Cheapish saddle for very wide horse - running out of ideas!!

R

roz84

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 May 2012
Messages
280
Visit site
I know this subject has been done to death.... sorry!

Having trouble finding the right saddle for my haffie mare. Trouble is am on a fairly tight budget, maximum I can realistically afford at the moment is £350 and that's pushing it! So far we have tried wintec wide (old style - not sure if newer style wintec wide has a slightly different tree???) - sat far too low at withers despite having correct gullet in. Also a thorowgood cob, seemed a nicer fit than wintec but rolled and slipped a fair bit... currently have a Barefoot treeless which doesn't support me enough in the way of knee rolls, legs all over the place! I am not aware of any saddle fitters local to me (n. devon) who specialise in fitting wide horses, besides which if I am honest I doubt they would have a saddle within budget. Therefore I think I am better off sourcing a saddle myself and getting a fitter to check/alter afterwards - any ideas/ suggestions as to brands to look out for are welcomed!

Picture of wither tracing below for your perusal!

10603181_535573563241179_850312707_n_zpse4f97d5f.jpg
[/URL]

10620978_535573639907838_451772920_n_zps70bdde73.jpg
[/URL]
 
Last edited:
I'm sorry to say that you can't really get a good saddle for that money! You could try a synthetic saddle, if you know what size saddle try looking on ebay- I looked on there recently and there seemed to be a good range of saddles for low prices!
 
I have no problem at all with synthetic/secondhand , however the main contenders seem to be wintec and thorowgood, having tried both and neither quite right that is a bit of a problem.....
 
I have a highland friend who often buys tries and sells on.

If I was me I would look at

Native pony, saddle exchange, ideal H&C, saddle company
 
thank you - saddle company i may just about to find within budget, i know their cob saddle is meant to be very good and can be squashed flat for a wide horse - haven't seen any for sale though... native pony and saddle exchange out of budget, probably the ideal too (like hens teeth anyway!) arghhhhh!!
 
Native Pony or Saddle Company would be the best bet with your budget :). Are you on the Saddles For Sale & Wanted group on eBay? There's a few Saddle Co ones on there atm.

I feel your pain - I spent ages trying to find a saddle for an XXW Sec D with £300 to spend and ended up buying a K&M monoflap Jump for £600 which fits her perfectly.
 
I know - loads of people in the same boat with their wide horses! Hate being on a budget but that's the way it is so need to have a good hunt for something. Thanks for the heads up on the FB page will check it out :-)
 
Whereabouts in North Devon are you?
I have a very wide short backed cob and use a Samber Working hunter/Farrington. It has been used on a larger cob and a smaller, equally bread pony.
Lovely, comfortable well made saddles ...out of your price range new but I regularly see them on ebay
 
EKW said:
What about a Thorn pad? They are basically a big piece of felt covered with leather. Like riding bareback but with stirrups! You see a fair few shetlands, dartmoors and exmoors wearing them in the show ring and now they are verging out in the Highlands too as they are very difficult to fit saddles to.

http://www.thornsaddles-pads.co.uk/saddle-pads.html
Click to expand...

ooh will check them out!
 
I would keep your eyes peeled on Ebay all the time, I recently bought a VERY wide GP saddle, which is really too wide for all my Dales. (it was £280) I also bought a couple of Ideal saddles and am using one and going to sell the other again.
Often there are plenty of Farrington saddles that are wide
or look out for Heather Moffat Flexee
 
only thing with treeless is i hate the dressage girth... used to have a hm flexee and can't say i was in love with it - very comfy, didn't like the fabric covering on the panels either as seemed very thin, doubt it would have lasted for years, but that's just my opinion lol
 
don't think that would suit - i had a gfs genesis for my old tb, defo more of a high withered saddle, shame they don't do cob version as it was very comfy tbh! there is a gfs haflinger saddle but again out of budget :-(
 
I have a nice Stirlingshire saddle made by ideal...its xwide to xx wide and very flat tree...in very good condition ... pm if interested and its within your budget :)
 
I would go for a Heather Moffett, I LOVE my one. I did pay more then want you want too but it is a newer version in fab condition and it came with loads of bits and pieces. It is lovely to ride in giving loads of support, it has nice knee rolls. I am comfortable and so is the horse. Considering the spooking he is doing at this time I am pleased with how supportive it is!!!!! I had bought it to see me through until he is ready to be fitted, at the moment I can not imagine why I would want another saddle.
 
My haffy has a gfs haflinger exchange, uses the xxxw gullet - they do come up second hand occasionally but you'd probably need to find another £75 or so
 
Hi I have an extra wide Saddle Company saddle that I used on my Connemara also used on a very wide cob. You can have the tree altered on these saddles. I intend to sell mine as now have a different horse. Balance saddles are good for wide horses. I think you will find a good saddle in your price range. EBay is always worth a look.
 
OP, what size saddle are you looking for? I'm close to you and have a few wiiide 17"/17.5" saddles in use, I could bring them to your yard so you could see some different makes on your pony. PM me if that might help.
 
merlin12 said:
Hi I have an extra wide Saddle Company saddle that I used on my Connemara also used on a very wide cob. You can have the tree altered on these saddles. I intend to sell mine as now have a different horse. Balance saddles are good for wide horses. I think you will find a good saddle in your price range. EBay is always worth a look.
Click to expand...
Hi I would be in interested in that if you could pm me?
 
I have a flexee on my haffy and it is great for now, but I would like a balance saddle in future when I can afford it. The flexee cost me 300 and I don't expect it to last forever but it has been a god send since my mare is like XXXW now. It really can be a nightmare with the round horses! Whatever I put on her slips so I use a Stephens gel eze pad mostly. Saddles seem to struggle with finding the middle I think haha, she is just one big cylinder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top