How many saddles will I buy as my 4 year old grows?

Meredith

Meredith

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As I am faced next week with a saddle fitter visit for my new 4 year old mare it occurred to me that I may joyfully ( ! ) anticipate the probably expensive purchase of any number of saddles.
My new pony is fat, with an almost non-existent wither and a flat shortish back.
How many saddles did you buy before finding one that suited for at least a few years?
That is of course before there are further changes due to advancing age.
 
Three so far, and my horse is now seven.

I need to get my sh1t together and sell the first two. Anyone want a TreeFree Tor or a weird leather tree thing?
 
cauda equina said:
Mine had a Kent & Masters at 4 and several gullet bars later is still in it at 11
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I have a Wintec and a K & M saddle. I was hoping one of these might fit. The ordinary width Wintec has a white XW gullet. The K & M has a silver XXW which I think is equivalent to the Wintec. I 'plonked ' both on her. My untutored eye told me both were far too narrow.
Oh dear.
 
I have bought a comfort saddle from the saddle exchange. Saddle mid range price. They are expensive for saddle fitting after your couple of free ones . But by all accounts the saddle can be altered to fit any horse you own. Nearly always done on site . They have various ranges of types but do not deal with any other makes that they don’t supply. So it means though mine has been widened many times I have not had to change saddle.
 
I got a Thorowgood, as advised by my saddle fitter ( who doesn't actually sell saddles) for the 4 year old, was still in it at 12, sometimes having 2 gullet changes a year.
 
I started my mare 18 months ago aged 5 in an ancient treeless that came with a previous horse, then had a brief foray into TCS, then had a Strada properly fitted. Sadly she's out of that now and the next size up (widest) doesn't fit her correctly so switched to a Smart Solution. So far so good although I'm still playing around with the padding 'cause I hate the Smart pads. The only one of those 4 I bought new was the TCS. Both Strada and Smart were ebay purchases, but I did my research and got them properly checked and fitted before even sitting in them. It doesn't have to cost a fortune.
 
Bought diva her AH workers saddle at 4, she’s 6 now and at her saddle fitting in may was told she needed a new one as she’s changed shape, lifted through her back & built topline etc so it’s just completely the wrong shape tree now.

Well she went lame a week later, lost all that muscle again, so i reckon it’ll do until her 7th year after all🤣
 
Hobo2 said:
I have bought a comfort saddle from the saddle exchange. Saddle mid range price. They are expensive for saddle fitting after your couple of free ones . But by all accounts the saddle can be altered to fit any horse you own. Nearly always done on site . They have various ranges of types but do not deal with any other makes that they don’t supply. So it means though mine has been widened many times I have not had to change saddle.
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They are on wooden trees and the tree must fit, same as any other traditional saddle. Trees each have their own particular shape. There are very few saddles, and barely any treed, that can more or less fit any horse, and wooden trees saddles can only have the width adjusted so much, and so many times.

The original question is completely a piece of string one, sorry! In general the more you build topline from the ground rather than riding, the more you preempt the change in shape and cut down on saddle trade ins but obviously young horses do change. It's partly why, as a treed fitter, I was very pleased to take on a flexible (and highly adjustable) treeless line.
 
rextherobber said:
Find a good independent saddle fitter and be guided by them. Mine is also a loriner and a physio, so a one stop shop!
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Yes! I have been lucky with gullet bars doing most of the work (fitter will accept swappable gullets, but hates a wintec 😂) but the more important thing she does is take trade in of all her old stock less a % for wear. Friend has gone through I think 3 saddles in 2 years and has basically only paid the difference. If you swap to a cheaper one you get money back!
 
I would say that once you have two widths worth of change, odds are the panel or the tree shape will no longer work in the majority of cases. Not all cases, but many.

If a changeable headplate saddle works, great, but often a better shaped wooden tree (more choice of shapes and personally I think most perform better) or a flexible saddle could be a better option.

