My cr*p day with Saddle fitter ended on a good note with Lesson

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SAL66

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Well a cup of tea , a packet of chicken crisps and a dairy milk later, I now feel peeved and fat!!!!

Today I had a saddle fitter out to check my saddle out (obviously), as the back lady thought it was too tight, as did my instructer whose opinions I really do value. Anyway he came to the conclusion some 2 hours later that my saddle was fine and they didn't know what they are talking about, etc , etc. Now I take people as they come and slightly pleased I didn't need to fork out for a new saddle, to be fair he didn't push a new one on to me although had plenty of opportunities to do so.

He said that I was placing my saddle to far forward and that would be causing the tightness, but when sitting on the saddle at the tree points at the top of his shoulders you couldn't even get a fingers width between the saddle and neddy. Anyhow rode for him and he said hmmm seems a little tense must be the weather and yes it was windy, we tried a dressage saddle with a wider fitting and he was surprised that he went better.But still didn't think I needed to change.
He suggested putting a bit more flocking in and that should make it sit slightly higher therefore taking the pressure away from his shoulders.

Hope you are still with me----

Next is my lesson, instructer asks if he'd been , when I told her she was gobsmacked , duly got the yard owner out and asked for her opinion, yes you guessed "Far too tight can't run your fingers evenly from top to bottom, you can't get any fingers at the top of his shoulders and it looks to be pressing severely in to his shoulders".
She pops out hers an Albion Platinum Ultima for me to try and wow what a saddle, it is fitted with headplate 3.5 which we understand to be a medium wide fitting and that again was a tad too tight if we were being pernickity, but he went like a dream and showed no tenseness at all.

So I had a saddle check by a master saddler and a qualified saddle fitter , whose opinion on my saddle couldn't be any further apart from my instructer, yard owner and physio's am £45 quid down and supposedly taking my saddle to him tomorrow to reflock slightly.

One of his comments were as I had stopped using my saddle cloth just to give him a bit more room in the shoulder area, I was risking him going bald under the saddle area cos of the friction !!!!!.

What would you do or think in this situation, I simply do not know.

Thanks for reading, sorry about the length, but sooo frustrated don't know where to go now.
 
hard one!! from what you've said id be inclined to go with what your instructor is saying tbh, she's the one seeing how your horse moves etc in the saddle and if your agreeing with her and so is YO then the majority vote would get my vote, seeing as you also tried a better fitting saddle on and could straight away see the improvement im wondering how long the saddle fitter has being doing the job?

iv never had a saddle fitter out to my pony, he's young and still growing, his first saddle he grew out of within six months, he filled out so much that it didnt fit at all, my boss/YO/Instructor (she's all 3) agreed with me in buying a hi lite elite saddle, it adjusts to shape of horse and rider weight, its a synthetic though so dont know if you would consider buying one? good value for money! just a suggestion to the actual fitting problem if you dont want to continue paying out money on opinions.

are there other saddle fitters in your area that could give a second opinion or do you have a tack shop that would let you try saddles until you found one that suited?
 
I have another saddle fitter coming out on 16th Feb, but that seems ages away for a saddle that could be too tight.I have just arranged with Saddle Direct for 3 saddles to be sent next week for me to try.

The trouble with our tack shops is you have to pay in full for the saddle during the trial - that's ok - but will not refund if it isn't and I don't want to lock my money in to a particular shop.

But thanks for the reply, will google your saddle make later.
 
i know how you feel, the physio looked at my 4 yr old the other day and said he needs a wide saddle. Therefore the devoucoux saddle which we had for his elder brother (now sold) won't fit him - I'm gutted now got to sell the saddle.
 
I really feel for you, I've recently been in the same situation although my saddler took my horse's opinion and changed the saddle for a wider fit. I don't know what you can do as you'd think you should be able to trust a professional saddle fitter. I'd listen to your horse - I listened to mine eventually. Thing is, as I am not experienced in saddle fitting, my recent saddle problems have really put me off getting saddles in future.
 
