Buying a Jumping Saddle Advice

Finns Mum

Finns Mum

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I wonder if you wise people can give me some advise / tips on buying a jumping saddle.

I had never seen one let alone ridden in one until the saddler came out last night. I learnt a few things one that I need more than my £600 current budget :rolleyes: so more saving required, but I am really worried about paying a lot of money for a saddle the saddler says will feel really odd until I get used to it.

How, if its going to feel so alien to me, do I know i'm spending what to me is a lot of money on the right saddle? The one I rode in last night was a Ideal Impala Pro, which had a monoflap (off to research what that means in a mo :o ) it felt very strange and having not ridden in any other jumping saddle it was hard to judge whether it wasn't right for us or I just need to get used to a different saddle! It was the only secondhand saddle he had that fitted him but it was still out of my price range so thankfully didn't really have to make a decision :)

Also if anyone has any suggestions of other makes of saddle that would suit a wide fit horse with huge shoulders I would be grateful, I think he is going to be tricky to fit so sadly I think Ebay bargain is not an option.

Would appreciate any tips that will help me feel less mind boggled :D
 
I know exactly what you are going through!
How big is the horse and how big are you wanting to jump? My little J who I think you have seen - we always just had a GP until he started doing BE90, being an Arab he's not ideally shaped for a jump saddle, but we found an older Albion XC saddle was the best fit on him as it's got extremely flexible knee rolls so allows his disproportionately large shoulders to move! It took a little bit of getting used to as the seat is quite flat but it's not a mono flap saddle so felt a bit more normal and gives me plenty of space to hoik my stirrups up!
Big lad, I was being jumped out of the gp saddle at 2'9! So we tried a multitude of saddles (same budget as you) and the only one that worked was a Farrington event saddle, which I bought. It did feel a bit weird to start with but not as weird as some of the mono flap saddles! Now I'm used to it I love it.
I think any saddle change does take a bit if getting used to, ESP standard to single flap.
Would your saddler let you try the saddle for a couple of weeks if they re second hand anyway?
 
My daughter has an 'Equipe Expression' monoflap close contact jumping saddle for the one horse & a Harry Dabbs jumping saddle for the other. She really likes the closeness & feel that the Equipe gives her & would have like one for the other horse as well but it didn't suit him. Both these saddle4s are expensive & are above the budget that you have at the mome nt but you can buy them used for around your budget.

Before investing in a jumping saddle ask your self if you really need one. If you only do a little jumping & probably up to 2'09"-3'00" then it could be an expense that you don't need as a GP sadle should do the job. However when you jump bigger courses i.e. Foxhunter you would do well to get one.

Additionally don't set your heart on a particular make & model as you may find that it doesn't suit your horse, as we found out with an Equipe & a Harry Dabbs.

You mentioned Huge Shoulders.....we found a the Harry dabbs fitted out Hann x Tb who also has high withers. Good Luck :)
 
Black country..!!! I have their jumping saddle, I got it made with the blocks on the outside of the panels, it's sooo comfortable..!!
 
Thanks E good to know Im not alone in feeling a bit confused :) He is 16.2hh and does tend to throw in huge leaps and my current saddle is doing neither of us any favours

I don't really know what height we will end up doing but I would like to do some BE90 next season :)

For xc I thought a jumping saddle would be better than a GP, I currently have to jump in a VSD saddle, I do now have a dressage saddle that I use for everything else and love, but it has highlight how hindering my other saddle is.

I know I should be patient get some more money saved and look again in the spring, but my boy has been out of action all summer and is now ready to start jumping again but can't bear the thought of riding in that saddle again, also with horses the money I have saved is just as likely to dissapear on other things :rolleyes:

The saddler tried to get me to try a new Blackcountry but at £1800 I told him it would be wasting his time! He was adamant I should ride in it but thankfully turned out to be too narrow :p
 
i purchased a "style" event saddle which is monoflap, i purchased this from burghley, and have never ridden in a mono flap he let me try it for a week with a option to return, and wow....i love the mono flap and so does my horse! i would highly recommend mono flap, gives a amazing feeling and my horse jumps soooo much better!
 
i have a youngster who is a wide fit, and huge shoulders, i was having a problem with ehr jumping so big over everything i wanted a little more security and ive just boguth her a second hand Stubben Roxane Jumping saddle! Lovely saddle with big blocks and fiter her and me very well, its very comfortable to ride in and i wouldnt say it would be a strange feeling like some can be. I also have a black country jump saddle for another and a JW jump saddle for my other horse, out if the 3 im not sure of my favourite as they are all nice. I rode in a friends equipe expression which was very nice to, although it wasnt monoflap. If you know your horses measurements you can pick a second hand saddle up easily within your budget. Where are you based, as a good friend of mine is always dealing in very good qualify jumping saddles and has just got a very nice secondhans prestiege in :)
 
Do you have any friends with saddles you can try short term just to see what you like?

