Albion saddle fit question - jumping v dressage

GinaGem

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I have a albion legend 5000 xc saddle on Prince at the moment which fits fab and he's goes lovely in however it's not ideal for dressage so i've decided to get a dressage saddle. I've seen an albion legend dressage saddle on ebay that is the same width as his jumping saddle. Would i be right or wrong to presume that it would offer a similar fit? Obviously would get it fitted by my saddler but don't want to waste time and money buying a saddle that def won't fit but equally i might be able to find a bargain and i like my current legend a lot!

Also could be a bumb question but can Albions be widened? I've taken the sizing of mine from whats stamped on it so need to make sure that is the actual width before i go buying another!

Thanks
 
From my experience no they are not the same.

I have a Albion jumping saddle which I adore, but I've lost count of the amount of SLK's (fitted by proper fiters etc) I have had, which all ultimatly damaged the horses back (and my YO has had the same experience). I will never have another albion dressage saddle.
 
Ditto the post above. I have a lovely Albion Dual Kontrol xc saddle which fits loads of horses and is very comfortable. I've tried lots of different Albion dressage saddles, mostly second hand, and found the fit to be hugely different. There are so many variations of saddle in the Albion range that I guess you can't expect them all to fit a horse even if the same size. I've never really liked their dressage saddles but it's a matter of opinion.

If it helps, I have an Ideal Crown Suzannah which fits both my horses, who also fit the Albion XC, so maybe this would be a closer match. The Ideal dressage range is IMO better.
 
Thanks to you both. Guess i 'll have to wait and see what the saddler brings with him then - if the snow ever goes!!! I used to have an Ideal Jessica on my old horse which i loved - maybe one of those would fit, although not sure if they are in my budget.
 
Hi Gina. I have to opposite problem to you.
I have an Albion K2 wide dressage saddle and am looking for a jump/xc saddle.
I assumed that any wide fit Albion would fit but now you've got me worried!!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi Gina. I have to opposite problem to you.
I have an Albion K2 wide dressage saddle and am looking for a jump/xc saddle.
I assumed that any wide fit Albion would fit but now you've got me worried!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

oops - sorry!
 
I loved the SLK and have had a number of albion dressage saddles - but they are VERY different in terms of fit and style. I very sadly had to sell my SLK when I bought my current horse as the panels were too broad for him - yet had fitte my mare who looked narrower on her back perfectly. Ended up with a bespoke dressage but had the same problem with my much loved jumping saddle - and this time, my saddler recommended not going down the bespoke route but we ended up with a K2 jumping saddle. To be honest I didn't have the greatest choice in what actually fitted! and that is after my saddler went off trundling to go and find me a variety of choices. My horse is a wide with a big shoulder and quite flat backed. But transpose that and he is a middleweight ISH who should be really easy to fit! to date, every saddle I have ever liked "on the ground" has been a complete no no once I was on board...!
 
i have a MW Albion Style dressage saddle which is a bit wide for my boy (it was my old horse's). Saddler came out and basically said only Albions or something similar with a cut back pommel would fit him so I bought a Medium with TB tree Albion K2 jump saddle off ebay and it fits perfect - saddler checked it and didn't need to make any adjustments. Now looking for a Medium Albion dressage saddle.
 
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