Tinypony
Well-Known Member
You mentioned Kent Dougalsmum. That is where I am, so if you are going to be in the area, depending on timing etc, if you want a sit on a Fhoenix give me a shout. 
Miracle fit anything saddle?
- Thread starter Vindaloo
- Start date
Vindaloo
Well-Known Member
Aw, that's really kind of you to offer Tp. Not sure i'll have the time but if I do, will definitely. x
horsimous
Well-Known Member
I had the same problem in Cyprus. No saddle fitter, no supply of saddles, no reflocking either. My horse had no muscle or fat when I got her so kept changing shape which didn't help things. I tried most saddles on the yard and went through about 6 which i bought (some were no good at the start). Luckily I managed to sell alot of the unsuitable ones on though nobody will pay much in Cyprus due to the horses not being worth much.
She is a TB and this is the saga of what I tried (over 2 years!!):
17 1/2" 2ndhand Medium WES Garrett dressage - lasted 2 months and then was too tight at the shoulder as muscle was gained
17" 2nd hand Kings GP/Event - too forward cut and dug into her large shoulders, no good at all
17" 2nd hand Calcutts Med/wide working hunter saddle- was great and would have been perfect if I could have had a flock to fit. I bought a horseware air pad. This had some success but you had to ride oh so very still as otherwise it did sway about a bit. It was difficult to get it to be exactly the same for each ride and was a bit of a pain. Horse not 100% happy with this arrangement.
17 1/2" 2nd hand calcutts wide GP - turned out to be a narrow, seller on ebay lied. didn't use.
18" Shires leather saddle, Medium, borrowed 3 times. Turned out to be too long for her
Wintec pro dressage fitted lovely, i liked the saddle too but turned out there was a problem with the CAIR panels pinching as they needed replacing. luckily it was only borrowed and I had the sense to get off after 2 mins before it completely wrecked my horse's back.
Wintec Isabell dressage, borrowed, horse went great in the smaller seat one but no good for me. The longer saddle was sort of ok for me but not the horse. Not really what I liked to ride in.
17" wintec 2000 (not new model), fitted great but was borrowed and i had to give it back after 2 months as their horse was sound again. The only saddle she went consistently well in.
Wintec 2000, same as above from ebay but fitted totally different to the one above so was no good
Wintec 2000 as above but new and 17 1/2". too big for me and too long for the horse (want a saddle anyone!?)
Torsion treeless - brand new. Was great with the 1st pad which arrived in the wrong colour (had numnah under). sent the pad back for the right colour and then had all sorts of problems. Trying to decide whether to try another £99 pad, try different padding or just sell the lot. The rides with the 1st pad were fabulous and the horse was very free. Rides with the second one were not good and caused her soreness. It was a bit strange to ride on to start with. I wouldn't want to ride a very round horse on one. It could be a bit difficult to get on without it slipping (I used a RDA ramp!) and it was quite hard to reach the girth to do it up once on.
Bareback... oh yes I was that fed up with all the saddles that i resorted to bareback schooling.
After all that I decided to ship my mare back to UK with me and get the perfect saddle. However it hasn't worked out so far as been unable to ride due to horse injury on the trip back.
What do I wish I tried? Thorowgood T6 or Kent and Masters
PS you 're likely to have more success with dressage saddles as there are slightly less variables which could cause problems with fit. And yes... coathangers are lousy for taking any profiles with.
Hopefully your horse will be a more straightforward fit than mine.
She is a TB and this is the saga of what I tried (over 2 years!!):
17 1/2" 2ndhand Medium WES Garrett dressage - lasted 2 months and then was too tight at the shoulder as muscle was gained
17" 2nd hand Kings GP/Event - too forward cut and dug into her large shoulders, no good at all
17" 2nd hand Calcutts Med/wide working hunter saddle- was great and would have been perfect if I could have had a flock to fit. I bought a horseware air pad. This had some success but you had to ride oh so very still as otherwise it did sway about a bit. It was difficult to get it to be exactly the same for each ride and was a bit of a pain. Horse not 100% happy with this arrangement.
17 1/2" 2nd hand calcutts wide GP - turned out to be a narrow, seller on ebay lied. didn't use.
18" Shires leather saddle, Medium, borrowed 3 times. Turned out to be too long for her
Wintec pro dressage fitted lovely, i liked the saddle too but turned out there was a problem with the CAIR panels pinching as they needed replacing. luckily it was only borrowed and I had the sense to get off after 2 mins before it completely wrecked my horse's back.
Wintec Isabell dressage, borrowed, horse went great in the smaller seat one but no good for me. The longer saddle was sort of ok for me but not the horse. Not really what I liked to ride in.
17" wintec 2000 (not new model), fitted great but was borrowed and i had to give it back after 2 months as their horse was sound again. The only saddle she went consistently well in.
Wintec 2000, same as above from ebay but fitted totally different to the one above so was no good
Wintec 2000 as above but new and 17 1/2". too big for me and too long for the horse (want a saddle anyone!?)