Ditto my experiences with Master Saddlers and Saddle Fitters - I won't let the fitters anywhere near my horses anymore!! I had two Master Saddlers out a month apart as I wasn't happy with the first one's opinion and wanted a second opinion. Went to the Worshipful Company of Saddlers who gave me a recommendation. Duly had this guy out and his advice was, you guessed it, exact opposite to first saddler.

Eventually I went to the UK Register of Experts and found Kay Humphries and haven't looked back. Horses have never gone so well and now I wouldn't have anyone else.....even if you have to wait months to get her!

With your problem though, I certainly wouldn't be taking the saddle to be reflocked to make it sit higher...........you have seen for yourself how well he goes in a wider saddle - and you value your instructors opinion so.....

Jude.
 
I know what you mean WeeBrown & memo, I have never needed to do this before and what I thought should have been a really pleasant experience is slowly turning out to be a nightmare.
I have no problems in purchasing another saddle, its just I have no faith in the width.
I was expecting to have a template or something from the fitter but everything he bought out was too small as I mentioned in my early conversation to him that his existing sadle probably being a medium fit.

So if anyone has a wide 17" dressage saddle that they would like a new home for please let me know.
 
Thanks appyjude, I think that I will be giving the reflocking a miss, just need to pluck up the courage to tell him_- I'm a wimp when it comes to confrontation.

The thing is this guy came with a recommendation and it makes me wary of trusting anyone else- but I know I have too.
 
Yes hopefully by Wednesday as 2 out of my 3 choices are out at the moment, fingers crossed the other people dont buy them.

Only heard good reports about them , so fingers crossed!
 
[ QUOTE ]

One of his comments were as I had stopped using my saddle cloth just to give him a bit more room in the shoulder area, I was risking him going bald under the saddle area cos of the friction !!!!!.

What would you do or think in this situation, I simply do not know.



[/ QUOTE ]

if he really said that, i'd say he doesn't know what he's talking about. don't take your saddle to him and pay even more money - your YO, instructor and most importantly your HORSE are all telling you that the saddle is too tight!
fitting saddles isn't rocket science, get Kay Humphries out if you can, and absorb every word she says. like appyjude, i don't trust anyone else! she is absolutely brilliant and makes it so obvious - i can fit my own saddles now, put it that way. once you know what to look for, it's not difficult.
 
then he doesn't know what he's talking about! most saddlers hate us all using saddlecloths, numnahs etc, because if the saddle fits properly, it won't need any of them.
get another opinion. meanwhile, something Kay showed me - if you want the front lifted a little to allow the horse room to build up muscle (not sure if that would help your lad or not?), take 1 or 2 pieces of fybagee and fold them at 1/3 along and use that as a soft front-riser. might work, but might make it tighter on him, i'm not sure...
 
Get another saddler out, one that a friend has used and trusts. I have had such a mare with saddlers. It satarted a few years ago when a routine saddle check led to my saddle having a little more flocking put in the front. (she didn't even see me ride or sit in the saddle, but stupidly I put my trust in a 'professional').

A few months later my pony stopped jumping.

He always had been a bit of a stopper so thought nothing of it and just carried on. So a while passed and I thought lets have a routine saddle check. Well the new saddler was horrified and told me that he wasn;t suprised he stopped jumping as the saddle was so tight the muscles had begun to waste under the front of the saddle!!

So 3 years later and a lot of money spent of repeated visits and careful flocking adjustments he is all sorted and happy in his work again.

A clue which you don't always relate to saddle problems is tripping a lot.

Good luck and get a 2nd/3rd and 4th opinion until you are happy. Try to have your instructor present if you can. At the end of the day it costs more in the long run if the saddler gets it wrong, and I still feel guilty to this day about his poor back, he came so close to permanent damage.
 
Thanks for the replies, Yes I will stay clear of this one, i will make the caller later and let them know that I will not be bringing my saddle up this morning to have some more flocking.
I will get someone else to come and have a look at him.
 
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