Kent and masters

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FfionWinnie

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Was thinking of one of these for new horse as she has a rather wide back, big shoulders and no withers and is young so will change a lot.

Had a look online and was taken aback by how many are for sale having only been used a few times as the horse didn't suit it/retired/died/moved to Australia.

Has anyone got one and rates them?
 
My boy has flat back, no withers and big shoulders, Had a kent and masters cob GP for a year now and its perfect! Fits him well, nice to ride in and he moves much better as it allows his shoulder to move freely with its slightly straighter cut. Would defo recommend! :)
 
Three of my friends have one, two have GPs and one has a dressage, they all love them. All have wide backed, no withers type horses.....x
 
I'm suprised you managed to find many at all: they rarely come up second hand.

They fint most horses well but worth trying before you buy. The Thorowgood T6 is the same saddle but in synthetic so you could try that on if you can get ahold of one.

There was a K&M batch that had serious issues with the leather quality (peeled and faded within weeks) so check it over first. They were recalled but there will be plenty that were missed.
 
Hi, I'm one of those trying to sell a little used one, genuinely because the horse was sadly pts. It is lovely, comfortable for horse and rider and is on Horsequest if anyone wants to buy it!
 
I have a Kent and masters gp and love it. Have the high withered version, and fits my TB really nicely. Would definitely recommend them :)
 
I have one for my cob mare (mostly barrel shaped) and I now love it (needed slight uneven flocking to keep it firmly in place). The back lady commented on how well it fitted her and how lovely and light it was.

Great saddle.
 
I have one would only part with it if I didn't fit my horse, it's such a lovely comy saddle that fits my horse really well, I refused to sell it with my previous horse and had it re fitted to my current boy
 
I tried a K&M jump saddle - I hated it - as did pony.

Tried the T8 jump saddle a few months later and loved it.

Unfortunately Thorowgood seem to be having some quality issues at the moment - my horse now has pretty significant muscle wastage due to 1 incorrectly coloured gullet bar (was colured as a M but is actually a wide), followed by 2 faulty gullet bars that actually bent because they had not been tempered properly.

Luckily with the help of my saddle fitter we got it sorted but just bear that in mind when buying anything from Thorowgood/K&M at the moment.
 
Ive got a jump that im trying to sell, im one of those that has a horse it no longer fits. Nice enough saddles, mine is a couple of years old so ive not had any problems with the leather quality. I got it as my boy was young and changing shape so it served its purpose but i did find that in a way i out grew it and realised i needed a different type of saddle as well.
Good saddles for the price really but def make sure you try one to see if you like it. :)
 
I'm going to need to get a fitter out but was hoping if they didn't have a second hand one I could find out what size and buy one online. Just shelled out for a barnsby for my other pony and half wishing I'd tried K&M for her as its been here for 2 minutes then back to barnsby a month ago as she had radically changed shape and I have not heard anything since and its twice the price :rolleyes:
 
i have had and still have k & m saddles for my welsh cobs and a gypsy cob. Lovely saddles, lovely fit, comfy, happy horses and no slipping problems. have just also bought the dressage version for one of my section d`s. well worth the money oh and not too heavy either.
 
I have a Kent & Masters for my very wide cob and it fits him beautifully :D Would definitely recommend them - Our saddle fitter loves them for wide cobs xxx
 
I have a K&M...Mine is a 17.5 inch High wither GP in brown ... unfortunately it no longer fits my growing youngster so I'm having a new saddle fitted next thursday.

Great saddle for the price... leather is pretty soft so won't last like a £1200 saddle would but then you wouldn't expect it to. it is a good, very comfortable adjustable saddle though so definately serves a purpose :)
 
I have say for the money, I think they're pretty good value. I have the cob GP wide with a square cantel for my horse - never thought he was actually wide and I have to pad it out a bit to fit as he's lost muscle on his front as his previous saddle had become too narrow.

Our chiro guy actually recommended them as a decent budget saddle and I personally don't think the leather's bad at all.

I have chiro look at the fit of my horse's saddle on my youngster as i want to start working him and ensure the saddle fits. He too is very wide and has a wide spine/back and the K&Ms have a lovely wide gullet that many saddles don't have (a lot of them narrow towards the back significantly). Our chiro has said it is so important to check and consider the gullet width when fitting a saddle, don't just think about whether it fits on the front/doesn't tilt etc.

My only negative point would be is I think for any serious jumping the GP doesn't have adequate knee rolls though and the cob isn't cut forward enough so i guess it depends what you want the saddle for.
 
I'm just wanting it for a 4 year old until she stops dramatically changing shape then I will get something more expensive. I don't want to buy new if I can help it as I will be selling it in a couple of years I think.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I'm just wanting it for a 4 year old until she stops dramatically changing shape then I will get something more expensive. I don't want to buy new if I can help it as I will be selling it in a couple of years I think.
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Yes, thats what I bought mine for... definately worth getting second hand if you can. Unfortunately I had to buy mine new.

If mine is likely to be any good for you, let me know.
 
I have a K&M GP . . . fits my flat-backed, no-wither, large-shouldered horse really well and leather has held up well. Have owned it for nearly three years and it has been well used (but I clean/condition it regularly).

P
 
I bought a new K&M dressage S model in january and really like it, have had allsorts in the past (GFS, stubben, paul jones, ideal, albion and falcon hawk event) and I think it compares very well. The only small moan I have is that a tiny amount of glue has seeped out where the knee block is attatched. But it is so comfortable that I not only school in it but prefere it to my event saddle to hack in, as it makes me feel so secure. The leather quality is fine with my saddle although I have heard a few complaints about the basic GP ones. I would certainly buy another one.
 
My friend was one who got a K&M out of the bad batch. It was awful!

She since got a replacement but is now finding where the stirrup leathers go is rubbing the leather to death.
I also didn't find it comfortable when I had a ride on her mare.

She's now got a Thorowgood T4, and I don't blame her!
 
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