Ever heard of a horse not taking to dressage style saddle?!?!

[Len]

Hi

I bought a T6 dressage saddle for my teen mw cob mare about 6 wks ago fitter by a local saddler. She went well in it for the first week (she was previously in a GP) then she began to plant her feet and spin in the school when you asked for a transition.

I had the saddle checked just over a week ago and the fitter says it is a good fit and cant see any problem but did comment my mare looked a little short behind.

I gave her a few days off and also some bladderite as she was quite bloated. After this she was hacked and on her toes then the following day I schooled. She tried to plant and spin in transitions again - I decided to get firm with her as I had the ok about the saddle and she did give in and trot forwards nicely by the end of the session.

The back man has been out this pm and he said she was tight behind. He worked on her and was happy afterwards. I spoke to him about the new saddle and he said that though it fits it will feel very different to the GP to her and that some horses just dont enjoy them.

Has anyone heard of this? I know that the Thorowgood T6 has excellent results in the pliance pressure tests.

Has anyone else had issues in changing from a GP to a dressage saddle?

Thanks.

 

[natalia]

I have a mare who is very sensitive to saddles. I've got her a dressage saddle and she hates it, won't step under very well in it and is in general a bit sour to ride. I've recently bought her a super close contact mono flap jump saddle and she loves it, works freely and really moves. When I bought her new saddle I tried several and even out of those that fitted she was stroppy in certain styles. I think some horses object to dr saddles as they normally make you sit much deeper than gp or jump and the weight distribution is different. Remember that every horse is different and some are more sensitive than others. If someone made me go for a jog in a thong I would also be unimpressed after being used to my comfy granny pants!

 

[MrsMozart]

Might be worth getting another saddler out to check the fit. If it was a new saddle it will probably need flocking again. The length of the points of tree can cause issues.

Dizz is very sensitive to saddles, so I know your pain!

 

[Len]

Hi

Thank you for the replies. The saddle was new when I bought it and has been used for about 6 weeks but not daily and not for long periods. I had the original fitter out 2 wkends ago just to check that all was ok and she said it fits very well.

I am concerned that due to her being in her mid teens and never having a dressage style saddle before that she may be finding the sensation of the deep seat too much?

I am tempted to sell it before it loses any more value being synthetic and just go back to my newly flocked GP which she was always ok in.

Will be sad to see it go though its so comfy!