Jaguar dressage saddles?

Halfstep

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Just wondered what you lot thought of them?
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Any info/experience most welcome! Ta.
 

Worried1

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I really like the look of them. Saw them at the regionals and put it on my christmas list! That along with the digital photoframe never materialised
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Did have a half-hearted look for a secondhand one and never found one which I took to be a good sign (people like them so much they don't let them go... ?)

I personally don't like deep bucket seats as my arse is too big and find the flatter squarer cuts seats much more comfortable - hence why I like the look of the Jaguar one so much.

I have put it on the list again for this year
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TableDancer

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I have one, it's really nice
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Very comfortable and really forces your thigh into the right place. Only problem is it doesn't fit either of my current rides too brilliantly so am half-thinking of selling it. What width/size do you need?
 

sikaran

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I have two - one a close contact - and love them both. I think I probably prefer the close contact one of the two, but that might just be because its lighter. Highly recommended
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Worried1

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[ QUOTE ]
I have one, it's really nice
smile.gif
Very comfortable and really forces your thigh into the right place. Only problem is it doesn't fit either of my current rides too brilliantly so am half-thinking of selling it. What width/size do you need?

[/ QUOTE ]

17.5 medium...
 

TableDancer

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I have one, it's really nice
smile.gif
Very comfortable and really forces your thigh into the right place. Only problem is it doesn't fit either of my current rides too brilliantly so am half-thinking of selling it. What width/size do you need?

[/ QUOTE ]

17.5 medium...

[/ QUOTE ]

Sadly its 17.5" N/M - shame... TBH I'm inclined to keep it as I do like it and sell some others - I have a nice elderly KN and a hardly-used Ansur treeless dressage as well as a Butet double flap jumping saddle, I'm thinking I'll sell all of them on Ebay and use the proceeds to buy probably a Sue Carson
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kit279

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Apologies to OP for shameless hijacking of post but TableDancer, what size/age is your Butet? I've been trying to get one for ages but they're never the right size on Ebay!
 

kerilli

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erm, was told by top top Master Saddler that they are very difficult to re-flock, the flocking is in a pretty narrow 'sausage' in both panels. (narrower than the panel itself, if that makes sense.) i'm sure the drawback is pretty obvious...
imho quite nice to ride in but not very nice at all for horse's back...
 

Teabelly

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I'll second what Kerilli said about Jaguars not being very good for the horses back this was said to my YO by two independant saddle fitters.

They are very comfortable for the rider but the tree is not for the horse.Needless to say that the YO Jaguar is up for sale after her stallion had intense physio for his bad back.
 

TableDancer

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Interesting to hear all you guys saying that. I haven't noticed specific problems associated with using this saddle on my horses but then they can't talk can they? Peter Storr said the same thing to me a couple of years ago but I didn't take it that seriously as he was endorsing Sue Carson saddles
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May be I will sell that one after all, or put them all on and see which ones go for the best amounts.
 

lillie07

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I have to agree with the above posters- I had one on my old mare Megan and I really liked it. Megan’s back, her physio and the vet didn’t agree and apparently it’s not uncommon! Neither of my trainers at the time liked riding in it either.
 

jules89

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I got told I prob wouldn't like it as I didn't get on with Stubben saddles as find them too hard but I LOVE my jaguar, my horse loves it, and it sits me in a beautiful position
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stolensilver

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I'm another who has Jaguar saddles and loves them. I've used them on 3 different horses with no problems, no bad backs, no soreness, nothing. They are great for the rider, put you in a good position but with enough freedom to move around when you need to.

I am not a fan of the Sue Carson saddles though.
 

Halfstep

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This is all very interesting! I asked because Nicola McGivern thought my Ideal Suzannah was restricting my horse through the shoulders and that I should try a different shape saddle. I'm borrowing a friend's Jaguar and like the feel of it to ride in. It sits better on him in front, but I'm not sure about the "sausage" panels, which I did notice. So wanted some feedback on what people thought. Nicola recommended a Prestige, but I can't get hold of one to try at the moment.
 

millitiger

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i have a Jaguar dressage saddle and i adore riding in it and my horse really likes it too!!

he can be prone to having a bad back but his actually got BETTER after i bought the Jaguar- he regularly wins at dressage with over 70%, gets eventing scores in the low 20's and has great muscle tone over his back.

on the other hand, he hated most other saddles we tried on him Stubbens, Amerigos, Ideals, Albions and many more!

perhaps they suit some horses more than others?
all i know is that my horse goes better in it than any other saddle, i adore it and have also ridden other horses in it with no problems.
 

