Opinions on saddle fit please

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CobsGalore

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I have had the saddler out twice recently but still not convinced by the fit of this saddle, what does everyone else think? I'm concerned that it may be rocking slightly. If he puts his head down when I'm not in the saddle there are gaps at the front and under panels at the back, I take it this isn't normal?

I know it's hard to tell from pictures, but what do you think?

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How it lifts at the back when he puts his head down.

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When you say "puts his head down" do you mean as though he were grazing or to just below the level of his withers?
 
I'm not an expert but there doesn't appear to be a lot of room under the wither, does the saddle sink lower when you sit on it? I would look at whether, with you on him and his head up, there is enough clearance. It may be that synthetics don't move as much as leather saddles.

As for the lifting, with you in place it would probably move less (can you feel it lifting?). In the second picture, it looks as though it could be a touch further back, which might help.
 
By the looks of it, the saddle is too wide for him...and or just not the right cut... On the side on shot you can see that pommel is sitting lower than the cantle. it would also explain the issue with it tipping up at the back. It has deep gussets on it which may make it appear to be sloping forwards though rather than it being too wide...

I think a change of saddle is probably in order...
 
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Looks like a standard Thorowgood to me - too low at the front. I had the same problems, if it was wide enough, it threw me forward something horrendous. As a result, my lovely saddle fitter stuck a medium gullet in it to keep it balanced on my HW cob :rolleyes:
 
Abacus said:
I'm not an expert but there doesn't appear to be a lot of room under the wither, does the saddle sink lower when you sit on it? I would look at whether, with you on him and his head up, there is enough clearance. It may be that synthetics don't move as much as leather saddles.
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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...
 
I had to go treeless as Shy was really uncomfortable in everything I tried, and we haven't looked back - even my beloved GFS Genesis, with three different gullets, didn't work out.

Can recommend a Barefoot Cheyenne ;)
 
Shysmum said:
I had to go treeless as Shy was really uncomfortable in everything I tried, and we haven't looked back - even my beloved GFS Genesis, with three different gullets, didn't work out.

Can recommend a Barefoot Cheyenne ;)
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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? but I might be wrong?

He also isn't a flat backed roly poly cob, he does have some wither, so not sure treeless would suit long term?
 
As a safety note - never use 2 and 3, unless they are on separate pieces of webbing. I might be old fashioned though - does this advice still apply on modern / synthetic saddles?
 
Abacus said:
As a safety note - never use 2 and 3, unless they are on separate pieces of webbing. I might be old fashioned though - does this advice still apply on modern / synthetic saddles?
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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?
 
I've always been told not to use two and three as the straps are attached to the same bit of webbing so if it snaps you have no girth! The first strap is on a seperate webbing so always use one and two, or one and three. Might have changed, presumably if the second and third are on seperate webbings it would be fine.
 
CobsGalore said:
Sounds very similar!

What saddle do you have now?
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I spoke to the saddler, they claimed he'd obviously "filled out" (3 widths in as many months, apparently!) so I needed to pay for another fitting. I tried another master saddler, who told me to trial one of her second hand saddles - the same one she'd tried to blag off on someone else with a narrow looking 13.2hh a couple of weeks earlier.

At that point I gave up the will to live and went treeless.

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? but I might be wrong?

He also isn't a flat backed roly poly cob, he does have some wither, so not sure treeless would suit long term?
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Depends which treeless you have. I went for a Smart Solution, native GP saddle. Perfect for rollies, close contact and you can jump in them. I've had my boy upto 2'9 in it with no issues, and that was on a girth loose enough to fit my fist in. He's happy in it, I love it, and the only time I've known it slip is when my balance is out the window. Add that to the fact you never have to worry about saddle fit again (oh my days, he's lost some weight, I need the saddler out!!) or splash out on another saddle because he's changed shape again, I managed to justify the cost.

Horrendous vid stills, but it gives you an idea:

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If you go for treeless, do some research on here - and don't buy anything cheap off ebay, made in india ;) Shy changes shape all the time, and it's one BF fits all for him, it never ever moves, and is very comfy.
 
CobsGalore said:
That's what I have always used, but recently been told otherwise :mad:

Think I need a new saddle fitter
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What planet is your saddle fitter on? You could try this in the meantime http://www.nuumed.com/products/232-hiwither-everyday-shimmy-numnah-general-purpose-nm11ss-gp
My lad is currently sporting the sheep wool version.
What I do know is, that your horse's muscles need have room to grow under your saddle, if the saddle pinches his shoulders, he won't build the muscles under the pommel, and will develop a imprint of where the saddle fits on him (trust me, I have had exactly this happen), so I do get why the saddler has done this, but he's not realized that you have to correct the saddles position in the mean time, it's no good just sticking it on the horse's back with how it 'might' look in a few weeks/months time.
 
In case you're wondering why my horse needs a thick pad, it's to lift the saddle off his back, freeing his back muscles, and allowing him to work correctly. Recent back check (just a month ago) has shown he's got a perfect back ;)
 
Shadeyoak said:
What planet is your saddle fitter on? You could try this in the meantime http://www.nuumed.com/products/232-hiwither-everyday-shimmy-numnah-general-purpose-nm11ss-gp
My lad is currently sporting the sheep wool version.
What I do know is, that your horse's muscles need have room to grow under your saddle, if the saddle pinches his shoulders, he won't build the muscles under the pommel, and will develop a imprint of where the saddle fits on him (trust me, I have had exactly this happen), so I do get why the saddler has done this, but he's not realized that you have to correct the saddles position in the mean time, it's no good just sticking it on the horse's back with how it 'might' look in a few weeks/months time.
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Yes, he does need to build up muscle behind his shoulder. So would you suggest using a front riser pad until his muscle has developed?
 
When posting pictures to cc saddle fit it's better to also post some pictures where there is a rider sitting on the saddle.
 
Lifting the front certainly would help, the beauty of the nuumed in the link is you can take out or add shims to increase or decrease the lift. It would be an idea an find an instructor who also fits saddles (as I've done) to cast an eye over him before fitting the nuumed to him and the saddle, an experienced pair of eyes really helps.
(Note these nuumeds aren't cheap, but well worth the investment)
 
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