question for those with wide horses.

[abitodd]

I am a reasonably fit rider and not in bad nick for my age. I ride my big kwpn everyday.
I backed my knabx last year and am now stepping up her work. She is VERY wide. I have not been able to find a treed saddle to fit(2 very good saddlers have agreed that she is not currently the shape for a treed saddle) so I am using a Christ lamfelle pad. I frequently use this on the kwpn as well, with no ill effects. However my right hip is struggling with the stretch to accommodate this coffee table x knabstrupper!
I would like to know if anyone else has struggled with siatic pain from riding extra wide ponies and if over time the hips stretch to accommodate. Or should I book a hip replacement now?

 

[FairyLights]

had siatica years ago but it wasnt from the horse being wide. I now have a very very wide cob and I'm pain free and no back ache either.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

You need something treeless that has a proper twist, so your legs aren't stretched so much. My tabletop grey has a solution saddle (2nd hand) and it's brilliant.

 

[abitodd]

I have looked at solutions saddles and having tried one I do think it is going to be the ideal solution for both of us. However I cannot afford one atm, even 2nd hand. The pony needs ridden work now for her education, sanity and to help with her immense waist line!
I suppose a 2nd hand saddle is cheaper than a hip replacement though.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Have a look at Ghost saddles. There have been some posts about them recently and they look very interesting and are a lot cheaper than solution.

 

[abitodd]

I know a riding centre that uses ghost saddles so I will give them a call and see if I can go and try one......when I can walk again!

 

[Sukistokes2]

I have the Heather Moffett treeless for both of my wide horses

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Feeling your pain OP!

I've been there done it with saddles, I really have, and spent a lot of money, nay chucked it away

My traddie is short backed, low withered, and wide. Have tried a Wintec 2XW with the special "Wintec Wide" saddle. Hated it, felt very unstable and the damn thing rocked about like a ship at sea, utterly useless.

Tried the Thorowgood T4 cob saddle. Was so uncomfortable I had to get off and walk after half an hour.

Saddle fitter (SMS) tried the Kent & Masters cob saddle but all credit to her because she wasn't too happy with the fit and said that because of this she wasn't happy to sell it to me.

Tried treeless: Barefoot size 1 was too small for me but just right for horse; their size 2 was way too big for both of us - plus their saddles make anything wide, even wider, so that wasn't any good.

Tried Heather Moffat FlexEE - one of the earlier ones without a gullet. Found it incredibly hard to fit even with the help of a professional, it seemed to fit differently every time I rode in it and every time I got up in it it felt different to the way it did at the end of the ride. Found it a very annoying saddle TBH! Also tried the Phoenix but at that time I wasn't used to treeless and a 10 minute trot round the block meant I could hardly walk for the remainder of the week! It would be interesting to try it now though, as I'm used to treeless saddles.

Current saddle on my wide traddie is a Lovatt & Ricketts (treed) GP which I picked up for fifty quid at a local horsey car boot I'd taken my own template (made out of a cardboard box!) along with me, measuring both the width of the saddle and also the curve across the back - it seemed OK when I tried it at home. I later had a SMS saddle fitter out to check and she said that apart from adjusting the flocking, it fitted extremely well!

The other saddle I've used on him is a Tree-Free Exmoor saddle which doesn't feel quite as wide as the Barefoot did. Feed in "Tree-Free saddles" and/or "Viking Saddlery" - they're based at Buckfastleigh in Devon, and you can trial one of their saddles for £50 for the week. Well worth doing. You can choose either the Normal stirrup bar placing, or the "Forward" position. Personally I'd choose the latter, much better and easier on the hips with a wider horse. During this past week, I've been trialling one of their prototype GP saddles, basically its based on their treeless saddle model but it has much more of a GP look and feel to it. It is LOVELY, absolutely superb, even on my wide traddie I was able to ride for two hours solid and at the end of the ride (in all paces over mixed terrain) I could have done it all again. At the moment these saddles are to special order only, simply because they're so new - but I am totally hooked and am going to have one. It really is THE saddle to die for!! If you wanted to try it you'd need to ask for the GP prototype when you contact them.

The other thing I'd suggest is to get in touch with Andrea Hicks as she makes and fits cob and native pony saddles. "sbloom" on here fits for them and they simply must have something which would fit yours OP?? Do be careful though that you get on to the "Andrea Hicks Native Pony" saddles website, and ONLY this website, as there is another company which also sells native pony saddles and which if you were going this route, I (and others on here, as there have been various allied threads) would strongly advise that you avoid.