Advice for saddles for a young horse

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Lottie83

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Hi,
Our boy will be four in August, and we currently have a bates saddle with changeable gullet and cair. Hes gone really flat across his back and no withers and we are having trouble with his saddle. We know he'll keep changing shape, but his saddle just seems quite rocky on him.
We were wondering whether to invest in a treeless saddle for a while until he gets a bit of shape as I've heard good reports about these, and we were thinking at least it would mould to him a bit more?

Anyone got any advice? thank u!
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Dolls has just gone barrel-like too, I'm hoping she'll get some withers again.

I would suggest going for a 2nd hand wide cob style saddle from a proper fitter/ saddler........I also need to take my own advice too, rather than just dishing it out!!
 
Wintec/bates saddle are just too banana-treed for flat backs. Shame, cos they're comfy!

I'd be more inclined to go for a cheap Thorowgood saddle until you buy a final Grown Up saddle for him. Well designed and cheap. You could get one fitted by a saddler then by the required size off ebay for peanuts (do check it's not twisted and the flocks good though).

Thing with treeless is that the cheap ones are crap and the expensive ones are expensive! Only way to make it financially viable is to by a decent, more expensive one secondhand (again, try ebay) and resell it later. If you buy a well know make, it'll keep it's value.

Would also be worth looking at Saddle company saddles. Like any saddle, they can't fit all horses, but they're fairly cheap (second hand off ebay for £250!), keep their 2nd hand value, width is adjusatable and unlike wintecs, the tree is a better design (in fact, it's a Thorowgood tree)
 
Thanks for your advice guys! Out of interest I tried a treeless saddle (heather Moffat one) that my friends got this morning just to see what it was like. I went in the school and he bucked in canter, think he just got a bit excited, but it slipped right round and I so nearly fell off. My girth was tight too, he was so good, just stopped for me and waited for me to sort myself out!!

I'll look in to other makes until he changes shape again!
 
Do bear in mind the HM saddles have to be fitted, just like a normal saddle. You can't just get on and ride, unless you're lucky. Needs shimming and padding up etc. And that, despite what some say, they don't fit or suit all horses. I tried fhoneix on my mare and it was a terrible fit.

Oh, and they should always be used with a non-slip pad. If they fit/are fitted they don't slide at all. I rode my friends pony in the fhoniex and depsite him being completely flat and round, with a non-slip it didn't budge an inch.

Do have a look at other brands though, but I'd streer clear of the cheaper ones like the chenneye. I've seen one in real life and it was literally a leather covered felt pad (about an inch thick) with a pommel and cantle stuck on. Might as well by a donkey pad. Why not have a look at the freeforms/fitforms - they're much more structured.
 
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