Buying/trying saddles - plus Nick Dolman and serge panels

[Bernster]

I’m on the merry go round of needing a new saddle for finnegan. I’m pondering a few things so am posting for input and experiences. How soon would you expect your horse to ‘show’ if the saddle fits/doesn’t, and how big an improvement would you expect? How do you go about trying saddles when you need something made up? And any reviews or comments on Nick Dolman saddles and serge panels? Both are new to me.

Normally, I try off the shelf saddles so it’s easy to trial them and see if they fit. But looks like the next saddle will be made up for me, with options for pretty much everything. For those who’ve had custom made, or made to measure, did you get to sit in the exact style before you bought? If not, how did you go about making sure the saddle was right for you?

Saddler’s left me with one to try to see if finnegan likes it. It’s a Nick Dolman with a serge panel. From a google search and some threads on here it seems like, although they aren’t well known, people do like these saddles and/or serge panels.

Only sat in it once so far. He went went pretty much the same as the current one that doesn’t fit. It’s totally wrong for me (saddler knows this as it’s about how he goes in it, not how it fits me) but it’s flipping uncomfortable so I’m not sure how long I will last with this trial! Do I keep going for 2 weeks or ask if she has one that’s a better fit for me?

 

[Wheels]

If the saddle is not allowing you to sit correctly then you cannot trial it properly. If you are not comfortable it will inevitably make you sit incorrectly at some point and possibly throw you off balance.

Fitting a saddle cannot only be about the horse, it is about the compatibility between horse, saddle and rider - sooner or later if you only look at one component it will have an impact on another and eventually on horse and rider.

I would send it back and ask if they have anything else to try as you could spend a lot of money and find out within a few months that the new, custom made saddle does not suit you.

Nick dolman saddles have a good reputation but a poor 2nd hand value.

 

[Michen]

I’d sack the saddler who suggested you being uncomfortable was fine- as it won’t help your horse either. Exception being if you have a super bizarrely shaped horse to fit to and it really is a total last resort.

 

[Meredith]

Be careful if you have a mtm saddle. You cannot know that the saddle will be right as you are trialling a ‘ nearly saddle’. I had one made and although it was perfect for the horse it wasn’t quite perfect for me. It was impossible to have it changed as I had agreed the specifications. I spent a lot of money which left me with a very comfortable horse but a slightly uncomfortable me.

 

[sbloom]

Always let the fitter know asap about any issue, flagging things up as a concern immediately can be really important in legal terms.

It needs to at least be comfortable/neutral for you, she may suggest a different saddle, she may want to see photos to see if you're putting it on in the right place, as that can affect the balance of the saddle, and how your leg sits, which will affect comfort.

M2M is tricky, I fit almost all off the peg and personally prefer it, but it's very personal. If he was in an ill fitting saddle before I'd usually expect to see some improvement immediately, but that doesn't always happen, but definitely within the 14 days, which is where you may want to use the full trial, but perhaps with her advise as to how to help you ride in it for now. If she can't advise, then I'd want something I could ride better in a that will affect his comfort., before committing that sort of money on a technically non-refundable custom saddle (most fitters offer at least some money back if you return it).

 

[Bernster]

Thanks. I’ll ride in it this week and instructor will school in it. I think that will be enough for me and I’ll get the saddler back out earlier. She’s left a gp for someone else which is the same tree so I’ll try that too. To be fair to her, she didn’t know how bad a fit was for me, that only became clear yesterday when I rode in it properly.

meredith - Yep, that’s my concern, that I won’t know if it really fits us both until it’s made and then I’ve paid for it. Did you manage to resolve your issue?

thanks sbloom that's helpful, I’ll let her know now. It’s a trial in the sense of trying the tree and panels for him, it’s not the saddle that she recommends for me (unless I feel like a bit of torture!).

She also stocks Harry Dabbs which is closer I think to what I’m used to so I will ask her to bring some of those out instead.