KatB

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Horses for courses tbh!!
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SOme horses they are fab on, some theyre not. I like them to ride in, but they dont suit my horse as thy are too narrow through the front, and G has HUGE shoulders.
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Partoow

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i find the Jaguar works on the wider slightly dippy backed horses as the tree is rather 'banana' like. For me also the 'french' panels dont give the best flat contact and therefore leads to less area to spread the pressure.They are also rather narrow in the gullet.
Some riders like them because they do not challenge your position in terms of where you place your pelvis, they let itcurl either under or backwards and the thigh roll becomes a place where you can pin with the knee.
On the whole i have had a lot of horses with problems in the Jaguar. Those that they suit , of the conformation i have mensitoned do fine on them but they are few and far between.
Its interesting what N mac. says as i would say the saddle you have would not be too different a fit for the horse than the Jaguar, ie i would recomend it for the wider dippy horse!!
Quite like the new Albion, have seen a few of the new Kieffers but am not that sold on them , love the old KN's and of coarse the WOWs but it really is something you have to try.
The presige i also find a bit position fixing but you dont know unless you try!!!Oh not a big fan of the Amerigo's either as they have the felt french panel too and it really did not do my horses back any good ; mine was made to measure and i sold it within 6 months!!
 

Halfstep

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Thanks for your comments partoow! Ok, my horse is fairly narrow (N/M tree), has huge shoulders, is short backed (not dippy) and is a big, big mover. He's well muscled up through his back. What would you recommend? A WOW? Passier?

When I bought him he was in a Devoucoux Malika, which was good on him but the seller wouldn't part with it! I rode him for a while in an older Albion SL, which sadly couldn't be made to fit. Hated the Keiffer that I tried briefly. Finally settled on the new Ideal as I adored the feel of it and it fitted him well as a 5 yr old. But he's definitely grown, and while the saddler says it fits, I do understand what Nicola is saying about it restricting his shoulder- its a lot of saddle in front.

Arrggghhh. Ruddy saddles.
 

icestationzebra

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HS - just a thought - have you looked at anything that has lateral flexion through the shoulders? I perhaps am not using the correct term for it. I have a horse with big shoulders and big movement and found some saddles just 'sat' on her shoulder blade and restricted her - especially as she brought a foreleg back under her in medium trot. In the end I went for a Barnsby that has short points and is flexible in front - I suppose a bit like the WOWs in that sense. As her shoulder comes back it fits beneath the saddle as opposed to bumping into it - does that make any sense?
 

Halfstep

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ISZ, that makes lots of sense, and is exactly what I was trying to describe with the way the shoulder moves.

I didn't realise the Barnsby saddles were flexible in this way. That is good to know. I know that WOWs are and the new Prestige dressage saddle is also. Off to look at Barnsby's range now.
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icestationzebra

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Glad I made some sense - I don't always!
The range on the website is the standard stuff - I don't think the one I have is on there - which is the N-Gage PSG so it is worth calling them for a chat as they are happy to bespoke something for you in terms of block design, seat etc. etc. Once they find the tree that fits your horse you can go from there. I really rate them and the panels are wide and flat which gives an even weight distribution which I don't think the shaped banana panels do. I had a conversation with a dressage trainer about the Jaguar's in particular. She was a huge fan and said she thought they were lovely for the horses back because the way the panels curve upwards dispersed pressure out and off the back - but I completely disagreed as the way I see it the pressure would surely build at the point the saddle leaves contact with the back. Try pushing something curved into the top of your leg for example and then something flat - the flat object keeps even pressure the curved one has a pressure point in the middle - hence I didn't follow her advice to get a Jaguar!
Ramble over
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SAL66

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My YO has just had a new Barnsby and she basically leases it for I think 6 monthe to see if she likes it , it can be adjusted I think FOC in that time period, if after the lease period you can either purchase it or start again.

I wished I known about this scheme, I purchased a Albion Platinum in September which after riding for a while I am finding it a tad to wide in a particular area of mine, so I expect to loose a fortune by either trying to sell it or part exchange.

HS - yes you are right bloody saddles.
 

CBAnglo

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My previous instructor won a made to measure one at Oldencraig and I agree it was lovely to sit in but agree about all the above comments - they arent so good for the horse. It really does depend on which model you get though and how it is fitted (or not) to the horse.

There are other saddles around in the same price range which I would look at first though.
 

Halfstep

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Thanks so much everyone for your feedback. I've now ridden four times in the Jaguar and while the horse felt happy at first, today he was hard to get relaxed and through, he felt like he was holding himself against me a bit. He was moving well, but just felt a bit tight in the lateral work. I'm going to swap him back into my normal saddle this weekend and see how he goes. And then I'm going to speak to my saddler about trying a WOW as I have a feeling that might be the way forward.
 
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