Kent and Master Flat Backed GP

[Stenners]

Does anyone else use one of these? Just had one fitted to my horse yesterday - I know they are now discontinued but just an out of interest post really and see how you get on with them or any K&M GPs. It's not my forever saddle but gives him room to build up the muscle he needs.

 

[MissTyc]

I have one for my cob as he has a fraction more shape than the cob saddles seemed to be designed for. I am a K&M fan, so I find it very comfortable.

 

[Meredith]

I have a K & M Original Jump Saddle, also now discontinued, for the pony in my avatar. It worked well for a couple of years but no longer fits as he has changed shape with age. I had no problems with it apart from finding the seat a little firm. An acavallo seat saver sorted that. The knee rolls were in a better position for me than the GP and the short gullet bar fitted the pony better at the time. Pony is ridden in a completely different shape of saddle now.

 

[mustardsmum]

My experience of this saddle was awful and nearly messed up my pony who became reluctant to move in it. It tipped me forward and was the most uncomfortable saddle I have ever sat on. My horse ended up with huge white patches either side of his withers (which thankfully disappeared at the next coat change after I got an Ideal….). In an attempt to make the saddle fit, the saddler made it wider and wider. I had the saddler out four times over the space of a couple of months, it cost a fortune, and after it went up my pony’s neck after which I got rid of it. And the saddler! Awful experience, possibly exacerbated by a fitter who just couldn’t get it right. But even had it fitted, it was very, very hard, slippery and uncomfortable. Maybe I just got a bad one but I can see why they were discontinued. I was relieved to sell and get my money back.

 

[Widgeon]

Surely it's like any other saddle - if it fits your horse then it's great, if it doesn't then it's awful. I rode on a K&M GP for a saddle fitting once and hated it, I felt perched and uncomfortable. But they seem to suit some horse and rider combos very well. If you like it and it fits your horse then you're winning!

 

[fredflop]

My experience of this saddle was awful and nearly messed up my pony who became reluctant to move in it. It tipped me forward and was the most uncomfortable saddle I have ever sat on. My horse ended up with huge white patches either side of his withers (which thankfully disappeared at the next coat change after I got an Ideal….). In an attempt to make the saddle fit, the saddler made it wider and wider. I had the saddler out four times over the space of a couple of months, it cost a fortune, and after it went up my pony’s neck after which I got rid of it. And the saddler! Awful experience, possibly exacerbated by a fitter who just couldn’t get it right. But even had it fitted, it was very, very hard, slippery and uncomfortable. Maybe I just got a bad one but I can see why they were discontinued. I was relieved to sell and get my money back.

This sounds like a case of a bad saddle fitter, not a bad saddle.

 

[Equi]

I had one for a couple of years. It started out great but I started to feel sore riding in it on my lower back and groin, and I lost the ability to canter. I tried a seat saver which didn’t help. I changed saddle and I no longer hurt and have regained my canter.

 

[mustardsmum]

This sounds like a case of a bad saddle fitter, not a bad saddle.

It be fair, it absolutely was a bit of both. I would add, I think the quality of the K&M saddles is very variable. The one I had had an awful slippery seat that I don’t believe was leather, it felt very plasticky and had tiny creases/puckering all over it. It really was the hardest I have ever sat on. It was also very poorly assembled - the d-rings were not symmetrical and the overall finish was shoddy with leatherwork not lining up properly. This was a saddle that was pretty much brand new - I bought it online from a reputable seller and, I was pretty pleased with it til it arrived and I sat on it. I didn’t think I would be able to sell it, but was glad I when I did. I guess they are like marmite! And I love marmite but not K&M saddles….

