fitting your own saddle

[mole]

does anyone just buy a new saddle from a shop then fit it themselves? i am very tempted to do this right now due to having two saddlers not do what i want.


do you find that it needs adjusting by a saddler anyway or is it a bit of potluck as to whether the tree shape fits your horse straight of the shelf?

ps i understand that the width would need adjusting too but want to find out about the tree

 

[BigRed]

Unless you have saddlery skills you aren't going to be able to make any physical changes to a saddle and you will have to get someone to alter the flocking yourself. If you feel you are knowledgeable enough to tell if the saddle fits in general terms, then go for it.

I knew my old horse was a straightforward medium. I knew what size saddle I personally needed, so I bought the right saddle for both of us and had a saddler make minor changes to make it perfect for my mare.

 

[joeanne]

Have to agree with BigRed.
Unless you are a saddler, how are you going to know whether the saddle is as close to perfect a fit as can be gotten?
Saddlers (the good ones) spend years perfecting their craft, and will be able to spot tiny things that the untrained eye might not.
If your saddler has not gotten it right, then find another saddler. The saddle needs to suit both the horse AND you.

 

[FleabittenT]

What is it you want, that two saddlers won't do?

I want my horses to work & perform the best that they can, able to relax & swing over their backs. I would rather have piece of mind that it has been fitted by an experienced saddler than risk damaging my horse's back or causing pain.

Even just not fitting slightly can cause huge discomfort, if it is pinching over the withers or impeding the shoulder, for example. I don't necessarily have the experience to spot this...

 

[mole]

What is it you want, that two saddlers won't do?

I want my horses to work & perform the best that they can, able to relax & swing over their backs. I would rather have piece of mind that it has been fitted by an experienced saddler than risk damaging my horse's back or causing pain.

Even just not fitting slightly can cause huge discomfort, if it is pinching over the withers or impeding the shoulder, for example. I don't necessarily have the experience to spot this...

they have fitted it to my horse - fine but my horse doesnt like it and wants it a wider fit but they both say it fits fine and that i should carry on riding her even tho i know shes not happy.

i have another saddler who i have talked this thro and hopefully she understands what it is that im trying to do (give horse room under saddle to build up muscle). im just getting fed up paying call out fees for different saddlers cos they dont listen that im saying my horse is unhappy even tho the say saddle fits fine (its too narrow for my horses taste due to lack of muscle)


does any of that make sense???!!!

 

[FleabittenT]

they have fitted it to my horse - fine but my horse doesnt like it and wants it a wider fit but they both say it fits fine and that i should carry on riding her even tho i know shes not happy.

i have another saddler who i have talked this thro and hopefully she understands what it is that im trying to do (give horse room under saddle to build up muscle). im just getting fed up paying call out fees for different saddlers cos they dont listen that im saying my horse is unhappy even tho the say saddle fits fine (its too narrow for my horses taste due to lack of muscle)

does any of that make sense???!!!

Not really, TBH! In what way is your horse unhappy in the saddle?

The thing is, I would think the saddle needs to be fitted to the shape your horse currently is, rather than the shape she will be once she has built up more muscle.

I do feel your pain though! I recently bought a fat, unfit mare, the saddler is coming out so regularly to adjust it as she changes shape, I see more of him than my OH!

But if you have tried several different saddlers, who have all said the same thing, maybe it's worth trying to explain what your concerns are in a different way? Or maybe it does in fact fit, and your horse is unhappy about something else?

 

[mole]

Not really, TBH! In what way is your horse unhappy in the saddle?

The thing is, I would think the saddle needs to be fitted to the shape your horse currently is, rather than the shape she will be once she has built up more muscle.

I do feel your pain though! I recently bought a fat, unfit mare, the saddler is coming out so regularly to adjust it as she changes shape, I see more of him than my OH!

But if you have tried several different saddlers, who have all said the same thing, maybe it's worth trying to explain what your concerns are in a different way? Or maybe it does in fact fit, and your horse is unhappy about something else?

she hates canter and doesnt really like trot either basically going forward and using her back she cant stand as she has no room to move under the saddle since it has been narrowed. horse was fine but saddle was sitting too low so flocking was added at the front to raise it up but this has narrowed the saddle and is pressing down on the area where the saddle was too low before causing it to look like it fits but it is squashing all her already squashed muscles either side of her withers. hope im explaining this well
in canter she doesnt want to strike off (never been a problem till saddle changed) and then when in canter she really huffs and puffs (like its hard work/painful) and she wont work in an outline (again only a problem since saddle has been changed)


maltesters for anyone whos reading this!

 

[joeanne]

it sounds like now the saddle has been properly fitted, she is using muscles that she previously was not using. Hense the reluctance to work correctly. This will take time to sort, but going back to an imperfect fitting saddle will not help in the long run. You have to see it as short term problem which will give you a long term gain.

 

[Hippona]

There is a school of thought that says that when trying to build up muscle, especially in the wither area....the saddle should actually be slightly too wide, in order for the muscles to develop. Think about it...if the saddle is fitted perfectly then it doesnt allow for development.

I have actually followed this theory and successfully built up muscle on a horse who has muscle wastage and hollows over the wither. I did use an adjustable saddle with a prolite and as the muscles developed changed the gullet to accomodate.

