Saddle woes - any suggestions?

esselle

esselle

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Hi there :)

Have a relatively new young warmblood mare and my current saddle (Albion MW) doesnt fit her sadly :-( too wide so tips forward slightly and interferes with her wither. So now on the hunt for a replacement!

Dont have a massive amount to spend (about 750). She is only 5 and definitely not the shape now that I envisage her being in another year's time! She has a relatively long flat back, but has hardly any topline at present, so her back sort of slopes away from her spine if that makes sense! With her being so weak and underdeveloped in that area, I assume any saddle is going to be hard to fit! She has a medium wither. Have tried on her a medium Jeffries Hawk Event (as one was available at the yard in fab condition) and wither wise, it was lovely - ample clearance, but already a little tight at the top of her shoulders. Have booked saddle fitter to come out this week, but with my budget i am restricted to K&M or a ex-demo Bates (which remind me of Wintecs for some reason!). Have seen a lovely Barnsby with adjustability at the gullet, but worried about taking the risk of buying 'off the peg' but I suppose can always send it back if not any good.

Just wondered if anyone, particularly those with underdeveloped youngsters, have found a solution to this problem?

Thank you for any help
 
I'm not sure if this will be at all helpful but most of the youngsters at our yard tend to have thorowgood T4's as they don't break the bank and seem to fit a vast variety of horses.
 
Kent and masters. Our gelding was under developed when we bought him lacking both weight and muscle. The kent and masters has been a god send. Have the changable gullet has been great as he has developed and changed shaped. I believe the tree is sprung slightly so very forgiving and shape changes etc. would highly recommend. Ours is 4 years old and still going strong
 
Bates are the leather version of wintec!! Really love them, especially the old style innova. Has it on an under developed tb, best saddle ever! Don't work great on horses with big shoulders as changeable plate gets stuck behind shoulder and isn't comfortable.

Thorowgoods are also good..... Kent and masters the more expensive leather version. However new Thorowgoods look good now and can be altered in many different ways. Plates large and sit below the area behind the shoulder and down over rib cage.

For cheap saddles look on ebay.....it's a buyers market! Many 'nearly new' saddles are selling for 1/2 their original price!
 
Thank you! Really appreciate your replies. Another girl on our yard has recently bought a K&M and loves it, but reading reviews some people seem to say you can feel a bit 'perched' on them. At the end of the day, I guess best fit for the mare is paramount, so I am just hoping I can get something she will be comfortable in. Will be interesting to see how the K&M fit her. My daughter loves riding in her Albion, but just not right for now (although will probably fit her again at some point!). Tempted to give the Barnsby APS saddle a go as looks nice. But just not sure its worth the risk.
 
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