Saddle for high withered horse

[vicm2509]

Can anyone recomend a good make of saddle for a high withered horse?

I currently use a wintec gp but it is slightly too low on his withers. I could really do with one that has a cut back head. I went to a saddlers and they recomended the ideal 1350 GP, which doesnt look very cut back but she said it suits high witherd horses well. Problem is I cant afford the £900 and cant find a second hand one.

My horse is on part loan so ideally I dont want to spend a fortune on a new one as I know it wont get looked after.

Here is a pic so you can see just how high his withers really are

 

[the watcher]

Presumably you can't just try the next size down on the gullet to see if it lifts the front a bit (assuming it is an adjustable Wintec and obviously relies on the saddle still fitting elsewhere)

What discipline do you mostly do? And other than that wither what size do you need to fit?

I have to say if that was my horse I would be more focussed on trying to lift the back because it does look very hollow..but I appreciate you need a saddle that fits in order to do work off the lunge.

 

[madhector]

my Tb has really high withers, and he has a throrogood High wither Tb saddle, fits him perfectly, and nice and cheap

 

[vicm2509]

[ QUOTE ]
Presumably you can't just try the next size down on the gullet to see if it lifts the front a bit (assuming it is an adjustable Wintec and obviously relies on the saddle still fitting elsewhere)

What discipline do you mostly do? And other than that wither what size do you need to fit?

I have to say if that was my horse I would be more focussed on trying to lift the back because it does look very hollow..but I appreciate you need a saddle that fits in order to do work off the lunge.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had him in a medium, so swapped to a medium/narrow and that is too tight on him even though it does lift it up at the front..

What do you mean by lifting the back as it looks hollow?

Oh and I need a 17-17.5 inch medium fit but on the smaller side of the medium.

 

[vicm2509]

Sorry, ive just read it again...do you mean lift the horses back? I was thinking you meant lift the back of the saddle.

 

[the watcher]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, ive just read it again...do you mean lift the horses back? I was thinking you meant lift the back of the saddle.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, exercises, maybe on the lunge to encourage the back to muscle up a bit..at the moment he looks suspended between wither and pelvis, although that may just be age and fitness.

The Thorogood TB may well fit, it is cut back for the wither..they also do a warmblood style I think, designed for a wither but also a wider back and more barrel body. Try to get a fit now with all the Fish inserts in (if you buy this style) so that you can take them out progressively as the back lifts and muscles up.

This is much cheaper than a leather saddle and allows for some adjustment

 

[vicm2509]

I have had him a year (tomorow) and I have been working on his topline and muscle since I got him. He is 7 but in his shape he is quite an immature 7 and does have some more filling out to do. He gets worked for an hour each day (more at weekends). Although we do not have many hills by my yard and I feel hill work will really benefit him, im moving yards in next 6 weeks though to a very hilly area so hopefully I will see some improvement in him.

I do quite a lot of lunge work with him, as well as lots of lateral work when ridden, all his other muscles seem to be building up well and im hoping over the summer I will be able to get a lot more muscle on him.

I have had his current saddle looked at by the back lady and also by my instrutor who both agree it fits very well everywhere else except his wither

 

[Paint it Lucky]

Have you tried putting a front riser pad on him? These are only about £15, lift the saddle really well and pad underneath it, have one for my horse as he is also quite high withered, it is great, without it his saddle would be too low on his withers but with it the saddle fits miles better.

 

[the watcher]

I wouldn't beat yourself up about it, it sounds like you are doing all the right things..but if the current saddle is tight around the wither it would possible hamper development in his back. As an interim measure you could consider a saddle cloth with prolite pads either side of the wither to give you a little more clearance, but it isn't ideal and you would also need the pads at the back of the cloth, otherwise the saddle might feel as though it is tipping back. These cloths and numnahs come up on Ebay quite often at less than retail.

 

[vicm2509]

I was actually thinking about a front riser pad and i am borrowing one tomorrow off a friend to try but I would like to get him a saddle that fits properly. Perhaps I will use the riser pad for now and wait until the end of the summer when his back is a little more developed and get someone out with loads of saddles to try.

My instructor thinks hes going to be quite hard to fit so I was just looking for a few suggestions.

 

[Natalie_H]

I second Madhector - my TB has a Thorowgood high wither GP and it fits him beautifully. Nicely cut away & not expensive. Good luck x.

 

[mrhsaddler]

I would recommend a Thorowgood T4 high wither saddle if you are on a budget (£299), or if you can afford a bit more, the T6 (£425) version looks and almost feels like leather, and according to a couple of my customers this week, they are very comfortable, and the horse is going a lot better in them.

 

[MagicMelon]

You can get some saddles with "thoroughbred panels" (what my saddler called them anyway). Basically underneath the padded panel underneath which lies either side of the wither, its wider than in normal saddles - if you go to:

http://www.wowsaddles.com/wow/wow%20panelstyle.htm

This is sort of the idea. Mine isnt a WOW though, I have a Kings saddle which was rather expensive but then I did buy it brand new. My saddler said that thoroughbred / high withered types tend to have a hollow either side which normal panelled saddles fall down into, the wider panels "fill" the hollow keeping the saddle where it should be and not down on the wither.

 

[mrhsaddler]

Yes thoroughbred panels are normally called drop panel saddles and give more width to the weight baring area of the saddle

 

[WelshRareBit]

Murph has high withers and I bought the Kincade rediride for him as a hacking saddle and I have found it to be brill - and uber cheap.
xx