Don't feel safe in my new saddle

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showjump2003

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Having just spent a silly amount of money on two made to measure saddles... rode in one tonight and felt awful! Felt like it was really tipping me forwards. I know it fits the horse correctly. I have ridden in the same saddle for over 7 years, do you think I just need to get used to them? I want to use them as GP saddles yet there is no way at the moment I would dare jump in them as I'm collapsing on her shoulders!
 
The saddle should be fitted to suit both you & the horse! If it is unbalancing you then you need to take it up with the saddler.

That said, it could well be that you need to adjust to it - I would certainly get someone (pref your instructor) to take a look at you riding to see if you really ARE tipped forwards. If they think you are not, it may be an idea to get someone to video you so you can see that for yourself - if that is the case then the adjustment will be beneficial to you & your horse in the long run...
 
Thanks. Hoping to go for school hire this weekend and try them out properly instead of in the field here with my dads cows chasing me.

Really worried they aren't right. Can the saddler do much about it seeing as it's made to measure?
 
here's a pic of them
saddle10.jpg
 
The saddler has to take responsibility to a certain extent. It may be that the flocking can be adjust to give the effect of a front riser, just to rotate you back a bit, but it does depend if it can be done subtley enough to affect you but not the fit for the horse.

My eye is not good enough to look at the photo & be able to visualise where that would put your balance to be honest - someone else may have an opinion though.

I would say don't worry until someone has seen you ride in it - it really could just be you getting used to it - it's possible you USED to ride tipped backwards a bit & this saddle is sitting you CORRECTLY.
 
I'm going to see an instructor tomorrow to see if there is a possibility of booking a last minute lesson for saturday! Fingers crossed.
 
Oh you poor thing
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I'm SURE you can get it sorted out, honestly don't worry.

Let your instructor take a look at you & take it from there.
 
Looking at the picture I can see why you feel tipped forward.
There appears to be a really high back on the saddle compared with the front.
I imagine it feels as if you are being pushed ever so slightly from behind.
I would get the saddler back and ask them to look at you in the saddle on the horse, I wouldn't be happy with this saddle I'm afraid.
We had a saddler out here a while back and she attempted to tell my husband the saddle fitted him; it put him in the wrong place completely and it was obvious she wasn't as knowledgeable as she insisted she was.
They may be able to adjust the padding in your saddle but I reckon it's the actual shape that's at fault. If it were on a horse I would have said the fit at the front was wrong to make the back look higher, but as it wasn't, it must be the saddle..
You could try a riser for now but that isn't a real solution..
 
If the saddler is a member of the Federation of Master Saddlers, s/he has a responsibility to sort it out - particularly if it's a made to measure saddle, in which case it should fit you and the horse perfectly, at least to start with, (no-one can predict how the horse will change shape or when, but at least it should fit for now).

The hard thing, in my experience, is when a saddler is staring you in the face and telling you the saddle fits fine, you just need to get used to it - when you know it doesn't....

so get your trainer to look at it and you and then you can have some sort of semi-objective back-up

good luck

E
 
Having been through numerous saddles and STILL not able to find one that is 100% I can sympathize! It does seem to have a very large cantle, and if u divide it into thirds the front to are flatter so your body will be gravitating there, as it is fairly level looking just sitting on the stand I imagine its not that different on your horse?

I am desperate for an old saddle with a nice flat seat, no horrible padded knee bits etc. I think we are over engineering them now - too much padding and knee rolls.
 
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