Saddle advice please! (GFS or Kes)

MyDogIsAnIdiot

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Ok, I'm in need of some help with choosing a new saddle.

I've got a 3.5 year-old Sec D, shoulders galore! Currently riding her in a borrowed Jeffries Falcon VSD, wide fitting. It's absolutely perfect but has to go back :( . Had a Wintec but the tree was the wrong shape, tried a Thorogood and had the same problem. I've had the saddle fitter out and only one saddle she had fitted - an Albion Legend GP in wide - and it was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat in! It was also lifting at the back slightly (though less than other saddles do).

So on the hunt for a new saddle, with a very small budget! (£250 absolute max)

I've been offered a GFS VSD wide, newer style, for £250. And a Kensington (Kes?) dressage saddle, also in wide, for £220. Tried searching for a Jeffries but everyone wants £450+.

Anyone got any advice on these brands? Do their sizes run wide/narrow, and what will suit a flat-backed wide cob well?
 
Is the GFD a pro-VSD? They have particularly wide heads (almost a hoop tree) and flat wide panels so often a very good fit on cobs.

KES saddle are often wide abd flat too but it depends entirely on the model.

Have you tried the throwogood cob and the Winter cob versions? They're a very different fit to the standard models.
 
I've not tried a Thorogood cob, but found that the panels at the back of the Wintec came too far down her sides - she's only wide at the front, if that makes sense?

I'm leaning towards the GFS.
 
She'll be very narrow through the loins at the moment because she's a baby. She'll widen significantly. Almost any wide fitted flat cob-type saddle with also hover across the back until she does.

Have you thought about a decent quality treeless for the next year or so? My 3.5yr old ISH is in a Freeform (similar to a Freemax) and very happy with it.
 
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