.

You just can't say you'd always go for a changeable headplate, especially as a recommendation to others, there will be some horses they just don't work for, then you have rider build and comfort....

 

[Annagain]

I'd go for a decent second hand saddle and a really good fitter who will come out regularly. My 6-7yr old went up three saddle widths in 5 months. Luckily my saddle fitter could adjust the width of my saddle using a press as the rest of it still fitted well.

 

[sbloom]

I'd go for a decent second hand saddle and a really good fitter who will come out regularly. My 6-7yr old went up three saddle widths in 5 months. Luckily my saddle fitter could adjust the width of my saddle using a press as the rest of it still fitted well.

3 widths isn't recommended for a wooden tree (if that's what it was), glad it worked okay for you though . For a previously unadjusted saddle 2 widths is usually okay, 1 width narrower, but at 2 widths more horses than not would need a different shaped tree/panel or both.

 

[Annagain]

3 widths isn't recommended for a wooden tree (if that's what it was), glad it worked okay for you though . For a previously unadjusted saddle 2 widths is usually okay, 1 width narrower, but at 2 widths more horses than not would need a different shaped tree/panel or both.

It had previously gone down one when it went from Archie to Charlie so I suppose it went to two more than original. It had never been adjusted before that. The saddler sold me the saddle for Archie 15 years before and knew everything about it so was happy to do it. After he adjusted it, I asked if he'd gone up one width or two and he said "closer to three" so it may have been 2.5ish!