AVA or Native Pony Saddle Co

DressageCob

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Hello,

I'm looking for recommendations.

I have a 14.2hh LW cob who I do dressage with. We are currently on the Novice/Elementary border :D

My current saddle is an Equipe Olympia which I loved at first. However, I'm finding that it has two main issues. Firstly, it slips back significantly. It slips about 4 inches just walking from the stable to the arena. It also slips about 4-6 inches back during the course of a 1 hour lesson. The other thing that happens is it tips me forwards. I already tend to lean forward, so the saddle tipping me further forward is unhelpful. It was fitted to him and to me 9 months ago but clearly isn't right for us. The fitter said to use shims underneath (in one of those numnahs with pockets) which I do use, but it has only made a slight improvement.

I've decided I need a new saddle. Having googled it seems my two best options are AVA (aka All Saddle Solutions) or the Native Pony Saddle Co. I have no experience of either company. Both seem to have generally good reviews. I have no idea how one would choose one over the other.

My horse takes a maximum of a 17 inch, but I have long legs. He has no withers but is not wide (more like a M-MW).

These are the ones I was looking at:
http://www.avasaddles.com/premier-dressage-saddle
http://www.saddleexchange.com/catal...-cadence-mono-flap-dressage-saddle-flat-tree/

So, does anyone have any opinions, experience etc?

This is the beast in his previous saddle (a Bates Caprilli...awful!)
IMG_8347.jpg


Thank you :)
 

dressage_diva

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Your best bet is to get a master saddler out who will be experienced at fitting saddles on a range of different horses and can advise you what saddle will best suit your horse.
 

FfionWinnie

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Have a look at solution saddles.

I have just used them and the thing I like is that you can try loads of saddles then you can rent the one you intend to buy to see if it works for your horse.

Prior to this I had spent a large amount of money on the fitting of several saddles including a brand new one from one specialist company for my cob, with no success.

I've had a solution saddle for about a month now and the horse is going better than it ever has with absolutely no saddle issues at all.

I could have gone for various other makes of saddle as my horse is not actually particularly difficult (I had several fitters look at her to get to the bottom of "the issue") to fit but ultimately I wanted a company with excellent trial facilities as I was not willing to risk a further costly mistake which kept my horse off the competition circuit for any more time.

They aren't for everyone of course but I feel the trial options have taken all the worry out of the purchase for me and they would be worth a look I think.
 

NikNak1

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I have an all saddle solutions or ava as it is now monoflap dressage saddle and I love it! V comfy, sits the rider in a good position and most importantly horse has always seemed very happy and comfortable in it and goes well. I have always found Claire who runs the company very approachable and certainly takes her time to make sure everything is right. It also has the advantage of bring able to widen the tree if necessary, mine was 2nd hand so fit well to begin with but as horse filled out needed widening so tree was replaced. Only took about a week (though obviously was a cost involved!)

I've never tried a native pony saddle so can't comment on them I'm afraid!
Good luck!
 

DressageCob

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Your best bet is to get a master saddler out who will be experienced at fitting saddles on a range of different horses and can advise you what saddle will best suit your horse.

That's what I've done with the last two saddles and I've not got the perfect saddle yet. I'm now nearly £3k out of pocket with a saddle that tips me onto my horse's shoulders. I'm now limiting my search to obviously cob-friendly fitters or companies. These two companies have a range of saddles that and they fit them, they are just all their own brands. It might be a mistake, but it's the fact that they specifically design their saddles for cobs or difficult to fit flat backed horses that appeals.

I won't rule out other brands or fitters though. I just don't want to buy yet another saddle that is wrong because it's not built for a horse like mine :)

Edited to say, I will be phoning a few master saddlers and explaining my horse and the issues I've had and I won't rule out going with a generic fitter. I'm just a bit wary and not very good at saddle fitting myself so can't trust myself to spot these issues until it's too late!
 
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DressageCob

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Have a look at solution saddles.

I have just used them and the thing I like is that you can try loads of saddles then you can rent the one you intend to buy to see if it works for your horse.

Prior to this I had spent a large amount of money on the fitting of several saddles including a brand new one from one specialist company for my cob, with no success.

I've had a solution saddle for about a month now and the horse is going better than it ever has with absolutely no saddle issues at all.

I could have gone for various other makes of saddle as my horse is not actually particularly difficult (I had several fitters look at her to get to the bottom of "the issue") to fit but ultimately I wanted a company with excellent trial facilities as I was not willing to risk a further costly mistake which kept my horse off the competition circuit for any more time.

They aren't for everyone of course but I feel the trial options have taken all the worry out of the purchase for me and they would be worth a look I think.

I haven't heard of them, but thanks for the suggestion. I shall investigate now :D
 

Slightlyconfused

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Everyone has good and back things to say about saddles and their fitters/makers.

A friend has a native pony wh saddle and she finds it and the guy who.fits it fab.

We have just got an Andrea Hicks saddle for my elephant which fits him and my brother fab and as he is slight croup high it has an upswept panel so it doesn't affect him with a bigger seat.
But again have heard some.bad things about them too.

My advice is to speak to as many as you can and see which one sparks your interest. And you know your horse, as soon as this saddle was put on him I knew it was perfect for him but the ideal we had tried before in theory should have fit but I.had doubts when it was on him and then he wouldn't move in it.

Good luck ☺
 

Kikke

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If you search the saddle exchange/NPS on here reports are usually less than favourable.

I have also seen many of those, However my old welsh cob that was impossible to fit by 4 master saddlers did brilliantly in one from the saddle exchange. I think the owners (and often they are the one fitting) are a not everybodies cup of tea but I had the saddle over 5 years untill I sold the mare and it did never budge. Great quality and happy rider and mare.
My current horse goes well in non-specialist saddles and is fitted by our local master saddler but if I needed to I would not doubt goung back to them.
 
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