Saddle advice for wide flat backed cob

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emmaln

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Hi all,

I haven't been around for a while and it's all changed so I hope I've got this in the right place, eek!!

What saddles do you all use on your wide flat backed horses?

My welsh PB is rising 7 this year and has been a very difficult horse to fit from the word go, after going through 5 saddles the the age of 5 and 3 different saddlers I became totally disillusioned and when a friend offered me her heather moffett treeless to try I thought "hey, why not!" She went beautifully from the word go and I finally felt I could get my leg back and achieve correct alignment. I thought I'd found a solution.

i fell pregnant at the beginning of last year so my brother took on the ride, he is a lovely balanced rider if a little inexperienced, however after being ridden in the hm for a year and a half I was giving my brother a lesson on her and noticed her tail was to one side, I am a qualified equine sports massage therapist so gave her a massage and when I got to her back she was totally in spasm, she was too tight for me to even treat the area, after a few weeks of ground work I treated her again and she was much better and I was able to isolate the point of pain which is directly where the stirrup bars sit, she has 2 small areas of muscle wastage which I am mortified about!

Soooo I am now after some saddle advice as I will never put the HM back on her again!!

What I need is either 2 saddles, a dressage and jump or a gp saddle that has a set back stirrup bar so that I can get my leg long on her, obviously it imperative that girth and stirrup pressure is well distributed over the whole saddle and it needs to fit her flat back and low wither!

I have been looking at a wow saddle as a friend of mine has one to sell, I like the fact that they have two stirrup bars to give you a flatwork or jumping option, I also like the birthing system but I'm not sure how well the panels will fit a cob?

Sorry this post is so long, cup of tea and biccies if you got this far :-)
 
The Thorowgood GP has tons of adaptability, a very smart mate of mine puts them on her youngsters because they are so flexible and can be changed as needed. I'd want a saddler it to check and refit every six months, tbh.
 
We have a horse who has been impossible to fit. I opted for a treeless to start him in and it gave him a really sore back.
He now has an Ideal with a hoop head tree. It is a wonderful saddle. He had it last Summer, and this Spring has developed a wither, which is rather inconvenient of him. Saddle went back to Ideal to be adjusted, was done for less than £50 and is now fitting brilliantly again.
 
Thank you for your replies;

Cinnamon toast I totally agree with 6 monthly checks as an ESMT the majority of cases I see are down to poorly fitting tack! Unfortunately I did have a t4 cob but found only being able to adjust the gullet wasn't enough and the fish were next to useless, I also hated riding in it!

Thanks siennasmum a friend of mine suggested the ideal h&c, is this the same as yours?
 
I use an ideal h and c on my flat backed cob and also a thorowgood cob saddle. The ideal is a lovely saddle. They do come up v wide tho, a 'x' wider than the thorowgood on my girl.
 
Thank you for your replies;

Cinnamon toast I totally agree with 6 monthly checks as an ESMT the majority of cases I see are down to poorly fitting tack! Unfortunately I did have a t4 cob but found only being able to adjust the gullet wasn't enough and the fish were next to useless, I also hated riding in it!

Thanks siennasmum a friend of mine suggested the ideal h&c, is this the same as yours?
 
Oops posted the same thing twice, yes when I tried my friends xw h and c it was too wide so that's interesting to know!
 
I used a Kent & Masters cob saddle on my flat backed boy and it worked really well...fitted him like a dream and being adjustable was a huge bonus. He was a "project" when I bought him having been turned away for 2yrs, and he was certainly a big lad to start with! Can't say it was the most comfortable saddle as a rider but it fitted him perfectly
 
I have a K & M cob saddle for our 15.2hh hw coloured cob. Adjusts and fits nicely on her wide flat back. Agree with other poster though they aren't the comfiest of saddles and I have to use mine with a seat saver.
 
The TG's are the same as K&M saddles which the OP has said she tried.

I've just bought a K&M cob to replace my T6. I haven't ridden in the K&M yet as it just arrived yesterday, thought the seat looked quite comfy, gutted to see people have said it's not!!
 
I got Sbloom on here to fit my cob. I used a wintec wide for the first 2 years I had him as he was young & expected to change shape. It was regularly checked but he was a *@~ to stand still for mounting. After Steph fitted his new saddle he was a changed horse & after about 3 weeks he just stopped pratting around at the block - bear in mind this was winter so I could only ride at weekends so only about 6 rides. Had the saddle 6 months ago & he is an angel to mount now.
 
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