Different saddles, different disciplines?

[Ellestan]

After some general thoughts and advice as struggling a little between conflicting views.

Quick background - 15.3h Welsh X Cob Gelding. Owned for over a year now (he's nearly 13). I'm generally happy hacker, daughter is doing lots of disciplines (dressage, schooling, hacking and now starting jumping). I think ideally she'd love to do ODE type events.

Horse generally good, however can run out / refuse the odd jump so she's sniffed the floor unexpectedly a few times in the past.

On instructors advice we had saddle fitter out about 4 months ago and ended up with a new (to us) saddle. Farringdon working hunter, nice straight cut, lots of free movement to horses shoulders. Daughter and I both comfy and like the saddle. However the dilemma arises as instructor really doesn't like the saddle (for context, she is a qualified saddle fitter too although doesn't actively do it anymore). She has no issues with the fitting of the saddle, however is suggesting daughter needs a forward cut saddle and some knee blocks for jumping, particularly as she gets higher. The conflict I have is that saddle fitter doesn't want to fit a saddle with a forward cut, restricting his shoulders, etc. Her view is that WH saddles are designed for jumping up to 1m and will encourage daughter to find her seat.

Instructor again today has suggested we need a jump saddle and suggested using a different saddle fitter if current fitter won't support.

What are other peoples thoughts? Do you have different saddles for different disciplines? We don't have endless money, and current saddle was £600 so ideally didn't want to ve spending anything more so soon, however keen for both daughter and horse to be given fair chance when working disciplines.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Zoeypxo]

How is your daughter finding the saddle for the jumping? How high does she aim to be jumping?

 

[Ellestan]

How is your daughter finding the saddle for the jumping? How high does she aim to be jumping?

I think she seems OK, comfortable for sure, I guess she hasn't had something with knee blocks for comparison, but as I said she has been off a couple of times and does occasionally fall forwards when he does a cheeky stop.

I think for height, reality is that we wouldn't want to go above 1m at all, he's a solid boy and not sure it would really be right to be jumping him any higher.

That said, again, until (if) we get there, then can't be certain!

 

[Lucky Snowball]

If the saddle fits and the rider is happy then I don't see a problem with continuing for the time being. I think you should be concentrating on eliminating the stops and run outs. Also ensure that the rider is not getting ahead of the movement. A 'proper jump saddle' will not cure fundamental issues with the partnership. Wishing you lots of fun and luck.

 

[atropa]

Put your foot down with instructor, tell her current saddle suits all 3 of you for what you are doing at the minute and if and when daughter starts jumping bigger to the point you feel she needs knee blocks then you'll revisit the jumping saddle option again.
Not everyone has endless pots of cash to be shelling out on a saddle for every discipline.

 

[splashgirl45]

If she isn’t intending to go higher than 1m because you feel it’s too much for the type of horse then stick with your saddle that fits and she is comfortable in.. I jumped up to 1m in a gp saddle years ago and it didn’t have huge knee blocks , I couldn’t afford 2 saddles so did dressage and jumping in the same one.

 

[YourValentine]

Agree with the others above, if current saddle suits all 3 of you stick with it. Do hard to find a saddle that suits everyone and expensive to start experimenting.

And a flatter saddle will teach your daighter to ride better, in the long run, and not rely on knee blocks for security.
Lots of work stood in the stirrups at all paces, will help develop secure lower leg and position and make it easier to sit cheeky stops. Though hopefully you can work out what causes them and stop them sooner rather than later.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I really don't think you need a jump saddle if you are both happy with the current one and your daughter can jump comfortably in it.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Agree that if the current saddle works for everyone it isn't worth shelling out for another just for one instructor's lessons- could knee rolls be added to the WH saddle? I have one with velcro knee rolls on, which did make jumping a bit more secure and having velcro blocks means you can change the size/shape/position to suit different disciplines and riders. I don't know how much it would cost to alter the saddle, but if it is possible it might be a cheaper compromise?

 

[Ellestan]

Thank you for everyone's replies. Definitely don't need the extra expense of a different saddles for each discipline!

 

[Squeak]

I'll go against the grain and say that saddles with knee blocks really do help if you have a horse that stops and in general for jumping. It is possible to jump up to 1m in a straight cut saddle but it will make her life harder.

It might be something to do with your specific horse but given the amount of horses that are ridden in GP's and jump saddles they really can't be that terrible for hindering their movement.

At the end of the day though if you and your daughter and other instructors are happy then you can just leave it as it is. However it might be worth trying a different saddle so that your daughter can see what it feels like and you can see if the horse still moves well in it? I think there's a good chance that your daughter might suddenly realise what she's missing out on. You could go the other way and get a more forward cut saddle to do everything in rather than having multiple saddles?

From personal experience, I far far prefer a jump saddle for jumping and would rather do everything in a jump saddle than go xc etc in a wh saddle.

 

[gallopingby]

I would stick with the WH saddle you have. You can do lots with a WH saddle but she would find it difficult being a dressage diva in a jumping saddle. I used to have a Farrington WH saddle and it suited everyone who rode in it, it also was a great fit on the wider types. You could well struggle to find a suitable jumping saddle that fits at a reasonable price, ones with huge knee blocks etc probably aren’t going to be cheap. I think more time spent on groundwork with the horse would produce better results than changing saddles but it might be interesting to have a go if you can find someone with a forward cut saddle. A lot of folk will remember learning to ride with a half panel show saddle, there were the making of many of todays older riders.

 

[mini-eventer]

I agree with squeak, I upgraded to a jump saddle last year, the difference for me has been phenomenal and worth every penny, I don't even jump particularly big - about 1m but my horse is 17h so comparatively not so big. I also hack in it and it has saved my bacon from a spook and excited buck so many times. I have gone from thinking I am a bit crap, to feeling much more confident that I can deal with these situations. I would say that your instructor watches your daughter rider more than the saddler. She will manage fine in what she has if the budget is tight, I managed for years and had a lovely time. But if you can stretch to a jump it will give her the edge.

It is easier to do dressage in a jump saddle than jump in a straight cut saddle. You often see eventers ride a test in a jump saddle even the pros - maybe not at Badminton

 

[sbloom]

I'm with the trainer. WH saddles aren't for jumping. Seriously. They're for the show ring, they're a "bit more" saddle than a flat show saddle, but there is nothing about them that's optimised for jumping, hence most plaiteds now use jump or flatter seated GP saddles.

I fit them for the show ring, or for leisure riders who ride long (bear in mind this is all relative to rider femur length, how wide the pony is which sends the knee forwards, and what happens to their seat in that particular saddle etc https://stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk/blog-and-resources/the-search-for-knee-room) and who jump only tiny jumps at most. I recommend those to have blocks on velcro that can be removed, and possibly replaced with smaller ones, for jumping. It matters less if the knee comes off the flap, than if the block is in the way and pushes the knee outwards, or the rider, seat or leg or both, backwards.

A flat seated GP can do a really good job, a slightly more forward cut may not affect the shoulders at all, the biggest issues are very forward GPs or jump saddles, with a full panel (right down to the bottom of the sweat flap) on a horse with prominent shoulder blades (almost always a postural issue) and no muscle behind (again, topline postural). We obsess about forward flaps and shoulder freedom but in most cases it's not a problem if the horse has half decent posture etc.

NB flap cut, block size and "knee roll" size are all different things, a jump saddle can have no blocks and a show saddle can have large blocks.

 

[Muddywellies]

My friend successfully showjumped discovery and newcomers in a dressage saddle as it was the only saddle that would fit her high withered anglo-arab.