Really long wither on TB? Saddle stress causing hair to fall out!

N

nannubu

Well-Known Member
Joined
11 April 2011
Messages
85
Visit site
I know there's been quite a number of threads on the best saddles for TBs but I've done quite a bit of trawling and can't seem to find an answer jumping out in terms of Jack's weird (?) conformation. He (ex point to pointer) has filled out nicely in terms of topline in the past year but my sister still can't find a saddle to fit. The problem seems to be not his very high wither as you would expect but that his wither stretches very far back before dropping into the normal spine. So a saddle will look as if you're got the perfect three finger clearance at the top and back but put your hand in and the saddle is crushing his withers farther back up the gullet. Any advice please? She has tried Passier, Prestige and Albion and others to no avail and claims she has been driven to drink by saddle stress! :D Any tips, pushes in the right direction would be most appreciated. Any views on Heather Moffat for instance?
 
I don't think that my horse has particularly abnormal withers, but I have a HM saddle & will be reluctant to change to anything else now :p Dante certainly seems happy in his HM saddle (Vogue dressage) Considering that you can trial them, and the saddle fitters are lovely (Heather herself will advise even if you comment on the Enlightened Equitation Facebook page!), why not give them a try? They really don't look that different from a normal saddle, and are very comfy for the rider too I think :) I'm sure the fitters would be able to advise quite well from what I've heard about whether they think that one of the saddles would suit. They do occasionally come up secondhand too, I got mine secondhand but you wouldn't really know as they seem very good quality. I believe there are a couple of other good treeless/soft tree type saddles out there too though, so worth looking at some/speaking to some of the fitters
 
kezimac said:
mine has a long wither and she has a wow saddle and its fine.
Click to expand...

Are all WOW saddles fitted with Flair? I have heard really good things about them but the horse has had Flair before (in an Ideal Jessica) and objected.

Thanks guys. Appreciate the info.
 
kezimac said:
think the club versions are foam flock??
Click to expand...

Interesting - I will pass all this info on to sis. Like the way you can customise Wow although it does seem v complicated. :o

People keep telling her to shim her saddle but she doesn't want to spend 2k on something she has to shim. She is bit of a dressage diva :rolleyes: so it's important that it all fits perfectly.
 
I had problems with my ISH, tried all sorts of saddles with a few different saddlers, they were trying to fit her too wide which was tipping at the back. But took her to a saddler who said she had a long wither - I've ended up with an medium wide albion k2 model with a cut back head. Haven't looked back since!
 
I had a TB like this - the wither seemed to end somewhere under where the rider sat, so any weight in the saddle brought the wither in contact with the saddle. When this was explained to the saddler, he brought out the Keiffer Wein, the Anky, and the Klimke for me to try. I ended up settling on the Keiffer (although it was damn uncomfortable for me once we started doing sitting trot!) which suited the horse quite well. Just be careful that any saddle you try doesn't rub the wither.

Hope this helps.
 
Try a kieffer with a cut back head, great for long withers. I have one on my TB and he loves it. They also have gusset panels which also help. They are adjustable to any width by a registered kieffer fitter.
 
LansdownK310 said:
I had problems with my ISH, tried all sorts of saddles with a few different saddlers, they were trying to fit her too wide which was tipping at the back. But took her to a saddler who said she had a long wither - I've ended up with an medium wide albion k2 model with a cut back head. Haven't looked back since!
Click to expand...

She tried an Albion with a cut back head but still no good which is a shame as she loved it.

I've never really liked Kieffers (bit hard on the posterior!) but if they fit the horse then that's priority number one. I will recommend she tries one on him.

Thanks people :D
 
AusRider said:
I had a TB like this - the wither seemed to end somewhere under where the rider sat, so any weight in the saddle brought the wither in contact with the saddle. When this was explained to the saddler, he brought out the Keiffer Wein, the Anky, and the Klimke for me to try. I ended up settling on the Keiffer (although it was damn uncomfortable for me once we started doing sitting trot!) which suited the horse quite well. Just be careful that any saddle you try doesn't rub the wither.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

This exactly Jack's problem! Glad to see there are other TBs out there with the same issue - sister has had three separate saddle fitters out to him to no avail. Will def recommend the Kieffer and think she will try Wow as well.
 
I understand not wanting to shim but given that she is willing to spend so much money on a saddle would it not be better to get closest possible fit short term, shim it, work him and when he is fully built up then buy the real deal? He will most likely need a cut back head to fit properly but he will also keep filling out with more work
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top