Albion saddle help

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lara b

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Hi All

Would love to buy a dressage saddle and wanted to get the same make as he currently has Albion K2. However his saddle is stamped a 17.5 wide and measures approx 11 inches D to D, but the Albion dressage Wides seem to come up 8 inches d to d? Is that because they are dressage saddles so different shape around the 'd' area? Very confused as seems that 11 inches is more than a standard wide??

Anyone with any advice or an Albion saddle that they can measure? Thanks very much... Yorkshire puds and gravy today...:D

p.s he is a 16h m/w cob if that helps at all
 
It could be that the d rings are in a different place on the saddle.

It has always puzzled me when people have measured saddle widths based on d to d ring measurement. It's assuming the d rings are in the exact same place on each type and/or make of saddle.
 
Measuring dee ring (fall down staples) to dee ring really has no bearing on the width and I don't know why people do it. The shape and style of the tree's head and the gullet plate as well as the style, amount of wear, the depth and amount of flocking in the panel can be so different from saddle to saddle and what might measure at 10 inches in one style and be classed as wide might be totally different in another style. Each saddler also has different ideas of where the staples or dees should be. So even 2 saddles of the same make and model can be different if made by different people.
It is more a matter of experience and judgement of eye to determine the width IF it isn't marked on the saddle anywhere.

Oz
 
Hi, so if it is stamped wide then it should give a similar width as a wide stamped saddle of the same brand? Sorry if that's not very clear, what I mean is an Albion gp wide should be similar in shape to an Albion dressage wide?
Thanks again
 
:D

A useful thing to do is to learn how to use a cardboard template. Template your horse and then cut out the outline from an A4 or even better A3 piece of solid thick card, not the hollow stuff that packing boxes are made of. Then try pushing it up, firmly, inside a saddle that currently fits, and see what the clearance is. You may find that it is different to how the saddle actually fits (ie the amount of clearance when firnly girthed with no pad). Also try lining it up with the top of the pommel and trying to see whether the points of the saddle exactly match the template - don't panic if they do not, I find many saddles need to be fitted at a slightly different width to that indicated by the template. And for that reason I template AFTER the saddle fitting so I am not misled or prejudiced!

Once you have a feel of how the template compares to a saddle that you know fits, you can take that template out and compare the fit with other saddles (obviously with the K2 it is a direct comparison if it is the same tree, with other saddles you can only compare the angle of the points, the rest of the tree must still fit!). It is worth trying both tests as the first is affected by flocking, hence it being important that you can get your eye in to asses the actual points. I find laying my fingers over the top of the template with the tips then on the actual saddle points can help me feel if there is any discrepancy.

This is not failsafe, but for those who insist on fitting their horses themselves, or are buying a saddle to later have fitted, well, it sets you up for more chance of success - secrets of the trade!
 
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