Saddle for a rather round haflinger

horsimous

horsimous

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Hi I sometimes help a friend with her 16 year old haflinger. She has asked me to post on here to try and find out which saddles other people have found successful. The mare is 14.2 and puts on weight on fresh air. Therefore she can vary over the year and is sometimes a bit porky even with diet and exercise.

She has tried wintec and thorowgood synthetic saddles as well as torsion. The wintec dug in, the torsion slid from side to side and the thorowgood slides as well as the back bouncing up and down. It seems to put pressure right at the back of the saddle no matter what gullet is in. I have heard that Gfs do a haflinger saddle, is it worth a try? Also heard of native pony saddles but no experience of them or any other ideas welcome.
 
Kikke said:
saddle exchange, I will not go anywhere else fir my very round and difficult to fit welshie
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Do you mean "Saddle Exchange Saddling Solutions" run by Dean (& Gini) Woodward???

I have recently had a very negative experience with one of their saddles and not one which I would wish to repeat; it could have been easily sorted out, amicably, instead of which I had to go through a lot of very difficult bartering in order to get any sort of recompense .......... and having gone from the position where I thought they (and the saddles) were wonderful and willingly put my testimony on their website, I have asked for it to be removed as I was so unhappy at the service I was given - but suffice to say that I could not recommend either their saddles OR their after sales service, which is frankly not only appalling i.e. non-existent, but also pretty flippin expensive to boot. All they are interested in, and it is ALL, is selling saddles :( So I would say look elsewhere basically!

Just to clarify: there is the "Native Pony Saddle Company" and also similar sounding sub-companies which the above use on their website and which are nothing to do with the "saddle exchange" set-up. So if in any doubt about the difference "sbloom" on here will very gladly clarify which is which! Just so people are aware :)
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Do you mean "Saddle Exchange Saddling Solutions" run by Dean (& Gini) Woodward???

I have recently had a very negative experience with one of their saddles and not one which I would wish to repeat; it could have been easily sorted out, amicably, instead of which I had to go through a lot of very difficult bartering in order to get any sort of recompense .......... and having gone from the position where I thought they (and the saddles) were wonderful and willingly put my testimony on their website, I have asked for it to be removed as I was so unhappy at the service I was given - but suffice to say that I could not recommend either their saddles OR their after sales service, which is frankly not only appalling i.e. non-existent, but also pretty flippin expensive to boot. All they are interested in, and it is ALL, is selling saddles :( So I would say look elsewhere basically!

Just to clarify: there is the "Native Pony Saddle Company" and also similar sounding sub-companies which the above use on their website and which are nothing to do with the "saddle exchange" set-up. So if in any doubt about the difference "sbloom" on here will very gladly clarify which is which! Just so people are aware :)
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yes, one and the same.
can not speak highly enough of them.
where nobody was able to fit my pony with anything half decent, I even had saddlers refusing to come out after seeing a pic. of her.
yes they are expensive but in my case, you get what you pay for!!

on the other hand I one of the saddlers that came out was from the 'native pony saddle company' and were absolutely horrendous.
they are not coming anywhere near my horses!
 
Mmmm. "Kikke" I was in exactly the same situation as you, thought they were the best thing since sliced bread, and it took a great deal for me to have to come to the conclusion I did, and I didn't come to it easily, BUT I wish you well with them............ and basically hope that you don't encounter any "issues" with the saddle you have purchased and look to them to remedy the situation, because believe me you won't receive any support, zilch.

And its not just a question of money either, its a question of loyalty. As a YO I put over £4000-worth of business their way; yet when I needed a solution for a saddle I had purchased from them, a simple phone call was too much (obviously) to ask.

But, hey, I wish you luck!!!! And really hope the saddle you've purchased for yours goes on OK.

Please feel free to PM me if you want to know WHY exactly I went from being a happy satisfied customer willing to have my testiimony on their website and willing to recommend them, from someone who wanted their testimony taken down AND no longer willing to recommend.

But hey, sorry OP, didn't mean to hi-jack your thread here.... SO sorry.

Wish I knew what saddle to recommend for a Haflinger: know they're notoriously hard to find something for. Even worse than a Traddie Cob!!! Would a breastplate and/or a gel-pad help the saddle to stay in place better???

