unicorndreams
Well-Known Member
Looooooong post, sorry folks - hope some saddle fit gurus can guide me
About 6mths ago I purchased a bespoke saddle measured to fit my high withered TB. I'd mostly ridden her in a Thorowgood T4 Hi Wither up to that point but also tried treeless for a while - always having a problem with the rear of the saddle rubbing bald-ish patches on her back. These were never sore and were mostly end of winter time so could have been her coat but I didn't want to risk her back health.
So I decided that bespoke was the way to go to ensure good fit. Saddle fitter took templates of her back and some weeks later the new saddle arrived. As expected the flocking settled over a few rides however it dropped so far at the back that the gullet channel itself was pressing on her spine, my balance point was 'off' and I was sitting at the back of the saddle sort of level with the edge of the saddle pads at the back (if that makes sense?), it also seemed awfully tight behind the shoulder (I couldn't get the tips of my fingers in) and when my horse was moving you could see the muscle/flesh bulging in front of the saddle as the leg came back. I put a riser in at the back to clear the spine and carried on riding until the 6wk saddle check was due. The horse became a little stumbly and fell down on her knees but at the time I didn't think anything of it, chalking it down to laziness. Anyway a week or so after this the saddle fitter came out to do the check up and took the saddle to reflock it and lift it at the back.
I rode in the old T4 for the couple of weeks that the saddle was away for. Saddle returns and I ride out in it again, no longer touching the spine, though still tight behind the shoulder but I hope that the flocking will settle further at the front. However the horse becomes stumbly and falls onto her knees again. I check position of saddle very carefully, try siting it a little further back so as not to impede shoulders but horse nearly collapses under me when we walk off. Alarmed I pop an old treeless on - no problem, free moving horse is back to normal, most bizzare. Not wanting to take any chances, I bought a K&M TB saddle (having got rid of the T4) and we've had no further problems.
I've been talking this through with the saddler who is coming out to look at the fit again and make any alterations that are necessary so I'd like to be a bit better informed about what is normal/right and what is not. I'm far from being a saddle fitting expert but should the saddle be so tight behind the shoulder that I can't get my fingers in there? Is it normal for the horses shoulder muscle to bulge out when the leg moves back (I don't see this with her GP cut saddle, but the bespoke one is straighter cut) Can a tight saddle cause a horse to be stumble so badly or is it because I am not positioning it right (I've been a 'happy hacker' for over 20yrs and owned 4 horses in this time and so I *think* I've got a reasonable idea of where to position a saddle but of course this latest has caused me to question myself!)
What other things could cause horse to behave like this with one saddle and not any other one - assuming all fit properly?! Is it possible that with the new one being a different cut (hunter style rather than GP) that this is less well liked by my horse?
Anything else I should be looking at?
Hot chocolate and cookies to anyone that managed to make it to the end of my ramblings!
About 6mths ago I purchased a bespoke saddle measured to fit my high withered TB. I'd mostly ridden her in a Thorowgood T4 Hi Wither up to that point but also tried treeless for a while - always having a problem with the rear of the saddle rubbing bald-ish patches on her back. These were never sore and were mostly end of winter time so could have been her coat but I didn't want to risk her back health.
So I decided that bespoke was the way to go to ensure good fit. Saddle fitter took templates of her back and some weeks later the new saddle arrived. As expected the flocking settled over a few rides however it dropped so far at the back that the gullet channel itself was pressing on her spine, my balance point was 'off' and I was sitting at the back of the saddle sort of level with the edge of the saddle pads at the back (if that makes sense?), it also seemed awfully tight behind the shoulder (I couldn't get the tips of my fingers in) and when my horse was moving you could see the muscle/flesh bulging in front of the saddle as the leg came back. I put a riser in at the back to clear the spine and carried on riding until the 6wk saddle check was due. The horse became a little stumbly and fell down on her knees but at the time I didn't think anything of it, chalking it down to laziness. Anyway a week or so after this the saddle fitter came out to do the check up and took the saddle to reflock it and lift it at the back.
I rode in the old T4 for the couple of weeks that the saddle was away for. Saddle returns and I ride out in it again, no longer touching the spine, though still tight behind the shoulder but I hope that the flocking will settle further at the front. However the horse becomes stumbly and falls onto her knees again. I check position of saddle very carefully, try siting it a little further back so as not to impede shoulders but horse nearly collapses under me when we walk off. Alarmed I pop an old treeless on - no problem, free moving horse is back to normal, most bizzare. Not wanting to take any chances, I bought a K&M TB saddle (having got rid of the T4) and we've had no further problems.
I've been talking this through with the saddler who is coming out to look at the fit again and make any alterations that are necessary so I'd like to be a bit better informed about what is normal/right and what is not. I'm far from being a saddle fitting expert but should the saddle be so tight behind the shoulder that I can't get my fingers in there? Is it normal for the horses shoulder muscle to bulge out when the leg moves back (I don't see this with her GP cut saddle, but the bespoke one is straighter cut) Can a tight saddle cause a horse to be stumble so badly or is it because I am not positioning it right (I've been a 'happy hacker' for over 20yrs and owned 4 horses in this time and so I *think* I've got a reasonable idea of where to position a saddle but of course this latest has caused me to question myself!)
What other things could cause horse to behave like this with one saddle and not any other one - assuming all fit properly?! Is it possible that with the new one being a different cut (hunter style rather than GP) that this is less well liked by my horse?
Anything else I should be looking at?
Hot chocolate and cookies to anyone that managed to make it to the end of my ramblings!
