Do Saddles stretch?

[Gleeful Imp]

Just a little hypothetical question....

Horse A is borrowing Horse B's saddle, twice a week for 6 weeks till new saddle arrives.

Owner of Horse B sat saddle on Horse A, agreed good fit, offered use.

After 6 weeks, saddle rolling on Horse B. No change on Horse A. Horse B is 5, was backed in March. Saddle was fitted in June during good grass when owner worried about weight. Horse B now much more muscled up and looking great.

Horse A is very wide. Horse B's owner adamant saddle has been stretched and that is why saddle no longer fits Horse B and wants recompensation.

Horse A's owner is thoroughly confused as did not think saddles stretched - if saddle doesn't fit, thought horse's back would be damaged before saddle. Is however quite happy to recompense Horse B's owner if true but has requested a professional opinion that also compares Horse B to template taken when saddle originally fitted.

What do you think? Do saddles stretch to the point its unsafe to sit on as rolls? I've never experienced it but thought you lot may have some interesting views

Sorry can only offer a nice cup of tea!

 

[sbloom]

Much more likely to be the flocking - flocked saddles should not be used on more than one horse as they do mould to their shape. Wooden trees should never stretch but I have heard of synthetic trees stretching.

 

[Tnavas]

Horse B will have changed shape!

A young horse newly backed will have no muscle and most likely will be carry extra condition. With work the horse has built up muscle and lost some of the extra condition so will h ave changed shape.

This is a very common situation for a young horse.

A saddle wouold only 'stretch' if the tree was broken and no longer able to keep the correct shape.

 

[Spudlet]

Saddles can change shape with normal wear, and of course horses change shape too, so it's certainly worth having them checked by a saddler every so often.

 

[sbloom]

But horse B has muscled up therefore got wider therefore the saddle should not be too wide if it fitted before.....obviously tracings would confirm that. And the odd, very odd, synthetic tree HAS been known to stretch - not broken.

Are the owners of horse B quite sure that the saddle is too wide? I have umpteen clients tell me their saddle is too wide when actually it's too narrow, and vice versa.

 

[Gleeful Imp]

Horse B's saddle is rolling quite dramatically - not stable on top at all! If too narrow would it do that?

 

[sbloom]

Too narrow saddles tend to roll more than too wide - too wide lifts at the back in rising trot. HHUUUUGE generalisation.

 

[Dubsie]

But horse B has muscled up therefore got wider .

Not always true. We bought a 6 year old pony R, who had not done a lot, was not ridden much mostly lunged I think, and came with a Wintec saddle, a chunky looking pony anyway. It was checked and was fine, however our older companion pony S's saddle (that came with him) was too narrow and didn't fit well at all, so at the suggestion of the saddler as S has high withers and she felt the Wintec with a narrower gullet would fit S fine, which it did, and we had a new posher saddle for R (also with an adjustable gullet).

Roll on 12 months and S is now getting used a lot for mounted games and other things so is looking less fat belly but more muscle, and R has got very fit too - doing loads of Pony Club stuff, and looks VERY different, but saddle definitely dropping at the front. So saddler comes out again, S's Wintec is fine - although fitter he is still the same shape, but R's new saddle needs a narrower gullet because he HAS changed shape and the saddle was dropping right down and sitting too low at the front. So now both ponies are in the same width fitting saddle, which is handy, as the synthetic Wintec is easy to wipe clean after a wet hack or hunting!

 

[indie999]

Yes just like a pair of human shoes would.

Definitely leather will. Not so sure re synthetic.

Years ago and even now horses would share saddles at yards and usually had a thick numnah to pad them out! Horses did rarely get saddle sores.............I do remember that, and probably with hindsight ill /rubbing especially on shoulder area etc but the horses were worked hard for a couple of days a week(riding school long hacks).All day.

 

[sbloom]

Not always true. We bought a 6 year old pony R, who had not done a lot, was not ridden much mostly lunged I think, and came with a Wintec saddle, a chunky looking pony anyway. It was checked and was fine, however our older companion pony S's saddle (that came with him) was too narrow and didn't fit well at all, so at the suggestion of the saddler as S has high withers and she felt the Wintec with a narrower gullet would fit S fine, which it did, and we had a new posher saddle for R (also with an adjustable gullet).

Roll on 12 months and S is now getting used a lot for mounted games and other things so is looking less fat belly but more muscle, and R has got very fit too - doing loads of Pony Club stuff, and looks VERY different, but saddle definitely dropping at the front. So saddler comes out again, S's Wintec is fine - although fitter he is still the same shape, but R's new saddle needs a narrower gullet because he HAS changed shape and the saddle was dropping right down and sitting too low at the front. So now both ponies are in the same width fitting saddle, which is handy, as the synthetic Wintec is easy to wipe clean after a wet hack or hunting!

Is is true that some muscle can be more streamlined than the fat that was there before - but it can be down more to the loss of weight. If someone tells me their horse has muscled up across their topline I would assume that it was wider, if I needed to make an assumption

Yes just like a pair of human shoes would.

Definitely leather will. Not so sure re synthetic.

Years ago and even now horses would share saddles at yards and usually had a thick numnah to pad them out! Horses did rarely get saddle sores.............I do remember that, and probably with hindsight ill /rubbing especially on shoulder area etc but the horses were worked hard for a couple of days a week(riding school long hacks).All day.

The leather only stretches because the flocking allows it to. Flocking in a synthetic will compress on a wider horse in a different way to how it does on a narrower horse, it's about the flocking and not so much about the material surrounding it.

To try and ascertain what it going on clearance shoulld be monitored (as a minimum, I like my clients to keep an eye on their saddles) - if the horse has got wider then the vertical clearance under the pommel will almost alwqays increase and make the saddle perch, which will make it roll. Do try and check the clearance on your saddles at least once a month! Do it girthed up, not mounted, as leaning forwards will decrease the clearance as your weight shifts over the front of the saddle.

 

[Orangehorse]

It is doubtful that the saddle has changed that much - far more likely to be the horse has changed shape due to its age, still growing, and work.

Saddles do change to a certain extent - the flocking gets squashed, the leather may stretch a bit, but the tree is rigid so that isn't going to change a lot unless it is broken or a saddler alters it.

I bought a saddle for my 4 year old and after 12 months it didn't fit at all, but I thought that would be the case and wasn't surprised about having to buy a new one (managed to sell the old one though).