Made to measure saddles

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BobbyMondeo

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I think i am going to have to get my boy a saddle made for him.

We struggle to find saddles that suit us both he is 16hh but has a short back (can only really have a 17" saddle at a push) but i am 5'7" have really long legs and not the smallest bum to be honest so i struggle in a smaller saddle

So basically looking for recommendations of saddles/saddlers that will come to southampton hampshire and an idea on prices
 
I always recommend buying from stock wherever possible - in your case you might need to have a shorter panel, but that does not mean M2M. The latter means you don't get to try a saddle that you buy - in an ideal world you should have a ride in front of the fitter in the saddle that works fo you both, then a week's trial. If you can search out saddles that are suitable for short backs, and consider a flatter seat, plus more forward flap to give you more femur room, then you might be able to buy from stock.

Many bench made saddle makers can either extend the cantle or put on a slightly shorter panel - a small change to a standard saddle and it might mean you pay only a deposit rather than upfront as is often the case with custom/M2M.
 
So what kind of saddles would you recommend?
I am looking for a dressage saddle, i have a GP saddle that fits us ok but isn't great because it doesn't allow any room for his shoulders
 
Finding a dressage saddle to fit should not be so difficult as a jumping one.

Ideal are good, they made one for a livery horse to suit his owner that had a hip problem so needed a narrow twist. You really need a good fitter with a choice for you to try so you can find what suits you and your horse, probably something that is not too deep or blocky will give you more room while still being 17 inch.
 
Ideal saddles dont fit him right, neither do the bates or black country. Have tried synthetic but i dont like the feel of them and i feel if he has a leather GP he surely should be able to have a leather dressage. I have has 3 saddle fitters in the area out to see him.

One of them sold me a saddle which is now the reason he is off work
One i thought talked a load of rubbish and told me i needed a £2500 saddle...
The other came to reflock my current saddle and made it even worse (was bridging)

Just feeling a little lost and dont know who to use/trust with my horses back
 
You do have a problem then:eek:

He should not be that hard to fit, what is the GP do they make a dressage that you could try.
I know where you are coming from with saddlers, luckily there is a good one near me that I trust, not sure he will come to you but he is here in the morning and will ask if he goes as far as you, he might do and will pm his details if he can help.
I also always get my physio to look at the horses saddles, she is unbiased and knows what the horse needs.
 
Thats the annoying thing...its a bates , but the bates dressage saddles are no good. I really dont know why, he is just tricky to fit i guess.

Thanks for the advice.
 
Have you tried an albion one? My friend is 5'10 same as me but 13 stone, she used to ride mine quite comfortably in one.
 
If you find out what fit your horse takes you can buy second hand & get a saddler to fit. Also worth mentioning years ago did home brand saddles that seemed very closely modelled on the albions. No idea how common they are but keep an eye out for them 2nd hand too, iirc new they were about 2/3 the price of albions.
 
I have had my boy for 6 years and I wasted a fortune on saddles up until last September. Saddlers would recommend all sorts of stuff - I had new, secondhand, leather, synthetic, you name it - and if the saddler could get them to fit on the day it wasn't long before they didn't fit any more. My instructor said that she had ordered from a company called All Saddle Solutions and was really pleased so I got Claire out to have a look at Finn. She said he was tricky to fit with an off-the-shelf saddle because he was 'lemon shaped.' I had a saddle made for him and it's made the most amazing difference. Husband had one made for his cob, too. Not exactly cheap at £1350 but I was forking out silly money for saddles that didn't fit at all so well worth it.

She does all sorts of saddles including a very nice monoflap dressage. I think that she lives in Yorkshire but travels the whole country. Highly recommended!
 
Well I have had a couple of made of measure and my saddler effectively " made up" my saddle for me to try, so basics (right tree) etc, then we played with thigh roll, knee flaps to really fit me. She also been honest enough last time round to tell me to not bother with a M2M on last horse as he was a problem to fit but a K2 would do it, and cheaper. So this is Ellie Martin. She is a master saddler. Star saddles are her own saddles. New lad will be getting a new jump saddle made up once he is more made up but, again, being the person she is, she checked over my Albion SL and told me to stick with that for the dressage and save my money! She is Surrey based.
 
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