saddle fitting

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gable

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I have arranged for a saddler to come out at the weekend as I need a new saddle - old one came with my boy 3 years ago. Had it re flocked a few times but its now getting tatty.

I rang up and they just asked how tall he is and what sort of build is he. They will bring a selection of saddles with them

is this normal? I thought they would have come out and measured him first.

What are your experiences?
 
We had a saddler out on Friday, I'd emailled with descriptions of the ponies heights builds and what we wanted to do with them (NF= all rounder WHP, some showing some jumping, Arab x = semi retired but a little of everything). She rang to arrange the appointment and clarified a couple of things in the information I'd given. She came with a large van and there were a good 15-20 saddles or so in there obviously some from previous appointments, of which we tried about 4 or 5 on the 2 ponies, and also tried changing the gullet on the Wintec we had for the NF to see how it fitted the other - who is a skinny thing by comparison. She was there for about 2 hours. It was very interesting to see how different saddle manufacturers do vary in fit, as well as different styles from the same manufacturer fit differently, and suit the rider differently. Also it was amazing to see how much difference changing the gullet in the Wintec changed the width at the front - pony seemed to really like the fit and the lightness of the Wintec was much freer moving and daughter found him easier to ride. His old saddle was a bit tight at the front and not a good fit, the saddler said we had the right sort of Wintec to suit his build if we changed the gullet, so we were lucky there as anything new sounded more expensive due to lack of choice, and he doesn't get the riding the other one does! Consequently by trying what she had with her, and seeing how it fitted the NF (and the rider), we have a new GP style coming for the NF, again with adjustable gullet as we think he will muscle up even more - he had a medium gullet in the Wintec and as he'd built up more muscle it would have needed a wider fit. She thought this will be better for daughter's long legs than the same make different style ( VSD I think it was) that she had, and when she comes back she will change the gullet on his Wintec to the narrow fit for the Arabx.

I've no idea if this is 'normal' as we've only had the ponies since November and this was the saddlers first visit, but it seemed to make sense to me. Hope that helps.
 
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Hi. Yes this is normal. I use a master saddler and she takes all the info first, breed, height, your height and weight and then brings lots of saddles to try. She also measures the horse and then recommends having the saddle checked 6 monthly so she can check if the horse has lost or gained weight, changed shape etc. Then the necessary adjustments can be made. If your saddler is reputable then they wouldn't sell you a saddle that doesn't fit you and the horse. Our saddler gives a 7 day trial period as well so if you are not happy with the saddle you can return it for a full refund.
 
First time my saddler asked me lots of questions, height, breed, age, condition, asked about my height and what I wanted to do. What my budget was and preferences etc.

She then brought what she had that seemed to fit the bill and we tried on various makes and narrowed it down to 3 that fitted.
I then rode in these 3, swapped them a few times to work out which he moved best in.

Obviously now she know my horse and has the template from the last time so when I was looking for a dressage saddle she knew which makes might suit him and to bring along.
 
Thanks that was really helpful. So do you buy it there and then or do they take it away and change it?
 
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