Recommend me a good saddle??

[HorseyStar]

Hi
Iv been having a nightmare trying to get a decent saddle for both me and the welsh cob

Hes not super heavy trad type

Im looking for a 16.5'' med/wide in brown

I want it to do flatwork/WH/DR and mainly to feel secure jumping

Iv tried the dressage which i loved! Byt jumping not great in it so part x with saddler for a Silhouette VSD she fitted it to wide.....called her bk out as 17'' was huge on him and he was bucking in it... Changed for a WH?! Which is practically bran new as got last week... And i HATE it... It has no knee blocks no security etc... It feels rick hard to ride in and my welahy not goin nice at all in it

Im thinkin towards a Bates 2nd hand saddle with changeable gullet in either jump or gp????

Also my top half of leg /thigh is longer than my calves.... Weird!! Lol so i al finding that on a straight cut saddle my knees are popping over and out with no security unless i ride reeeaaallly long almost with no bend in my leg! Help!!

X

 

[sbloom]

Sent you a pm

Most women have proportionately longer thighs than calves (long femur) and may need a more forward cut saddle that they think, especially if the seat size is limited by what the horse can take. You might find you can get some 17" saddles on him if the panels are short, and most bench made saddles (Silhouette, Ideal, Native Pony etc) can be made with a slightly larger seat on a smaller panel.

You are wanting quite a lot from your saddle - obviously dressage and jumping are at opposite ends of the saddle spectrum with WH and GP saddles in the middle. I think a straight cut WH that has a bigger block to give you more support will likely not give your femur enough room. Although I mentioned a WH saddle in my pm you may be better going for something more forward cut - many companies that make saddles for cobs will have a straight cut GP or VSD model that may well work. I'd stick with a shallowish seat - some VSDs can have quite deep dressagey seats that make it harder to jump and will look slightly odd in the show ring.

If you're not showing, or only at a very low level, then a more forward cut GP or even, as you say, a jump saddle may be a good idea though the more forward cut you go the more it can be an issue if he has a big shoulder. And some people find it very hard to dressage in a jump saddle.

A Bates is not the first brand I'd think of for a cob - Australian designed saddles are normally based on TB type shapes which is the basis of their breeding over there. I think you need to stick with more traditional British type saddles, also see this about Wintec/Bates headplates:

http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2011/09/changeable-gullets-details.html

Some horses do great in them but there is a good reason that not all do.

 

[Mlini]

I have a Kent & Masters GP which I use for everything It's very secure for jumping too.. Has adjustable knee/thigh blocks.. They do a cob version too, not sure they go smaller than 17" though.
I used to ride in a Bates GP (one of those adjustable ones) Caprilli i think? It was slightly more forward cut than a GP but not as much as jump saddle, I found that very secure too. But they are a little more pricy than the K&M.. And i'm not sure about the fit of these for a cob as mine was on a ISH.

I think you would be better off getting a GP rather than a jump saddle if you are wanting to do some dressage too. If I had a cob I would probably look into getting a WH saddle as I think they look better and if the cob has large shoulders, it wont get in the way