Average horse weight fluctuation/saddle fit

[cariadbach10]

What would you say is the average fluctuations in weight of your horse?

And secondly, what kind of weight gain or loss would you expect to affect saddle fit? How many kgs?

 

[Annagain]

It's hard to say as it depends so much on the horse. My old boy never changed by more than one girth hole in the 16 years I rode him and his saddle only needed adjusting once. It was fitted to him when I bought him, adjusted 6 months later and after that he never changed. Even now, after being retired for 2 1/2 years he looks no different, he's never fluctuated by more than 12kg . My share horse had to have his saddle adjusted summer and winter and had two different girths as his summer one is way too big in winter. He could fluctuate by 70kgs in a couple of months. No matter what we did, he'd always look horribly thin in March, great in May/June, fat by October, good again in Dec and then start losing it all again.

 

[ihatework]

Too difficult to generalise.

Depends on the size of your horse to start with (ie weight fluctuation would be better as a % than as an absolute value)

Depends on where/how they hold their weight/muscle or loose their weight as to whether saddle fit is sufficiently impacted.

Most of mine I track by eye. The only one I’ve tracked by weight was a big eventer that wasn’t a particularly good doer.

His range at 17.2hh was 640-660kg.
His regular fit weight was around 650, and his super fit weight 645. His healthy let down weight 660, and his unhealthy out of work weight 640

 

[Widgeon]

Depends on where/how they hold their weight/muscle or loose their weight as to whether saddle fit is sufficiently impacted.

I agree - I think the OP's question is really interesting though. My cob puts his weight on his belly first, so while he does fluctuate over the year, how chubby he is mostly impacts on his girth rather than his saddle fit. The thing that mostly seems to impact his saddle fit is his fitness, because that affects the muscles of his back and shoulders. That's just my thoughts though, as a relatively ignorant single horse owner. N = 1!

 

[cariadbach10]

The story is that I had a beautiful custom saddle made for new pony. Justifed it financially as he’s a short backed, wide hard to fit sort. Between it arriving/fitting perfectly in late Winter and being checked in mid Summer he’s put on 18-20kg- gone from 466 to 484. Pretty precise as we have an in-house weighbridge.

At the mid summer check saddler told me saddle no longer fitted and no possibility of adjusting. Put him on a diet and increased workload but it’s made minimal difference.

It’s breaking my heart (and wallet), but looks like I’m going to have to sell custom saddle at a loss and buy something adjustable to allow for seasonal fluctuations. It’s so frustrating!

Just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience or is it just my blimmin’ horse?!

 

[cariadbach10]

I agree - I think the OP's question is really interesting though. My cob puts his weight on his belly first, so while he does fluctuate over the year, how chubby he is mostly impacts on his girth rather than his saddle fit. The thing that mostly seems to impact his saddle fit is his fitness, because that affects the muscles of his back and shoulders. That's just my thoughts though, as a relatively ignorant single horse owner. N = 1!

Well part of me is thinking that maybe he’s put on shoulder muscle? But possibly wishful thinking on my part!

 

[Widgeon]

It’s breaking my heart (and wallet), but looks like I’m going to have to sell custom saddle at a loss and buy something adjustable to allow for seasonal fluctuations. It’s so frustrating!

I'm not an expert at all but I would be a bit surprised that a 20kg weight fluctuation takes a saddle from fitting perfectly to completely unsuitable. Otherwise (as you say) we'd all need multiple saddles to cope with seasonal fluctuations. I think I'd be questioning exactly why the saddle no longer fits - surely a 20kg weight gain isn't going to fundamentally change the shape of his back and shoulders? I'd love to know what the saddle fitters on the forum think.

ETA - you're definitely not the only one with that problem, there have been lots of more or less identical posts on the forum over the past few years.

 

[ihatework]

I think 20kg could potentially impact fit if the saddle was fitted to the lighter end.

I always fit saddles on the wide side and pad to balance/fit.

 

[Widgeon]

I always fit saddles on the wide side and pad to balance/fit.

Yes....fit to wider end of normal and then pad out temporarily if necessary - that seems to be the only pragmatic way of going about it.

 

[planete]

The same thing has just happened to me. It is not the weight increase with us, it is the fact I have finally been able to give him regular work and he has filled up behind the withers and his back has come up.

 

[cariadbach10]

The same thing has just happened to me. It is not the weight increase with us, it is the fact I have finally been able to give him regular work and he has filled up behind the withers and his back has come up.

Comforting to know it’s not just me! I’ve definitely learned my lesson- adjustable saddles all the way for me going forward. ?

