Saddle help/ advise.

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showjump

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Had physio to my mare as she was jumping to right of fences. She said neck was in spasm, and she was abit sore behind saddle. We had been using my other saddle on her for afew months,but swapped to the one that came with her. So got sadle fitter out on fri. He said it fitted her well at front, but when we rode the saddle moved to the right hand side. He said all saddles move but this moving too much. He also said that it would only make her sore on one side not both. He noticed she that her muscle was uneven ont the right at back and left front. - causeing the saddle to be ofset. The saddle we have is a gfs pro jumper, which he says cant be altered. (also mentioned none of my saddles can- prestige & whitakers) So he said only saddles we could have are albion, or amerigo. (he is uk fitter for amerigo, conveniently!) I asked him how much we were talking.. at least £1000. He said he hasnt got any second hand ones. (convenient again!)
So i really dont have this money, and also do not think this is the cause of the prob, as physio said neck would of caused it. Aslo could have been the other saddle she had on for a while.

Any input from someone, my heads been spinning with it since fri, of what to do.
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p.s my other idea is to use stephens non slip gel pad, and then pad out a numnah with foam padding in the oppersite corners where the muscle is less.
 
If you pm me a pic of her back from sides and back and also a pic of the saddle from underneath I can let you know what I think.

I would however steer clear of Albions. If you are looking for an adjustable saddle, kieffers can be adjusted at the factory and Saddle Company saddles on site by a fitter (I fit SC saddles) otherwise I would look at Barnsbys or Ideals which are much better than Albions.
 
Get a second opinion from another saddle fitter? If you are not 100% sure you trust the first one's opinion then that's what I'd do.
 
i think i'd ignore the saddle fitter's advice tbh. CBAnglo's is much better!
i've just bought a Port-Lewis Impression pad, to check the fit of all my saddles. at £185, it is a lot lot cheaper than a new saddle or three...
get a good saddle fitter to show you the shape of your horse's back, take templates, and then see if the ones you have are reasonable fits, or look for 2nd hand.
 
I havent got a pic at the mo, but will take some tonight and post them later.
I just dont see how he couldnt help or offer any further advise apart from that we would need a new saddle. (albion/amerigo) I dont understand how god knows how many thousand horses wear close contact saddle (the ones he says cant be altered) im sure theyre not all perfect shapes.
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I just feel as though he go out of the car looked at yard/ horses/ us, and decided a new saddle was in order!
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You need to make sure that the tree fits the shape of the horse's back. Then (especially with remedial fits), you need to consider the flocking and width of the tree. The width of the tree depends on how broad the backs are and where the muscles are lying - each horse will be different here.

I bought an anglo arab that came to me in a shocking state (went out to buy an Irish Draft and ended up with a hatrack). Anyway, after I managed to get some weight on him and build some muscle with in hand work, it took me 3 months to get him from a medium to a wide (he has a broad arab back) and now he is verging on xw ish. To be honest though, I dont fit saddles to a particular size - I fit them to the horse's size. So for any of my saddles I couldnt say that they were a wide or a medium etc as they are probably in between sizes really. Also, as I ride my Anglo in a sheepskin I have taken this into account when fitting my saddle.

Padding might be able to help you short term, to make him a bit more even, but to be honest I would prefer to see the movement of the horse to see if he was a bit off. If you send me a pic from behind I can see if he has adjusted his stride to compensate for extreme one sidedness or pain in his back. You mention neck problems as well - sometimes just a symptom of a poorly fitting saddle or the horse might not be moving properly hence becoming more one sided and then the saddle no longer fits.
 
mmm i would go for second opinion aswell, and having your horse template done is very useful when looking at secondhand saddles...

I had my saddler fitter out sat and i can't speak highly enough of her....

as i did said i was NOT in market for new saddle and as their were the original fitters...... and she was brilliant......... and recommend a prolite pad for one saddle and we agreed that i should save and get new one once i could afford........ not instant.... and other two were fine and was getting near reflocking.... but that was up to me..

BUT main thing was she explain how the saddles should fit and want i should look out for on my horses......... very very useful knowledge which is want you want as owner

BUT mainly i she took time and listern to me and was very very good and didn't push and defo not out to make fast buck, which make me want to save and buy saddle once i can afford
 
Ok will get pic for you tonight. My saddle is not flock, so as i understand cannot be altered? Also he said it fits her well at the front so sheepskin pads ect would cause the saddle to tilt backwards. Hence me thinking that if i use a thin numnah, stephen pad(only 4mm thick) it would not affect saddle in this was.
 
if the tree's not the right shape for the horse's back profile, or the front of the saddle is not the right width, no pad on earth will make it fit. that's like saying the right pair of socks will make shoes of the wrong size fit my feet.
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there are a lot of very nice cheap 2nd hand saddles around, but you need to know more about your horse's back so that you go looking for the right thing.
close-contact saddles are fine on certain shapes of horses (strong wb type backs imho) but not so good on others. they're also not designed with a large bearing surface, they're for competing in, not for hacking, sitting in for a long time imho.
did the saddle fitter say what width your horse is?
 
Yes i understand what you are saying. No he didnt say what width she is. He said if i could get a second hand saddle he could alter the flock to suit, not mentioned the tree is the wrong size. He said the saddle fitted (so width must be right) its just moving abit more than it should. However rode in saddle and non slip pad yesterday and it was moving less. Hmm i just dont think this is the cause of the probs tbh, it all started when she had an incident in the stable. (dont know if you saw my other posts)
 
no buy one of mine (even told us to by amerigo as if he altered a albion it would invalidate the warrenty in later years?)
 
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