If your horse is hollowing in transitions, reluctant to go forwards and generally a bit stuffy then I would agree with you that the saddle is too tight for her...

Thats my opinion anyway. Feel free to shoot me down in flames.

 

[touchstone]

I'd be listening to your horse, it sounds as if the saddle is causing obvious discomfort for her and I'd trust her opinion over saddle fitters that say it is fine; I've seen to many horses suffer after using supposedly 'well fitted' saddles to trust a fitter completely.

To me it makes perfect sense to have a saddle fitted slightly wide and padded to allow for muscle development on a horse with muscle atrophy, compressed muscles will not fill out as they should and you will end up exaccerbating the problem. I believe that balance saddles are fitted wider and padded and may be worth a look.

 

[mole]

There is a school of thought that says that when trying to build up muscle, especially in the wither area....the saddle should actually be slightly too wide, in order for the muscles to develop. Think about it...if the saddle is fitted perfectly then it doesnt allow for development.

I have actually followed this theory and successfully built up muscle on a horse who has muscle wastage and hollows over the wither. I did use an adjustable saddle with a prolite and as the muscles developed changed the gullet to accomodate.

If your horse is hollowing in transitions, reluctant to go forwards and generally a bit stuffy then I would agree with you that the saddle is too tight for her...

Thats my opinion anyway. Feel free to shoot me down in flames.

I'd be listening to your horse, it sounds as if the saddle is causing obvious discomfort for her and I'd trust her opinion over saddle fitters that say it is fine; I've seen to many horses suffer after using supposedly 'well fitted' saddles to trust a fitter completely.

To me it makes perfect sense to have a saddle fitted slightly wide and padded to allow for muscle development on a horse with muscle atrophy, compressed muscles will not fill out as they should and you will end up exaccerbating the problem. I believe that balance saddles are fitted wider and padded and may be worth a look.

this is what ive been trying put across. i will prob need a front riser prolite to balance the saddle for a couple of months but then hoping to take that away once the muscle has built up - theres not much to build up. then i will need saddle refitted again but i think that some horses like a thick pad and a bit of breathing space and my horse seems to be one of them!

 

[millitiger]

The only expert on saddle fitting imo is the horse.

if the horse is not happy with the saddle, no matter who says it fits well, it needs to be changed.

when my mare was having a new jumping saddle fitted we tried approx 12 saddles- 4 fitted very well but she was only happy in 2 of them so a saddle can technically fit but the horse be unhappy.

 

[chestnut cob]

There is a school of thought that says that when trying to build up muscle, especially in the wither area....the saddle should actually be slightly too wide, in order for the muscles to develop. Think about it...if the saddle is fitted perfectly then it doesnt allow for development.

I have actually followed this theory and successfully built up muscle on a horse who has muscle wastage and hollows over the wither. I did use an adjustable saddle with a prolite and as the muscles developed changed the gullet to accomodate.

If your horse is hollowing in transitions, reluctant to go forwards and generally a bit stuffy then I would agree with you that the saddle is too tight for her...

Thats my opinion anyway. Feel free to shoot me down in flames.

^^ This ^^

My saddler (Master saddler etc etc) says that she sometimes fits saddles with pads under (ie, Prolite) becasue it allows the horse to develop under the pad, and then she can remove it. She believes that if the saddle "fits perfectly" on an under muscled horse then it prevents the muscle from developing correctly.

To the OP - I have been there! I had a lovely dressage saddle which fitted "perfectly" and was refitted two or three times to fit my horse. He hated every second I rode in that saddle, despite all of this. I rode in it for 9 months, since it fitted, technically but he really disliked it. I sold the saddle early this year and now ride him in something different which he is much happier in (and has been fitted professionally, and checked since). My DR saddle fitted but I now believe it was just too much of a saddle for him. He's in a jumping saddle now, for everything, and far happier.

 

[kerilli]

The only expert on saddle fitting imo is the horse.

if the horse is not happy with the saddle, no matter who says it fits well, it needs to be changed.

when my mare was having a new jumping saddle fitted we tried approx 12 saddles- 4 fitted very well but she was only happy in 2 of them so a saddle can technically fit but the horse be unhappy.

Exactly this.

I use layers of fybagee to fill in where I want the horse to muscle up, until it does. if the saddle gives enough space, and the horse is happy to work correctly, this can happen surprisingly quickly.

I'd get a saddler out who you trust, and go from there.

 

[mole]

thanks for all the advice. i have a saddler coming out thursday and i have been and bought a prolite front riser (ouch) so the saddle can be fitted to that.

oh saddle woes how i wish i didnt have any

 

[Luci07]

going through the refitting stage with my old mare at the moment. She has been out of work and did look as if she was due to drop twins. When in proper work, she was very easy to fit and always ended up in a medium wide. With tightly crossed fingers I retrieved a much loved SJ saddle that my saddler couldn't fit that was a MW - and it didn't even begin to sit on her!

So, on saddlers advice, she is borrowing my jumping saddle for my boy which is a wide and I was told to go out and purchase a sheepskin pad with a gullet in it to "take up the slack" while my mare is getting fit. Saddler will be review once mare starts to seriously lose weight and muscle up.

but do agree, sometimes it can all work in theory but horse just doesn't like it. Equally, i have had saddles which are supposedly perfect for me and my horse and have absolutely hated them myself!