saddle quandry

[charlie76]

I had a prestige optimax dressage Saddle made To fit my horse at great expense less than a year ago but he doesn't like it! And first I thought I was being silly but he has been going worse and worse, things came To a head last week When he started rearing. He was horrid to ride and fed up. Three days ago out of desperation I decided To stick my very old and tatty Albion on him.
Instant transformation! He was forward And free and stretching down! I have used it every day since And his lateral work is so much better and today he was so loose he managed four clean changes!
So. Where do I go from here. The prestige has been checked by the saddle fitter who said it is fine but he isn't happy.
Do You think I should sell it and if so what price. ?
Or do I ask for another check?

 

[be positive]

Sometimes even a seemingly perfect saddle does not suit the horse, my pyhsio has found this and there seems to be no reason but the horse just cannot move as well or gets tight, especially when you are asking more as in lateral work.
The best thing may be to sell, and use your old Albion he obviously prefers it.

 

[sbloom]

:wavey:

M2M saddles are fitted by text book rules by definition (ie measurements are taken and a saddle made to those) and I have plenty of horses I fit that do not like those rules. If you can buy a saddle from stock you can see if the horse likes it, and buy it. Continental fit saddles, of which Prestige is one, tend to have longer points and curvier trees and panels than English school saddles of which Albion is one. Go with the horse's opinion while being sure that the saddle is stable and has no marked pressure points.

Velues on used saddles - start at half of current RRP for a saddle that is in good nick and less than five years old. If much newer and immaculate then add to the price, if older and/or scruffier then subtract from the price. Completed ebay auctions will give you an idea of course.