Saddle problem - high withered horse!

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exracehorse1995

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I have always found it hard getting a saddle to fit my TB with huge withers and recently found out that his Kent and Masters saddle was tipping back as back panels were not deep enough.

I had a saddle company saddle fitter come and take all the measurements and spent a long time with me deciding what I wanted. I specifically asked if he needed the extra blocks put in the back panels and the assured me that it would sit too high.

New saddle arrived, and wasn't sitting right, saddle fitter said he has soar back and was dipping more than usual. Had his back done so he is completely comfortable in his back. Saddle fitter came back out and still wasn't sitting right. so they flocked it so much it's stuffed full and not flat at the bottom but curved and just perched on his back.

She told me to ride in my really thick half pad (still sloping with this under) and said I should buy a polite pad as well!! I am not going to do this as in my eyes a brand new saddle that fits does not need all of this.

He is 19 so isn't going to fill out hugely over his back. So unhappy... will I be able to get a refund?!
 
In my experience saddle company are utterly useless, they take a template and some pics but my saddle never fitted my high withered horse and I could see that and refused to pay for it.....don't know where you'd stand with having initially accepted it.....despite saying they are master saddler registered I cannot find them on the sms official register
 
I really do hope I can get my money back. I could see she wasn't happy with the fitting herself. It just annoys me I asked for blocks and they said no it would be fine. Obviously I believed them as I'm not a saddle fitter! I have been ripped off enough with saddles I can't afford not to get my money back! :(
 
I have a TB with a shark fin size wither! The ONLY saddle I could get to really fit was a thorowgood t4. X
 
where are you ? try to get a refund and try saddles direct, so helpful and you can keep trying them till you`re happy with fit. if stuck with your current saddle get a saddle fitters pad.( it has pockets for felt pads to sit in and can rise any bit of a saddle. and get it totally reflocked by an experienced saddler . good luck
 
The only saddle I found to fit my shark fin withered TB was a Bates. I bought a brand new one because they have the insert option as well as the changeable gullet.
 
mighty attom said:
where are you ? try to get a refund and try saddles direct, so helpful and you can keep trying them till you`re happy with fit. if stuck with your current saddle get a saddle fitters pad.( it has pockets for felt pads to sit in and can rise any bit of a saddle. and get it totally reflocked by an experienced saddler . good luck
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I'm in Bristol :) I refuse to be stuck with this as its my 5th saddle now haha :( I will look them up, but I might as well have kept original saddle and not wasted loads of money as its causing exactly the same problem as before. Thank you, I think I need it!
 
The thing is don't be confused between a narrow wither and a high wither, you can have both but very often high withered horses might have a broad wither too? With both you need front and rear gussets, once you've seen these in a saddle you know to look out for them...cremedemonthe will probably be along in a minute to explain in proper saddler speak

Of my 2 horses the shark fin ISH actually has a lower wither than the chunky warmblood when properly measured up....as I've found to my cost over the years
 
Frumpoon said:
The thing is don't be confused between a narrow wither and a high wither, you can have both but very often high withered horses might have a broad wither too? With both you need front and rear gussets, once you've seen these in a saddle you know to look out for them...cremedemonthe will probably be along in a minute to explain in proper saddler speak

Of my 2 horses the shark fin ISH actually has a lower wither than the chunky warmblood when properly measured up....as I've found to my cost over the years
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yes I think he may have a high but wide wither? He takes a medium or medium wide.. I'm guessing I probably do need rear gussets but not sure what they look like!
 
Nothing useful to add I'm afraid but you have my sympathy - it is deeply frustrating and usually expensive when the 'experts' we rely on let us down!
 
If you can get hold of her, Kay Humphries has done a great job for my very high withered horse.

Tried a T8 high wither fit and it did fit, arguably, but he hated it.
 
Rear gussets are just an extra deep panel at the back, so an easy guide is look at how much taller the wither is from the rest of his back, in my horses case about 3.5 inches, that how deep your squishy bit at the back of the saddle needs to be.

To support these at the front though to not cause extra pressure you need front gussets, these can be harder to spot in a ready made saddle but are kind of an extra triangle of leather and flock approximately at the bottom where the gullet would be right at the front of the saddle where it touches just above the shoulder.....

see if oz is about, he can explain it better?
 
Almost all saddles have rear gussets - a gusset is a separate piece of leather stitched into the panel to give it more 3D shape and you can have them at the front too. A panel without them at the back is a plain panel, and can be useful, though you dont' see them in flocked saddles very often.

That he/she recommended a thicker pad worries me as that will usually sit the front of the saddle up even more than it was before, I like a sheepskin pad but you have to start with the saddle lower in front in most cases to get a good fit with a pad unerneath. Where you go now depends on several things, including whether they gave you written terms and conditions. if they didn't then you have a strong case. if they did your legal standing is usually that if you tried the saddle away from their premises then you shoudl have a 7 day trial and if you notify of a problem in that time they have a duty to put it right. They should be given a couple of chances, but then you should have a good chance of getting a refund, less costs like card charges. Contact the CAB who operate trading standards for consumers.

Not sure what you mean by blocks - on a saddle the only blocks are knee blocks or calf blocks on the sweat flap for the rider. Saddle Company and some others do shove solid "shims" into their saddles to lift th eback, but in IMO it makes the panels hard. I've seen many top dressage saddles where they've built a lovely curved deep seat for the rider then desperately tried to make it fit a horse's back, where it's too curvy, and attached a similar shim directly to the tree. Seems to be it's better to have a tree that works for the horse in the first place....anyway, I digress!

Do talk to the CAB and good luck. If the saddle fits in other ways then a rear riser would work for now - Mattes correction pads are the very best and you can use them to make up a rear riser, or any other kind of shimmed pad. Wonderful product.
 
I'm so sorry to hear of your problems. Sbloom has given you the right advice, so I wish you luck in getting your money back. If you are on a budget, the Thorowgood T4 High Wither are very good for the sort of back you describe. They are often recommended by the Veteran Horse society for their older horses. If you can budget up to £1500 for a new saddle, then Loxley, Ideal or Harry Dabbs can all do what you need & depending on where you are in the country, they should be able to recommend a fitter for you.
 
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