 

[cobgoblin]

I'm very wary of made to measure saddles. I have one, it wasn't made for me but for someone else. When finished it didn't fit their horse so they traded it in to my saddle fitter. It was brand new and fitted one of my horses so I bought it very cheaply.. I dread to think how much the original owner lost.

 

[Meredith]

I rode in a Nick Dolman saddle and it was fine for the horse but not for me. I don’t know which design it was. I chose a Harry Dabbs but it was made differently inside somehow under supervision from my saddler, so not usual at all. I found the HD, mine was a Future Hunter GP, very straight cut and my knees slid over the knee rolls.
I could not change the saddle.

meredith - Yep, that’s my concern, that I won’t know if it really fits us both until it’s made and then I’ve paid for it. Did you manage to resolve your issue?

thanks sbloom that's helpful, I’ll let her know now. It’s a trial in the sense of trying the tree and panels for him, it’s not the saddle that she recommends for me (unless I feel like a bit of torture!).

She also stocks Harry Dabbs

 

[GoldenWillow]

I've a cob who can be very opinionated about saddle fit, when saddler came out and tweaked my flocking and I got on to try I hadn't gone 20m in walk before he slammed to a stop and bucked, one and only time he's ever done that. Other saddle fittings it's been obvious in the first 10 mins whether he's happy or not especially going into canter. But I did trial a saddle for 2 weeks which he seemed very happy with and went well in but within 6 weeks started showing signs that he was unhappy with it. Sorry that's not a lot of help is it!

I would say that there is a world of difference in a saddle being not 100% for the rider and it being uncomfortable for the rider. You have to be as least reasonably comfortable otherwise it will impact your position, effectiveness and enjoyment. I wouldn't buy a saddle that was noticeably uncomfortable for me, I've done it once before thinking I'll get used to it, put a seat saver on etc and it was an expensive mistake.

 

[Bernster]

Thanks all. I’ve texted her to come out earlier and told her that it doesn’t work for me. It’s about as bad a fit as you could get - pommel, seat size, knee rolls and panels! I do like her approach though and she makes a lot of sense, and his current one def doesn’t fit, so I will persevere and see if this can be redeemed...

 

[Squeak]

Just wanted to add that I've had a really good experience with the serge panels and Nick Dolman saddles. I've got two on two sensitive horses and they both are happy in them.

 

[Bernster]

Just wanted to add that I've had a really good experience with the serge panels and Nick Dolman saddles. I've got two on two sensitive horses and they both are happy in them.

Were you able to try the ones you bought or were they made for you? Am struggling with the notion of not being able to ride/try what would be the end product. Other than the serge panel, which is less common, he does seem to do fairly standard (and nice) looking saddles. Serge seems harder to keep clean though as it’s fabric and gets hairy?!

 

[Squeak]

Were you able to try the ones you bought or were they made for you? Am struggling with the notion of not being able to ride/try what would be the end product. Other than the serge panel, which is less common, he does seem to do fairly standard (and nice) looking saddles. Serge seems harder to keep clean though as it’s fabric and gets hairy?!

I used Kay Humphries from Norton and Newby and she has a selection of saddles with the serge panels - including Nicks. She bought a load with her for me to try and left me a couple of them to ride in and then 'fine tuned' the one I wanted. There are a huge range of them and some did suit me better than others so I would agree with wanting to ride in one that's the same as what you'd end up with.

I was worried about them getting hairy too, especially as I have a grey and but it really hasn't been a problem. They have a minimal amount of hair on them but it's not really noticeable. I haven't tried riding without something under it though.

The serge is meant to be better for the horses backs than any of the other panels so I went with it.

 

[mariew]

I had a m2m saddle and never again! it had Serge panels which I liked. Long story but it never really fit either of us and potentially even damaged my horse. Saddler was in a hurry when dropping the saddle off and had no time to watch me ride.... I should have heard warning bells then but life got in the way. Nowadays if I get another I would only ever get a well known good brand that is easy to resell and doesn't cost thousands, unless I had no other options. And forget about any decent money back when selling...