Saddle for New Forest

supertramp

supertramp

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Am having saddle woe's, My 14.2 chunky New forest with very large shoulders is currently in a wide GFS Vsd, have had it checked and it is restricitng his shoulders, (checked by reputable master saddler)

We tried 8 saddles yesterday and only one came near fitting, it was again tight on his shoulders so no joy there.

Now my dilema is, current saddler dosnt have anymore in stock, but has suggested that may be a Farrington WH, derby house samber, Jefferies WH, may be suitable, but untill i get my hands on one I just dont know, there are a few on ebay, but no point in buying one to find it dosnt fit.

What do you all use on your chunky natives, I know its not one size fits all and it has to be a saddle that fits him, but any ideas , or thinking outside the box would be much appreciated, how would you go about this conundrum?

supertramp
 
I found the Wintec fits him very nicely, it has the x-wide gullet in, and allows him lots of room in the shoulder. At the moment though, he is in the western saddle quite a bit, learning the finer points of being a cowboy pony! :p
 
Thanks for the replies, Kaiser cheif, do these often come up in the second hand market, a new saddle would be good, but my wallet wont stretch sadly.

Dragon slayer, have used a friends wintec but it tends to throw me forwards and lifts off his back, not very technically put , but am sure you get the gist.
 
supertramp said:
Thanks for the replies, Kaiser cheif, do these often come up in the second hand market, a new saddle would be good, but my wallet wont stretch sadly.

Dragon slayer, have used a friends wintec but it tends to throw me forwards and lifts off his back, not very technically put , but am sure you get the gist.
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New Forests can be amongst the flattest to fit ponies - I see from the very flat even when they are stood with no saddle or rider, to those with a smidge of wither who look like they could take a deeper seat but all of them need fairly flat saddles if not very flat. The Wintec would have been too curved for a proper flat NF :). Look for a shallow seat, with a long flat deepest bit, flat panels ie not sausage shaped as well as flat from front to back (rear gussets of some kind) and four girth straps which will help give you different options.
 
I wonder if it is worth purchasing a WH from ebay and getting her to come and have a look, if it dosnt fit am left with another saddle to get rid of, and they dont seem to be selling well at the moment.

Would it be out of order toask a tack shop to have a saddle on trial for a few days, leaving credit card details for security of course?
 
I had the shoulder problem with mine. In the end went for a kings working hunter show saddle. It's quite flat and has wide panels for his wide rib cage.
 
thanks for all the replies.

Sbloom, what is your take on derby house, jefferies, and farrington Working Hunter saddles, am stalking some on ebay
 
Cliff Barnsby PC saddle fits mine - allows room for the shoulder and has flattish seat
(also had to buy the same for both my connies as one has a huge shoulder and the other is very barrel-shapd through the ribs)
 
My pony is a NFx with broad shoulders and is flat backed. I have found that the Thorowgood cob range fits her well amd clears her shoulders. The first one I had was extra wide but she now has a wide as I am trying to keep her slim. I originally had a Wintec but this seemed to pinch her shoulders and made her buck.
 
My forester has a flat back and round barrel no withers and has a saddle company saddle. XXW, they are very adjustable if you have a fitter in your area.
 
LCH611 said:
Cliff Barnsby PC saddle fits mine - allows room for the shoulder and has flattish seat
(also had to buy the same for both my connies as one has a huge shoulder and the other is very barrel-shapd through the ribs)
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I have the same one on my 13.2hh NF. Comfortable light saddle and fits him really well.
 
supertramp said:
thanks for all the replies.

Sbloom, what is your take on derby house, jefferies, and farrington Working Hunter saddles, am stalking some on ebay
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The DH Samber (made by Farrington) worker has quite a high pommel and is not suitable for most flat backed horses, the other two I'm not so sure about, it all depends what tree they are on which I wouldn't have a clue about. I only fit for one company, though do ooccasionally check other brands and flock them.
 
Ideal Working Hunter 17" wide or extra wide.
These have fitted all the foresters I have owned or loaned (and all the others they have been tried on too). Round here, they are scarcer than hens teeth secondhand, which I think says a lot.

One forester I sold had big shoulders like you describe, (I bought the first Ideal WH for him). The new owners eventually put him in an Ideal GP which he accepted well - he is one of those who lets you know when his saddle isn't comfortable or fitting properly. Nothing else we tried on him was any good at all.
 
I'm another one for the Ideal WH - I had a 4th girth strap fitted on mine and it fitted brilliantly on my girl who was also extremely well endowed in the shower and rib area. Used it for all disciplines. Hoping it will be suitable for my youngster as she too is developing a good pair of shoulders on her....fingers xd!
 
Just beware that using the balance strap ie the fourth girth strap CAN make saddles move forwards on many flatter horses - it can be useful to correct very minor rear instability in saddles but I find with many it simply sends the saddle onto the shoulders. Just a warning for others :) - I find that most cobs and natives do best with a point strap and third strap but it does depend on the shape of the tree around the wither as if it tree doesn't allow room it can clamp the withers.
 
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