Torsion treeless - brand new. Was great with the 1st pad which arrived in the wrong colour (had numnah under). sent the pad back for the right colour and then had all sorts of problems. Trying to decide whether to try another £99 pad, try different padding or just sell the lot. The rides with the 1st pad were fabulous and the horse was very free. Rides with the second one were not good and caused her soreness. It was a bit strange to ride on to start with. I wouldn't want to ride a very round horse on one. It could be a bit difficult to get on without it slipping (I used a RDA ramp!) and it was quite hard to reach the girth to do it up once on.
Bareback... oh yes I was that fed up with all the saddles that i resorted to bareback schooling.
After all that I decided to ship my mare back to UK with me and get the perfect saddle. However it hasn't worked out so far as been unable to ride due to horse injury on the trip back.
What do I wish I tried? Thorowgood T6 or Kent and Masters
PS you 're likely to have more success with dressage saddles as there are slightly less variables which could cause problems with fit. And yes... coathangers are lousy for taking any profiles with.
Hopefully your horse will be a more straightforward fit than mine.
Vindaloo
Well-Known Member
Oh my word horsimous, what a nightmare! After all that, you get her home and she's been injured. You must be so fed up. I hope her injury isn't too serious and you'll be able to get back on soon?
Well it certainly looks as though the Thorowgood is coming up as one to try. More recommendations for that than any other.
I'm going to go to the saddlers next week and have a look at one and also Kent and Masters, Isabel Werth and if I can stretch the budget, the Barrie Swain.
Bareback? Oooof I don't think my underneath would ever be the same again. Good on you for giving it a bash (no pun intended), I'm not that brave or desperate enough just yet but if I go through anything like you have I may well just do that.
Did you fly your mare back? I'll have to fly Casper since we are so blooming far away. The thought of it terrifies me to be honest.
Well it certainly looks as though the Thorowgood is coming up as one to try. More recommendations for that than any other.
I'm going to go to the saddlers next week and have a look at one and also Kent and Masters, Isabel Werth and if I can stretch the budget, the Barrie Swain.
Bareback? Oooof I don't think my underneath would ever be the same again. Good on you for giving it a bash (no pun intended), I'm not that brave or desperate enough just yet but if I go through anything like you have I may well just do that.
Did you fly your mare back? I'll have to fly Casper since we are so blooming far away. The thought of it terrifies me to be honest.
xena_wales
Well-Known Member
I know everyone's been raving about the Thorowgood T4/T6 range, but I found they didn't suit my boy as he's got a reasonable wither but it also quite wide and the R-bar gullets are quite long and dug into him. The Thorowgood Cob didn't fit either as his wither was too high, although I did prefer the look of the S-bar gullets.
He's now in a new style Wintec 2000 which I absolutely love! It fits really well and I feel very secure in it. The only downside of the new Wintec 2000s compared to the old Wintec 2000s is that the suede doesn't seem to wear nearly as well.
With regards to a flexicurve, I use a piece of "twin and earth" electrical cable which seems to do the job very well and might be available over there with you?
He's now in a new style Wintec 2000 which I absolutely love! It fits really well and I feel very secure in it. The only downside of the new Wintec 2000s compared to the old Wintec 2000s is that the suede doesn't seem to wear nearly as well.
With regards to a flexicurve, I use a piece of "twin and earth" electrical cable which seems to do the job very well and might be available over there with you?
horsimous
Well-Known Member
I don't know if she will come good but we're having a good try. No she went by boat and road but tbh i wish i had flown her as maybe she would have been sound and it would have been much better for her. However i needed 2 others to do that so it wasn't an option.
I have a second hand Barrie Swain dressage saddle sitting here waiting for her to become sound. It's probably a slightly older wool underneath model. I think for her it's a bit narrow down the gullet where it sits either side of the spine and I have been trying to find out (a little prematurely) whether anyone will come out and look at it for me with the aim of widening it. However I am not having much luck getting anyone who knows about them to come out. They all want me to send it straight to them with a template. whereas I would want a proper assessment on the horse.
Ideal saddles fit a wide range of horses i believe.
Good luck with your saddle search
I have a second hand Barrie Swain dressage saddle sitting here waiting for her to become sound. It's probably a slightly older wool underneath model. I think for her it's a bit narrow down the gullet where it sits either side of the spine and I have been trying to find out (a little prematurely) whether anyone will come out and look at it for me with the aim of widening it. However I am not having much luck getting anyone who knows about them to come out. They all want me to send it straight to them with a template. whereas I would want a proper assessment on the horse.
Ideal saddles fit a wide range of horses i believe.
Good luck with your saddle search
horsimous
Well-Known Member
oh I forgot, I also had a 2nd hand KN dressage saddle shipped to Cyprus as i believed it was the answer but it was awful on her. Made her feel like two halves of different horses with a giraffe mixed in!