FinkleyAlex
Well-Known Member
The saddle in question is an Ideal working hunter saddle in havana, bought nearly new as a medium-wide and 17". It was my christmas present (my only one as I've been longing after a leather saddle for so long) and its purpose was to be my showing saddle, used once a month for shows and lessons. When I first tried it on I could tell it didn't fit...
Firstly called Martin Wilkinsons and they sent their saddle fitter out to me, she checked my other saddle (which was narrow-medium) and took it to be made wider as my pony had changed shapes into a medium (later saddle was said to be broken). She looked at the Ideal saddle and instantly said it was too wide and said there was nothing she could do for it except change the tree costing me hundreds (Fylde have said they'll do it for 20 quid
). I didn't find her very friendly and she didn't even watch me sit on either saddles or ride. She also told me that it was 16.5" I bought a cliff barnsby GP off her to replace the broken the saddle in bog standard medium size, he's very happy with that and so am I.
A couple of months on, I then booked the courier to take my Ideal WH saddle to fylde saddlery to have the tree made narrower but the courier never turned up! Incidentally a saddler from Bridlepath was coming to the yard to flock my cliff barnsby and asked to have a look at it. She measured the saddle and said it was just under 17.5" and was actually a medium width. She said that the tree didn't need adjusting and just needed flocking, so I let her flock it, she watched me ride and said when he builds up more topline it will fit him great.
Anyway on friday I rode in the saddle, my boy was terrible, spooked at everything and threw in some bucks, totally unlike him so I got off thinking it was spring grass. Tried again saturday in the indoor school so no excuse for spooking, he was a nightmare again, got off and he looked very unhappy, tried his normal saddle on and he was fine! It sits fairly low on his withers when I'm riding, only one fingers width, saddler 2 assured me this was fine and would change when he got more topline.
Thing is it's not like he doesn't have much topline now, he is ridden 5 days a week in an outline and is built like a show hunter pony, I don't really want a saddle that fits him for two months out of the whole year! I'm getting confused with conflicting advice and running out of money. To make it worse my first showing show is next monday and I've already sent my entries off. I now have two options:
1) I've been recommended Anthony the saddle fitter from Batchelor of Epping, although I know they've now moved to Ongar and I'm having loads of trouble getting a contact number for him. I could get him down for a third (!) opinion.
2) send the saddle to Fylde to be made narrower (I'd send a template of his withers aswell)
I'm not going to the show if the saddle doesn't fit but I feel so so let down and disappointed by different advice
Firstly called Martin Wilkinsons and they sent their saddle fitter out to me, she checked my other saddle (which was narrow-medium) and took it to be made wider as my pony had changed shapes into a medium (later saddle was said to be broken). She looked at the Ideal saddle and instantly said it was too wide and said there was nothing she could do for it except change the tree costing me hundreds (Fylde have said they'll do it for 20 quid
A couple of months on, I then booked the courier to take my Ideal WH saddle to fylde saddlery to have the tree made narrower but the courier never turned up! Incidentally a saddler from Bridlepath was coming to the yard to flock my cliff barnsby and asked to have a look at it. She measured the saddle and said it was just under 17.5" and was actually a medium width. She said that the tree didn't need adjusting and just needed flocking, so I let her flock it, she watched me ride and said when he builds up more topline it will fit him great.
Anyway on friday I rode in the saddle, my boy was terrible, spooked at everything and threw in some bucks, totally unlike him so I got off thinking it was spring grass. Tried again saturday in the indoor school so no excuse for spooking, he was a nightmare again, got off and he looked very unhappy, tried his normal saddle on and he was fine! It sits fairly low on his withers when I'm riding, only one fingers width, saddler 2 assured me this was fine and would change when he got more topline.
Thing is it's not like he doesn't have much topline now, he is ridden 5 days a week in an outline and is built like a show hunter pony, I don't really want a saddle that fits him for two months out of the whole year! I'm getting confused with conflicting advice and running out of money. To make it worse my first showing show is next monday and I've already sent my entries off. I now have two options:
1) I've been recommended Anthony the saddle fitter from Batchelor of Epping, although I know they've now moved to Ongar and I'm having loads of trouble getting a contact number for him. I could get him down for a third (!) opinion.
2) send the saddle to Fylde to be made narrower (I'd send a template of his withers aswell)
I'm not going to the show if the saddle doesn't fit but I feel so so let down and disappointed by different advice
