Adjustable saddles

Kat

Kat

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Asking for a friend who isn't on here, I have been using solution saddles for years now so I'm not very up to speed on saddles!

How adjustable are adjustable saddles? Can you pretty much buy one and get it fitted and be reasonably confident that it will be possible to fit that saddle to the horse or is it more like traditional saddles where you need to get the fitter to tell you what will suit first?

It would be good to be able to source something second-hand online and get it fitted as good saddle fitters don't seem to carry the range of reasonably priced second hand saddles that some of the less reputable one do!! Also they have nothing to use on the horse in the meantime so they don't want to be waiting for an appointment, then searching for the recommended saddle, then getting the fitter out again to fit it.

It is for a youngster so they don't want to spend a fortune on something that won't fit in six months, so hoping that the adjustment would mean that it would fit in the long term.

Any recommendations for brands to look out for or avoid? They are looking for a GP to do a bit of everything in.

Budget is tight or they would get a solution as they love mine!
 
Yu need to have the right shape tree for that horse, so I would recommend a saddler to fit initially. After that you can usually alter the headplate width yourself, but be aware that with a youngster the back profile may well change so there's no guarantee the saddle will continue to fit.
 
Definitely need a saddler to start, or you might end up buying twice. E.g. Bates and Kent and Masters are different shapes and tend to suit different horses. Even within brands there are many different models that work better for different body shapes. Most of my saddles are of the above two brands, bought second-hand, but for all horses I started with the opinion of the saddle fitter and then called him back to fit the things - change gullet, adjust flocking, change girthing systems, etc.
 
Nari said:
Yu need to have the right shape tree for that horse, so I would recommend a saddler to fit initially. After that you can usually alter the headplate width yourself, but be aware that with a youngster the back profile may well change so there's no guarantee the saddle will continue to fit.
Click to expand...

Especially because, as you change the gullet plate, the tree becomes more curved.
 
Ah right, sounds as though things haven't moved on since I last looked at treed saddles then. Was hoping there might be something more adjustable and therefore more "universal" by now....
 
If the tree is the right shape it will last a while with changes - and then will suddenly not fit at all!!!

I gave up years ago and bought a Torsion, but now I am back in the treed saddle ‘game’ for new horses/ponies and hating it!
 
After having a bit of a moan on here about my WOW saddle a few weeks ago it's been adjusted and both pony and I are happy. Pony has celebrated by developing an abscess in case this means she has to do some work.

I'm sure WOW don't suit every horse or budget but the modular type system is very useful for those that change shape (ie turn into a hippo)
 
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