Opinions on saddle fit please

CobsGalore said:
I was thinking about treeless, but we are starting to do a but of jumping and I am pretty sure you shouldn't jump in them?
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I used to ride in a treeless saddle, the jumping model out of the Solutions range and I jumped BSJA and evented in it with no problems at all. In fact it was brilliantly comfy and I found it put me in a very good position. You do need to know what you're doing regarding the pads and shims underneath so have one of their reps come out and give you a hand if you decide to go down that route. They are quite pricey but good quality so will last forever, plus they will fit any horse with different padding so a good investment.
 
Orls said:
I used to ride in a treeless saddle, the jumping model out of the Solutions range and I jumped BSJA and evented in it with no problems at all. In fact it was brilliantly comfy and I found it put me in a very good position. You do need to know what you're doing regarding the pads and shims underneath so have one of their reps come out and give you a hand if you decide to go down that route. They are quite pricey but good quality so will last forever, plus they will fit any horse with different padding so a good investment.
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Thanks, the Solution Saddles look fantastic but are sadly way out of my price range. If I was going to go treeless, which I am seriously considering, it would be a Barefoot saddle.

Do Barefoot saddles seriously fit ALL horses? And Do they allow room for muscle development under the saddle?
 
Barefoots allow everything to move freely - Shy has a prominent shoulder, and a normal saddle cut him short. In the treeless you can feel him striding out fully. I'm not sure if they will fit every horse ? I ordered mine direct from Germany, but if i did it again, I'd be happy for an ebay secondhand.

Horse and Harmony http://www.horseandharmony.co.uk/barefoot-saddles-8-c.asp are very helpful .

If I am honest, as well as treed saddles, i tried about four other treeless makes, and had to find what was best for me and Shy, and the BF won hands down.
 
The new synthetics are designed to be girthed up in any number of different ways and 2 and 3 are not on the same webbing. Or they aren't on my Wintec.

Before we all bash the fitter perhaps we should inform ourselves a bit first ;)
 
Shysmum said:
Barefoots allow everything to move freely - Shy has a prominent shoulder, and a normal saddle cut him short. In the treeless you can feel him striding out fully. I'm not sure if they will fit every horse ? I ordered mine direct from Germany, but if i did it again, I'd be happy for an ebay secondhand.

Horse and Harmony http://www.horseandharmony.co.uk/barefoot-saddles-8-c.asp are very helpful .

If I am honest, as well as treed saddles, i tried about four other treeless makes, and had to find what was best for me and Shy, and the BF won hands down.
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Thanks Shysmum. Can I ask, how did you try all the different treeless saddles, I didn't think saddle fitters would keep stock of these, or is there such a thing as a treeless saddle fitter who carries stock around?
 
CobsGalore said:
Oh really? Why is that?

I was using 1 and 3 and the saddler told me not to do this because it exerts a lot of pressure behind withers, and to use 2 and 3 instead?
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It is generally aimed at the older saddles that rule.

Most are not on the same webbing now, but always good to check!
 
Looks to wide. I'd get the gullet changed down maybe or pad out at the front if he's likely to fill out more.
 
CobsGalore said:
Yes when I'm riding it sits too low at the front, which is why I got the saddler back out again and he added more flocking at the front, but it really hasn't made it any better.

It is a Thorowgood T4 Cob, currently has the xxw gullet in it.

Think I need to get a different saddle fitter out...
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The gullet is too wide - can you see how the stitched point pockets kind of wing away from the side of his ribcage? You get more pressure at the top of the panel as the tree points aren't on the horse, the front of the saddle drops (thought the TG cob saddle has very thin front panels so it's hard to lift it high enough, hence people end up fitting too narrow, or go to a biggger seat size to stop being tipped forwards) and the back of the saddle lifts in rising trot.

The girth strap choice is down to the individual saddle and horse (and rider!) combo. Whether to use the front strap partly depends on whether it's a point strap or not - most horses are fine with a point strap (ie it's stitched directly to the tree points at the front of the saddle) but some won't like it. If there is any muscled damage at all around the wither or scapula then don't use it, most high withered horses are better without as well. A point strap is useful on a wide cob as it can help align the girth with a forward girth groove, and for that and other reasons stops a saddle moving forwards, but you MUST have even pressure under the tree at the front otherwise you are just making that unevenness worse.

I do think you need the next narrower gullet - try and get it parallel to the horse's side, you can even, carefully, press on the pommel and see how the saddle feels underneath at the front - does it feel even to the horse? If the saddle still isn't in balance with the right gullet in then you may need a thicker pad (front riser type, I'm not a big fan of the Nuumed, IO much prefer Mattes, more expensive but much more useful, can even use it to fill up the gaps at the points of a too-wide tree, not possible with any other pad) temporarily but it's not a long term solution.
 
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