Saddle Fitting?

floradora09

floradora09

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Had a qualified saddler out yesterday, who came with two students (to teach them about fitting saddles) so I offered to be a guinea-pig! The saddle that I use now is causing him discomfort, he doesn't go very well in it and it prevents him using the muscles along his back, the flocking has gone very hard so not good for either of us, but they said not to re-flock it because it would make the saddle too small. When looking him over to start with they found a tight area of muscle on his shoulders, most likely caused by the saddle. Also, he always pulls horrid faces when I put his saddle on, because it doesn't fit terribly well.

The saddler advised me to buy him a 17" Thorowgood Cob T4 GP adjustable (I have him on permanent loan, but he's an older boy and I wouldn't want to spend lots of money on a saddle that I would only use for a couple of years before moving up to another pony/horse, so if it was adjustable then I stood a better chance of it fitting another pony/horse.) with an Extra Wide gullet.

I'm now popping off to the local saddlery who have a lot of second hand and new saddles, to see what they've got. But she didn't tell me what width to look for in a leather saddle, she just said that if I'm looking at saddles make sure the panels are flat (not rounded) and that there is a gap of no less than 2 1/2 " between them. Is this enough? I'm totally new to the whole saddle fitting thing, and I'm a little overwhelmed!

Thanks for all of your help
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Saddles are a bit of a constant nightmare!

Adjustable saddles have a better chance of fitting another horse, but in my experience (maybe I have been unlucky) I always end up spending money on another saddle!

Unfortunately you will need a saddle-fitter to look at any saddle on the horse (and you riding it) before you buy it. It's not really possible (unless you are really experienced) to buy a saddle that will fit without a saddle-fitter's advice there and then. If you do find a model/make that fits really well you can try to buy it second hand and many people do this, BUT in my experience each saddle is unique and may well need adjusting. Just because the model fits in general does not mean that this particular saddle will fit perfectly.

Good luck!
 
" I'm totally new to the whole saddle fitting thing, and I'm a little overwhelmed!"

You need advice from a good saddle fitter, sorry. You are just too inexperienced to take this on yourself and you could damage your horse permanently if you get it wrong.

To be honest and a bit blunt, but I can't think how else to say it, I'm a bit concerned that you think that a synthetic Thorowgood saddle is a big investment. An expensive saddle is £1,500 - 2,500. The one that you are being recommended to buy is, frankly, cheap and you should not quibble at the price of making your horse comfortable. If you can't afford it, maybe you should be asking if you can really afford to own a horse?

You should not continue to ride a horse in a saddle which he has made plain hurts him, and where you can find physical evidence of him being hurt. Please don't ride him again until you have a saddle that fits him.
 
Sorry maybe I phrased that part wrong. What I mean is that I would never try to fit a saddle myself, but that I'm overwhelmed with the wide range and amount of options I have. Of course I would get a saddler out to check the fit afterwards, or at least a very experienced person. We think that the Thorowgood saddle is good value, so not sure where you got the idea that we thought it was a big investment from? Because the pony in question is on loan it's a little tricky to sort out who will be paying for saddle, and what I meant was that we don't want to spend £1000+ on a nice saddle, only to have the pony taken back. I would like to add also that pony is well looked after and frankly, quite spoilt!
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Maybe I wrote that all a little wrong, but I want to make it clear that I love the pony dearly and do not want to hurt him, hence why we are now looking for a new saddle that will fit him. The only hinderance is the issue of him being a loan pony, but we will sort something out asap.

Thanks x
 
Sorry if I read you wrong. It was "lots of money" confused me. But it is difficult if he is a loaner. You will be much better off, money-wise with a second hand leather than a synthetic new, because they don't hold their value at all well if you need to sell it again when the pony goes. Is there one of those "got a vanful of pre-loved saddles " fitters near you that anyone can recommend? Don't be too swayed by "master saddler" creds, it often means diddly squat in terms of knowing what they are doing! Got by recommendation of people who know what they are talking about if you can. I see you are in Oxfordshire so I can't help much more that that, sorry. Good luck!
 
Ah ok no worries
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Thanks for your advice, I'll take that on board and ask about a bit, to see if anyone knows of a good fitter. Someone has actually already PMed me about a Thorowgood saddle that fits the above description, from their T6 range, which I much prefer! Don't suppose that you know if the T6 range fits that same as the T4 range, the only difference being the material they're made of?

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Try giving Laura at Bridlepath International a ring. I got a fab 2nd hand Barnsby from her. I was very clear I wanted leather, brown and second hand/under a particular price.

Really knows her stuff and covers your area.
 
Do you trust this saddle fitter? if so, I would go with what he suggests. They really are good saddles, and frankly, cheap, but without being shoddy.
 
Well if your saddler has told you to go for the synthetic saddle with an extra wide gullet, then you need to be looking at extra wide fitting saddles (as a starting point).
 
I'm not really sure if I trust her or not, as she's the first saddler I've had out! She really did seem to know her stuff though, but that may just be me! Hmm... it's a tricky one!
 
Did she template your horse so armed with that and her description and measurements you could then go to a shop and stand more of a chance of finding a correctly fitting saddle!
I always template horses I am measuring up for a new saddle if the owner has to find a saddle themselves, it is good practice to template horse at different times of the year anyway to see if they change shape which can alter the fitting of the saddle. Templates don't lie and you can often see small discrepencies on the template you can't see with the naked eye.
Good luck with your new saddle, Oz
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Out of interest Unicorleather, how do you actually use the template in relation to making the saddle? Do you cut out the shape to use as a model or just use it to visualize?
 
We would make a cardboard template of the wither profile widthwise and mark it near side and off side as horses are often very different on their nearside (larger) as well as a template lengthwise to show the height of the withers and clearance needed.We would mark on template length of saddle (maximum) that can be used and type of head (full cut back, quarter cut back, sloping head etc etc) then off er it up to one of the trees in our workshop to find a match.
But IF we are NOT making a saddle to fit the templates but the customer is going to find one themselves, then the finished saddle in a shop can be carefully offered up to the template and you can see with practice if the points are parallel and equidistant to the template. As well as having all the measurements mentioned earlier written on template in theory it helps you 99% to find a correctly fitting saddle.
MANY moons ago, it was customary for the Saddler to take out all his trees to the stables where the horse was kept and find the perfect tree for the horses profile as well as take measurements, details and of horse and rider.
Nowadays of course with off the peg buying it is sometimes hard to get the perfect fit.
I usually only have to make up templates for people who are going off in search of a saddle, I write down ALL details on templates for the person in the shop to see to help them find the best saddle for the customer.
You need to know age of horse, type of work horse is in, are you going to change that type of work in the future, any injuries that could affect the fitting, age of rider, size of rider , length of rider's femur, weight of rider, experience of rider, and so it goes on!
It is your money and your horse's back that are at stake so it pays to have as much info as possible, never be frightened to ask the Saddler questions either, we are here to help if we can.
Lastly, never be tempted to make a template using a old (or new) metal coat hanger, they are made from spring steel and have a memory and give a false reading of the withers, no matter how good at it you are it will not be a true profile. I use a piece of 2 foot 4" wide lead flashing folded in half and hammered flat to give the right consistency, it has never let me down in 21 years!
It can be bought at good DIY shops and builders yards and make sure you wash your hands after using it!

Hope this helps, Oz
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