Your saddle fitter's mileage may vary 😁
 
I hate to say it but mine went up a rug size at seven! Luckily very experienced saddle fitter when I bought him at seven said to me he thought he'd still got growing to do so we started in a wintec and then changed to a leather saddle once he'd stopped filling out
 
lozzles said:
I hate to say it but mine went up a rug size at seven! Luckily very experienced saddle fitter when I bought him at seven said to me he thought he'd still got growing to do so we started in a wintec and then changed to a leather saddle once he'd stopped filling out
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Mine has grown shoulders at 7 which means last year's winter rugs are all strangling him. This was also the summer my saddle fitter must have felt like she was on speed dial - he's got very strong, very broad and can now really push from behind. Those shoulders need space to move otherwise you're just blocking everything - i have a collection of WOW headpieces and also changed the panels.
 
Meredith said:
Yes @sbloom I realised it was a ' piece of string ' question. However I am interested in hearing the variety of experiences of others, not having had a 4 year old for over 20 years.
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I've had some not need a new saddle at all, and some did, or could have, gone through 4 or 5 between backing and 7/8 (treed saddles of course).
 
I got an Ideal T&T which Dex definitely chose himself as he felt like night and day in that vs anything else I tried, so I then bought the same saddle but in the dressage and it's done 3.5yo to 5.5yo so far. My understanding is that the gullet bar is bent back and doesn't go as far down 'the shoulder' on either side as a normal changeable gullet which gives the saddle more flexibility from that point down.

My advice would be to book in every 12 weeks for the next 2 years, as it's really annoying to need a quick check to rule out something that's cropped up and you have to wait 5 weeks.
 
I mean I had 3 by time I’d had fuzzball PTS at 8 and he was a relatively “late” starter at 5… still got a couple of WOW parts that I need to sell (about £1k worth so really DID ought to sort out selling them as they’d be totally wrong shape for current non-table shaped horse!).
 
I think my old horse had 4 by the time she stopped changing shape. What I took away from that is as long as the saddle fit go for the ones that are easy to resell, have long term reputation and isn't the trendiest but it now brand (as they may lose a lot of value if not in fashion 2 years later) and won't lose you a fortune. Unless money is no object of course 😂
 
AShetlandBitMeOnce said:
My advice would be to book in every 12 weeks for the next 2 years, as it's really annoying to need a quick check to rule out something that's cropped up and you have to wait 5 weeks.
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That's a great idea.

mariew said:
I think my old horse had 4 by the time she stopped changing shape. What I took away from that is as long as the saddle fit go for the ones that are easy to resell, have long term reputation and isn't the trendiest but it now brand (as they may lose a lot of value if not in fashion 2 years later) and won't lose you a fortune. Unless money is no object of course 😂
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and so is that

Thanks, both
 
My horse is 4 and recently started and the saddle I had for my previous horse is able to be fitted to him. I suspect he might eventually outgrow this saddle but I will worry about that when the time comes.
 
My previous 4 yo went through loads. I was trying the idea of buying a good saddle secondhand and change often route. One saddle fitted beautifully but lasted all of 4 weeks before she changed shape! I think it was because it fitted so beautifully that she changed musculature so quickly, but then it didn't fit! That horse would let you know in no uncertain terms if the saddle wasn't to her liking.

The one I have now, he had a couple initially but has had 2 flexible tree saddles (dressage and jump) since a 5 year old. They have done from age 5-8. However, he has THIS YEAR gone up a size in rug, is holding himself beautifully and has muscled up more and... I'm not so sure about the jump one now. He isn't objecting; it just isn't sitting as beautifully front to back. It is an adjustable brand so in spring I will have a saddler come and look, providing he is still happy through winter. The thought it that he won't be working much over winter anyway - just hacking and a few clinics. I seem to be something of a fair weather rider in my old age!

I still clipped him though as if he were as fluffy as he was a few weeks ago, I don't think he'd have been ridden at all as he was filthy and then sweaty and it was too much faff. Besides, he is so lazy on clinics when he is hot.

Of course, if he starts to look at all unhappy, he will have a saddler straight away!
 
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