Comfiest saddle ever?

pistolpete

pistolpete

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Following on from Loubys happy saddle post I wonder what was your comfiest ever saddle. I mentioned my gorgeous Lavinia Mitchell saddle which face me the best position ever and my horse loved it too. Sadly no longer have horse but hold on to the saddle just in case! Favourite saddles and why. Pic attached of first ride in the LM
 

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I trialled a Lavinia Mitchell saddle a few years ago now. Sadly it didn't suit my horse. The best saddle I have is my Ansur Konclusion - properly balanced by the proper saddle fitter it was so comfortable for me, and the best thing was knowing it also suited the horse. Unfortunately as he's aged his withers have become more prominent and the amount of shimming now required to clear them is unworkable, so I now have a Farrington which also suits us both but is heavier and harder on my backside.

Like you I'm hanging on to my favourite saddle, hoping it will fit the young horse when he's backed.
 
Having been on a massive saddle journey (mid the journey not at the end) I really think it is horses for courses with saddles - as everything.

I am 5'4 but two separate people have now commented on my proportionately long thighs and that could be why I prefer a really forward cut jump saddle - even on my hairy cobs who will probably never pop more than 2'9 !!

Pelvis shape and width make a big difference to what we all individually find comfy.
 
Polos Mum said:
Pelvis shape and width make a big difference to what we all individually find comfy.
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Please no-one take the answers to this post as recommendations! And comfy as a sofa can be terribly non-functional for the rider....not saying it is, but it can be. And yes, pelvic shape is SO important, but then if your thigh doesn't drop, your leg can't inwardly rotate and you sit askew in it rather too easily....it's interesting how people get very used to sitting incorrectly, we all do it, in the car, at our desks...and we definitely do it when riding. The rider focused brand I fit had one customer take 4 months until she finally loved the saddle and now I couldn't prize it out of her cold, dead hands!

For me it's got to be wide and short, a 16.5 ErgoX2 B1 tree model with padded skirts. I have literally never found a saddle in my whole ridden career that was comfortable AND let me sit correctly.
 
Skib said:
RS riders ride in any GP saddle they are given, usually old, which s good. But my posh lessons and my share horse had a Podhajsky.

https://idealsaddle.com/product/podhajsky-dressage/

I agree that I sat all anyhow but in all those years I never fell off her.
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That's the only saddle I fell out of in 15 years 😄, making my point for me I suppose! I can't remember how I found my first Ideal, I then had an Albion Style dressage for a short while which was too narrow for me, I hated the Albion K2jump, was okayish in a ReactorPanel dressage (the reason I became a fitter, though I'd not go back to them now!) and pretty comfy, though no idea how functional in a Prestige Paris jump.
 
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The Deuber El Campo. I rode in my instructor's KM, and that was very, very nice. But my Deuber is the softest, most comfortable saddle I've ever sat on.

Not my saddle, but exact same model:
 

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when We went to view hubby’s late mare, she had a Wintec 2000 and boy, that was unbelievably comfy. I had a Circle Y trail western saddle and boy that was heavenly, I have a Crates reining saddle and it’s like sitting on a hard slab and I’ve got so many different seat savers in an attempt to make it comfy for me. I’ve just invested in a Barefoot Cherokee and I have to say it’s unbelievably comfy and my mare loves it too.
 
Maxidoodle said:
when We went to view hubby’s late mare, she had a Wintec 2000 and boy, that was unbelievably comfy. I had a Circle Y trail western saddle and boy that was heavenly, I have a Crates reining saddle and it’s like sitting on a hard slab and I’ve got so many different seat savers in an attempt to make it comfy for me. I’ve just invested in a Barefoot Cherokee and I have to say it’s unbelievably comfy and my mare loves it too.
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I used to have an old wintec 2000 and it was fab
 
Interesting how many times albion has come up already.







I loved an slk dressage a friend had. And my old jump saddle which I was told was a K2 but I think wasn't actually (wrong shape cantle?) was the best jump saddle I've ever had. I could flat, work without stirrups and jump a decent course in it and just felt so balanced all the time. Despite being a petite 5'2" it was an 18" seat yet worked somehow. Everything else bigger than 17" I feel like I'm swimming in
 
My albion k2 jump saddle. Unfortunately it was completely wrong in every respect for my current horse so I had to sell it to fund her saddle.
 
Barnsby 7 series omega 720 event saddle, nice deep seat for me, fitted my horse and was comfortable, had it altered to fit my loan horse and 6 weeks later it was stolen, I loved that saddle and had really looked after it ..☹️
 
Years ago, when I first had my old boy, I treated myself to a WH saddle. Compared to my GP, it was just sooo comfortable, and my horse went like a dream.

Fast forward a year or two, and I met my (now) DH. Talking horses on our first date, we got onto the subject of saddles, and I told him about my GP and the WH I had previously bought. When we were next at the stables, he took one look at my WH and said "Oh, it's one of mine!" 😂

So, needless to say, I prefer my DH's saddles to ride in - although I was a convert well before I had even met him!
 
I rode my old horse in a WoW dressage saddle, which, although heavy, suited us both very well.
My current horse also went well in an AlbionK2, but he's a lot taller than previous horse. I'm now disabled, and don't have the upper body strength to lift it onto his 16hh frame.
I've ridden current horse in a Christ Lammfelle sheepskin pad for the last five years and love it. Current horse is a spooky drama queen and much given to sudden paragliding, sharp turns because a leaf looked at him sideways, and bone-shaking hard stops. Always feel safe and secure in it.
 
For me it's my Ideal Event. It's on horse number 3 at the moment. I joked that any horse I bought had to fit a 17.5" wide saddle and 6'9" rugs but so far, they all have!
 
For flat work the Fairfax mono flap in 17.5 with the blocks removed is perfect for me .
For jumping the Patriot in the 17.5.
years ago I had a lovely little saddle from Ireland which was a Bernie it was a super saddle light and comfy .
 
A very, very old and long lived Albion event saddle. Had it for years and years, until the cost of recovering and a general tidy up would have cost more than a new saddle! Equally nice to ride in Sensation treeless, I have had two of these and they were both supremely comfortable, unfortunately it didn't work with my new horse so had to go back to a normal GP treed.

108668
 
I'm long hip to knee and hate to be held into place by the knee blocks so lots of dressage saddles are a complete non starter for me. Its also got to sit perfectly on the horse or I get chafed. I found both the Ideal Roella and Susannah worked for me and I had the Albion K2 dressage (new design) for Rose as it was quite light. I'm back to riding in an Ideal on Mr D but not sure which one.
 
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