(Edited) sorry, forgot to say that there IS, I believe, a Haflinger Society in the UK. I did think about buying a Haflinger a few years ago, which is how I strayed onto their website. Maybe they would have some suggestions re. a suitable saddle for this particular breed? Or maybe you could think about say an Icelandic saddle, as they seem to be more-or-less the same sort of horse, comformation-wise???

Anyway, just a thought.
 
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Black Country fits my boy, but he's only partbred and is currently slim. Other option based on saddler's experience would have been Ideal on a HC tree (Haflinger & Cob) or Native Pony Saddle.

I have a Fitform treeless as backup, which he goes nicely in but doesn't offer me any support as a rider, and since he's only young and a bit sharp I like to have a bit of help in the form of knee rolls!
 
Hi, just to add to the mix, I had an Ideal Highland saddle fitted to my cob some years ago and it has been great, not only a good original fit but obviously properly made as easy to flock over the years during regular checks.
 
After many years and many different saddles, I eventually took the plunge and tested out a Solution Native saddle and haven't looked back. My cob has huge shoulders but is quite short backed and this, combined with his ever fluctuating weight, meant that what fitted him one week didn't the next. I fell in love with the Solution saddle instantly as for once I wasn't sat 'perched' and the saddle wasn't rocking and rolling with every step.

I even nearly got away with keeping it, and the price tag, a secret from the OH until he decided to go for a little ride one day, and, after coming back without back ache for once, noticed that the saddle had changed. After all the different saddles we'd gone through, this was one of only a couple of occasions that he chose to notice! Luckily all the science and development reading kept him distracted enough that he didn't focus too much on the cost and we made a silent, mutual agreement not to discuss it...

Anyway, it could be worth a try at the very least!
 
Someone I knew a few years back had the gfs haflinger saddle for her mare, it fitted lovely and she loved it, other saddles that come wide are saddle company they can be adjusted quite wide, Lavinia Mitchell saddles come up very wide 5 different widths, I have one for my wide Arab lovely saddles.
 
My haflinger is in a Kent and masters pony with mw gullet. But he is fit and lean, has wither, and is not so much on the round side so don't know if that will help you lol!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Mmmm. "Kikke" I was in exactly the same situation as you, thought they were the best thing since sliced bread, and it took a great deal for me to have to come to the conclusion I did, and I didn't come to it easily, BUT I wish you well with them............ and basically hope that you don't encounter any "issues" with the saddle you have purchased and look to them to remedy the situation, because believe me you won't receive any support, zilch.

And its not just a question of money either, its a question of loyalty. As a YO I put over £4000-worth of business their way; yet when I needed a solution for a saddle I had purchased from them, a simple phone call was too much (obviously) to ask.

But, hey, I wish you luck!!!! And really hope the saddle you've purchased for yours goes on OK.

Please feel free to PM me if you want to know WHY exactly I went from being a happy satisfied customer willing to have my testiimony on their website and willing to recommend them, from someone who wanted their testimony taken down AND no longer willing to recommend.



I have had the same sort of experience I'm afraid. Would not touch with bargepole now.

Try a Farrington or maybe an Ideal.
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I have a GFS Haflinger on my Sec D. He has zero withers and I tried all manner of wide/ xwide saddles. It fits him very well. I also have a Barnsby grip pad underneath so mounting from the ground is easy as the saddle doesn't slip one bit.
 
Hey thanks so much for the replies. I'd never have thought of a falcon for a wider one, though have loved them for TBs. Oh and hippocobamus, I loved the saddle story.


My friend will be glad as it seems there may be more options than we first thought. All this sliding around is putting her off riding. I said I wasn't surprised as having a fight with your saddle while trying to ride in the weather we've had is no fun at all.

She's tried a breastplate and also a sticky limpet pad but it really does slide. She's a nice quiet rider and in good balance. I had a sit in it and it was pretty alarming how unstable it was. She's decided it's not good for her Haffie or herself so will try to get something which will solve the problems and fits properly.

We'll have a look on the net to read about all of the saddles mentioned. Thanks for the warning about suppliers. Any suggestions for someone great who will come out to Dorset?
 
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