 

[sbloom]

Horses weight change can be dramatically different and affect saddles in different ways. And never say never - if your saddle needs a little spot flocking to stabilise it, then why would a 20kg gain never affect it? The tiniest change can affect saddle fit, sadly.

Adjustable saddles - great if they work. They do not fit all horses, far from it, and certainly don't fit all riders well (often not well in terms of getting the rider over the feet). And great if they work when a different width - horses change SHAPE not just width when they gain weight, and at two width fittings change then most (ie more than 50%) horses need a different tree or panel.

I work with shim pads but the saddles aren't always "too wide" - wide is the angle of the headplate and that's not always the issue. The saddle does usually need to be low in front at least some of the year to accommodate shims etc.

 

[cariadbach10]

Horses weight change can be dramatically different and affect saddles in different ways. And never say never - if your saddle needs a little spot flocking to stabilise it, then why would a 20kg gain never affect it? The tiniest change can affect saddle fit, sadly.

Adjustable saddles - great if they work. They do not fit all horses, far from it, and certainly don't fit all riders well (often not well in terms of getting the rider over the feet). And great if they work when a different width - horses change SHAPE not just width when they gain weight, and at two width fittings change then most (ie more than 50%) horses need a different tree or panel.

I work with shim pads but the saddles aren't always "too wide" - wide is the angle of the headplate and that's not always the issue. The saddle does usually need to be low in front at least some of the year to accommodate shims etc.

Oh Lord. There is actually no hope! I just feel like I’m throwing cash into the fire trying to get this right.

 

[sbloom]

Oh Lord. There is actually no hope! I just feel like I’m throwing cash into the fire trying to get this right.

Find a saddle fitter you trust, and work with them. Read as much as you can, and try and keep his weight stable though, as a specialist native/cob/wider horse fitter for many years, I hear your pain! Also be prepared to do groundwork, to have things you can do when the saddle doesn't fit. We can't split ourselves in two and get to everyone who needs us as soon as they'd like (I know you know that ), being able to crack on without a saddle is a really good idea, and horses benefit massively from groundwork.

 

[cariadbach10]

Find a saddle fitter you trust, and work with them. Read as much as you can, and try and keep his weight stable though, as a specialist native/cob/wider horse fitter for many years, I hear your pain! Also be prepared to do groundwork, to have things you can do when the saddle doesn't fit. We can't split ourselves in two and get to everyone who needs us as soon as they'd like (I know you know that ), being able to crack on without a saddle is a really good idea, and horses benefit massively from groundwork.

Thank you for the wise words. He’s actually an Arab, but with the metabolism and physique of a native!

 

[sbloom]

Thank you for the wise words. He’s actually an Arab, but with the metabolism and physique of a native!

Many of the same issues when fitting a saddle too

 

[Barton Bounty]

I had a real hassle trying to get a saddle to fit because of fluctuation. So I have two saddles ? again the girth size only changes because of the length of the girth straps, throwgoods are way longer than ideal. Since I have moved yards I have ridden every day and different work to what I used to do so now bb is fitter not fatter , so It is unheard of for him to be in the mediumwide-wide saddle in summer, but its just to do with his muscle and shoulders tbh.

 

[poiuytrewq]

I sympathise op. I didn’t spend as much as you probably have but the saddle I bought my horse he quickly “outgrew”
I had to buy a brand new one a few months ago and have just admitted I really hate the damn thing.
Back to the drawing board again. It’s such an expensive mistake and pita ?

 

[Regandal]

Fluctuation in muscle bulk is why I’ve gone with WOW. My horse when fit needs a slightly wider headplate and I can change it myself. Fitter adjusts the panels for me.
Added bonus is that it puts me in a good position so I look like I can actually ride! An illusion 99% of the time ?

 

[cariadbach10]

Many of the same issues when fitting a saddle too

Yes, it seems a lot of them end up in saddles that are technically designed for cobs!
And people think they're little fairy ponies!

 

[ycbm]

Fluctuation in muscle bulk is why I’ve gone with WOW. My horse when fit needs a slightly wider headplate and I can change it myself. Fitter adjusts the panels for me.
Added bonus is that it puts me in a good position so I look like I can actually ride! An illusion 99% of the time ?

Ditto!
.

 

[Red-1]

I think it also depends on how old the horse is. Under 7 or 8, I would expect to have to change saddles. I bought a 4yo and we are on our 3rd. I prefer to get a good make, second hand, fitted to the horse. That way, I don't lose much money when I change saddles. In fact, I made a profit on the last one (only not really because I'm only talking purchase price/sales price, not the cost of the fittings).