Jumping saddles come in so many different types from double flap with blocks and decent flaps to minimalistic flat monoflaps. It may be that the former would suit you more if you are intro standard and used to GPs.

A particular favourite of mine is the Albion K2 jump, good secondhand of these can be got for £600

Alternatively, if you are still struggling, heritage saddlery do a range of M2M at a good price, and have jumping models specifically for horses with large shoulders
 
I had this happen to me - I bought a K2 jump saddle from my regular fitter, had no idea if I liked it or not, and then my horse had to have 6 months off so I sold it, losing a lot of money. When he was back in work and fit I ended up with a used Prestige which I loved and it was a lot less than the K2!! The K2 was too much saddle, blocks too solid etc, the Prestige was a lot more close contact and had much more "give" in it.

As a fitter all my saddles come on a week's trial - this may well be enough time for you to work out if it really suits you. So if you can find a fitter who does this, and doesn't try to persuade you to have a regular saddle altered to your requirements (in reality most riders and definitely most horses can be catered for in off the rack saddles when buying new), then you should get a decent trial period. Obviously the same should apply to used saddles, so just make sure your fitter offers this. Oh and check out distance selling regulations - I have a feeling that if you buy mail order you have up to two weeks to reject the goods ie return them for any reason.
 
I think its a very personal thing, I have just bought an Albion K2 & love it, I like the solidness of it & I feel very safe as it holds me in. Someone else on here says they didn't like it as blocks too big etc, I tried a monoflap & felt very unsafe & hated it, so I think its important to ride in a few & get a feel for what you & your horse like.
 
This is exactly how I felt when I bought my first jump saddle and the best way to feel if it is right, is jump in it rather than do flatwork. They do feel weird on the flast, but jumping they come into their own. I used a friends monoflap ages ago and I felt very perched on it - by all accounts normal. It was a bit much at the time so I didnt get a monoflap, although now, Id love one!
 
Escada2004 said:
i have a youngster who is a wide fit, and huge Where are you based, as a good friend of mine is always dealing in very good qualify jumping saddles and has just got a very nice secondhans prestiege in :)
Click to expand...
I'm near Windsor, Berkshire :)

By the sounds of it I need to save some more cash and then find a saddler who can bring out a few potential saddles in my price range so I can try as many as possible. I think I might take my VSD to a tack shop now in hope they sell it and boost my budget quickly, as lets face it this time of year and saving really don't go together ;) I can always get it back from them if I want to jump at least then it not just sitting in my spare room.

I do like having a plan :D
 
Sounds like a good plan :). I will stress that close contact saddles have a close contact panel, not all CC saddles are monoflap....mine was a Paris D that definitely had a sweat flap. I have heard not so good things about monoflap saddles from a physio - no idea why they cause issues as they shouldn't be a different fit for the horse, just the rider.
 
No specific jumping saddle advice, but if you are short of the funds needed for a new saddle it might be worth trying Barnsby who offer a payment by installment option. I love my Barnsby saddle, and they have a huge range to try.
 
i was lucky with my JW and Stubben as i got to try both before i bought and the Black Country i won, so to be honest if i didnt like it i would have sold it. It is definately down to personal preference and what feels good on your horse. There are a few saddlers round here thar always bring a load and let you have a good try of them all. Another option is saddles direct, you can view on their website, they will give you advice, then you can have two or three posted out to try and if you dotn like them you just send them all back or keep the one you do like and then pay for it. Ok i know you have to pay postage but its not a lot and at least you get to try some?
 
Im going to have a look at the Kent and Masters jump saddle which is about £740 new, they have bought out a new range which has the knew roll moulded into the flap, not sure if its a monoflap though?
I currently have a Bates GP but its not forward cut enough to get my leg short enough and it smacks me on the bum a big over a fence which doesnt help my position!
 
Would be really interested in hearing what you thought of the Kent and Masters. At the moment the saddlers I would prefer to use are only really wanting to show me K&M which im not sure about, the place with the biggest selection of saddles to try has a saddler Im not so sure about.

Why is it that nothing to do with horses is ever simple :cool:
 
I would highly recommend a Frank Baines Enigma. My mares were particularly broad at the withers and had big shoulders and I struggled to find anything that allowed them the freedom to move their shoulders when jumping. I eventually settled on a Frank Baines Enigma, mine was a monoflap so you felt very close to the horse (monoflap is an option). The extension and forward-cut flap to allow me the length I needed and was fully flexible - you could bend the pannel right back away from the shoulder - this gave the ultimate freedom :) I absolutely loved riding in mine. They are expensive, £1550 :o but they are available second-hand on the likes of HorseQuest (mine is on there).
 
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