Do Kent & Masters fit better than Thorowgoods?

sidesaddlegirl

sidesaddlegirl

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 November 2007
Messages
2,594
Location
Wigston, Leicestershire
www.sidesaddlegirl.co.uk
I know they are both the same company and use the same trees and gullet system but was wondering if people found a difference between the fit of the two, namely, does the leather mould better to the horse rather than the stiff synthetic vinyl of the Thorowgoods?

I got hold of a Thorowgood hi-wither T4 GPD to try on Hattie and gullet wise, the medium fit her fine with excellent wither clearance but when I lunged her, it slide forward a bit and slapped around on her back. I tried all the girth strap combos, even the point strap and 4th, but the saddle still moved and that was with no one in it!

I just wondered if the stiff nature of the vinyl perhaps did not allow the saddle to "bed down" to her shape hence the moving around.

My friend just bought a K&M saddler for her high withered horse and LOVES it. She said that I could try it on Hattie on Sunday but just wondered what people thought of the two and if they noticed an improved fit when "upgrading" from a Thorowgood to a K&M?
 
I'd be inclined to blame the stuffing rather than the vinyl/leather. :) Maybe one saddle is stuffed differently to the other? (or one has wool/foam/air bags when the other has something else.)
 
Daughter's always had Thorowgoods for our 2 tbs, the gelding came with one that didn't fit him so well though. It was a nice enough saddle and she had it adjusted but it just didn't fit him, so she got some money together and bought the K&M Jump, it does seem to fit him a lot better but I don't know why.
 
As a fitter I should say that you really can't judge fit from lungeing - saddles are meant to have several stones of weight in them and can't be expected to be totally stable without a rider.

If a saddle still shunts forwards with a rider then you do clearly have an issue with panel contact/grip and stability.
 
sidesaddlegirl said:
I forgot to add too, that she is a NIGHTMARE as all but a friend's Albion SLK Platinum and my 1930's side saddle slide forward on her or rock. I've had saddlers come out with all the brands but they always leave with telling me that Hattie needs a crupper...
Click to expand...

You may need something much flatter than you think - a lack of panel contact means saddles can move all over the shop. I see lots of horses and ponies who have this issue and it is solvable without cruppers!
 
sbloom said:
As a fitter I should say that you really can't judge fit from lungeing - saddles are meant to have several stones of weight in them and can't be expected to be totally stable without a rider.

If a saddle still shunts forwards with a rider then you do clearly have an issue with panel contact/grip and stability.
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^ This exactly - you can't judge the fit of a saddle by lunging! no no no no no!!
 
I have a nightmare horse to fit saddles too. Wide on the back, narrow high withers & very flat. Looking at her from the front you'd say she needs a narrow, and from the back an xw. She came with a thorowgood med/wide which is ok, but still bothers me about not being quite wide enough at the back.

I am going to try her with the same saddle but wider, if not I've had enough and I'm going treeless as I have a pony that is like a barrel anyway, so killing two birds with one stone!
 
this is a big generalisation but saddles often lift and slap at the back if they are too wide. You said the next widest would bring the saddle down on to her wither. Have you tried a narrower gullet your saddle could be a touch too wide?

If this is not the case then the tree is most likely the wrong shape for the horses back.
 
Yep - either too wide or too curved, I see the latter a lot in fitting natives and cobs. Very few saddles are flat enough in tree or panel. The further trouble is just changing the gullet is likely to cause a change in balance, so putting a wider gullet in may make it slope forwards and sit cantle high. Changeable gullets are not a panacea.
 
I have to lunge her before I get on a new saddle as she WILL buck you off if she does not like the saddle. Been there, done that and I'm too old to be able to hit the ground and bounce back, lol.

The T4 saddle did move forward without any rider in it so with me in the saddle, she would have bucked with the extra weight onto her shoulders.

The saddle had the medium gullet in it and with the narrow gullet, I felt it would have pinched her shoulders, the m/w would have come down on her withers with a rider on the saddle.

Apart from my side saddle which is a good saddle (yup, the panels are quite flat shaped on it), when I ride her astride, I use a flat foam panelled close contact saddle. She goes well in it and it does not move whether I'm in the saddle or not BUT it's slightly too big for her (a m/w fit) so I have to use two numnahs to keep it off of her high withers. I've tried the medium in this particular brand of saddle but it pinches so have to use the m/w and pad it up with numnahs since you can't adjust foam panels. This is the only astride saddle that she has not bucked me off or tried to bite me but I don't find it's ideal using two thick numnahs underneath it either!

LOL, this is another reason why I mostly ride side saddle as it's the only saddle I have that fits her TB conformation properly! It just shows to show that they made saddles properly in days gone by.
 
mini-eventer said:
this is a big generalisation but saddles often lift and slap at the back if they are too wide. You said the next widest would bring the saddle down on to her wither. Have you tried a narrower gullet your saddle could be a touch too wide?

If this is not the case then the tree is most likely the wrong shape for the horses back.
Click to expand...



Echo this 100% they often lift at the back because they drop a little in front. bear in mind synthetic and plastic trees drop slightly once rider aboard!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top