 

[SpotsandBays]

I’ve had a couple of k&ms. They seemed to fit my horses well and I liked that they were adjustable, but both didn’t suit me for different reasons. The older jump saddle was rock hard - very uncomfortable, and the newer GP (compact) was comfy but just didn’t suit me or offer me any support. I don’t have either anymore

 

[Stenners]

My experience of this saddle was awful and nearly messed up my pony who became reluctant to move in it. It tipped me forward and was the most uncomfortable saddle I have ever sat on. My horse ended up with huge white patches either side of his withers (which thankfully disappeared at the next coat change after I got an Ideal….). In an attempt to make the saddle fit, the saddler made it wider and wider. I had the saddler out four times over the space of a couple of months, it cost a fortune, and after it went up my pony’s neck after which I got rid of it. And the saddler! Awful experience, possibly exacerbated by a fitter who just couldn’t get it right. But even had it fitted, it was very, very hard, slippery and uncomfortable. Maybe I just got a bad one but I can see why they were discontinued. I was relieved to sell and get my money back.

8 months on - this is the issue I'm now having - I've had it adjusted 5 times since April, it's tipping me forwards and still hard as nails to ride on and I say on as I feel like I'm perched on the horse and not sat in him!

 

[sbloom]

One really useful thing to do is to stand facing the horse with the saddle on, ungirthed. Go to the front of the saddle and insert your forward hand into the channel under the pommel. Reach back and spread thumb one side and finger tips the other, and feel if the inner edge of the panel is contacting the horse, at least softly. For me this means I can gently push my fingers into the gap, but it's not a gaping hole. If you have to firmly push your fingers under the rails (not actually rails in a solid plastic tree but still) then they're too wide/flat, if there's a gaping hole they're too upright and all the pressure is on the lower/outer edge JUST where the horse both carries you and has to push up ie the base of the wither back to your seatbones.

In the drive to make twists comfortable for riders many saddles on wide horse's backs have the latter issue.

And then there's the rear balance point...

 

[mustardsmum]

8 months on - this is the issue I'm now having - I've had it adjusted 5 times since April, it's tipping me forwards and still hard as nails to ride on and I say on as I feel like I'm perched on the horse and not sat in him!

I would get rid, I am so glad I did. Your horse will thank you! My pony def much happier in the Ideal, and it is so comfortable. Perched was exactly how I felt - liken it to sitting on an ironing board..... I am convinced wooden trees have natural give that you just dont get with plastic. There are plenty of people out there who will buy it off you, some people love K&M. Personally, I love Ideal and I dont know how the old saddler convinced me K&M was the way to go. Ended up back fitting one of my old slightly tatty Idea saddle - with a reflock it was perfect and we haven't looked back!

 

[sbloom]

I would get rid, I am so glad I did. Your horse will thank you! My pony def much happier in the Ideal, and it is so comfortable. Perched was exactly how I felt - liken it to sitting on an ironing board..... I am convinced wooden trees have natural give that you just dont get with plastic. There are plenty of people out there who will buy it off you, some people love K&M. Personally, I love Ideal and I dont know how the old saddler convinced me K&M was the way to go. Ended up back fitting one of my old slightly tatty Idea saddle - with a reflock it was perfect and we haven't looked back!

There are plastic trees that are shaped like wooden trees, where you're sitting purely on the webbing across a big hole, which will ride more like a wooden tree, and there are also solid plastic trees (as with Fairfax group saddles) that have a lot of shaping around the seatbones etc, and usually more premium materials providing comfort. These saddles tend to be upper range prices as you can imagine.

If the tree shape really suits your pelvis, and there's room for your buttocks in the saddle so you're not tipped by the cantle, then they can work for sure. Not the way I like to fit, but they can work. It's just that some brands, when they don't work, and how often they don't work, show up the same issues again and again, and so to my mind are a bit flawed. A bit like, to me, the kink in the Wintec headplates that I believe are there to give slightly more clearance over the wither for a given width, but can often (not always, again they work for plenty) cause excessive pressure around the stirrup bars where the effect of that kink extends backwards.

I would also say that it's always best to have a fitter who has brand specific training, each and every brand fits differently and I think that generic training isn't enough. I get the impression, from the introductory weekend course I did, that the SMS offers, that they use Fairfax group saddles for a lot of the training, so at least there's that

 

[Stenners]

This is all good to know thank you very much! I'm going back for a fitting next week and going to be very open and honest that I just don't like the saddle and for me it shouldn't need adjusting so much so much often!