Saddler.....What would you Do?

[Sukistokes2]

I have had no end of trouble over the last year getting a good fitting saddle for my horse. I have tried 3 different saddlers and 3 different saddles. My latest saddle is a wintec wide dressage pro. My horse, a shire x has a large shoulder and is wide but also unlike a lot of cobs he has a whither. The saddle seemed fine and I was really pleased, I even started to get my canter lead back on the right rein. After about a week or so the saddle seemed tight so I increased the Gullet size and called the saddler to check it. When he came out he took the horse back down to the first gullet. Bang!! there goes my canter lead! Up to that point it had been working fine. I told him that if the saddle was too tight the canter lead would go. He felt that the horse would be more affected by a saddle moving. During my recent lesson my instructor was concerned that the horses quality of going was not there and when we checked I could not get my hand between the saddle and the horse. I feel that the saddle is too tight for my horse and wanted the saddler to check it again. He felt that he had fitted it fine but he would contact me and let me know when he could come out. Of course he has not contacted me. There is however part of me that thinks it would be better just to move on and try saddler number four!

What do you think?
ps all back checks and teeth checks have been done, the back the same week as the saddle!

current buns if you made it !

 

[Sukistokes2]

ps....we checked the saddle without a rider, I could not get my hand between the horse and saddle without a rider on board. just to make that clear.

 

[Red-1]

Aaaaagh, saddle woes!

I put my foot down after I found my boy went better in a bareback pad than his fitted saddle. That really should not happen.

What about using a Port Lewis pad? Not perfect, but cheaper than proper pressure pad.

Personally I would insist the saddler worked with me and listened, or have another saddler.

 

[Red-1]

ps....we checked the saddle without a rider, I could not get my hand between the horse and saddle without a rider on board. just to make that clear.

In that case I would not ride the horse until it is rectified.

 

[FairyLights]

Does the saddle have an adjustable head [gullet]. If so buy a wider bar and fit it and see how the horse goes.
My percheronx has a wintec wide with agjustable gullet [width]. he's in the widest [!] at present.

 

[magicmoose]

Without recommending a particular saddle or fitter, have a look at the Balance International website for their take on saddle fitting; it makes a lot of sense.

www.balanceinternational.com

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

I never understand all these issues with saddles, used one saddle on all my horses for years, though I have to say they were all TB or arab types.
I then bought a Wintec GP medium for a horse I considered to be average and it fitted him nowhere.
Too long, too wide and like sitting on a plank.
Bought another like the 40 year old one, and it fitted fine, a 1985 jeffries "event" saddle.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I am with you on this MrsD123. My first horse had a falcon event back in 1982, he was 4, it fitted perfectly and neither of us ever had any issues with it. I didn't even have a saddler fit it and I was a teenager at the time. The saddle went with him when I sold him at 10.

A friend in Germany who I have known for 30 years has the original Stubben saddle she had as a teenager for her mare. Monique is long gone but she still uses it on her horses now.

I do find it odd that so many people have so many problems with their saddles. Is it because they are not made very well anymore or have horses changed shape so much in the last 30 years?

 

[Rocky01]

it may be tight because it's dropped in front as it is too wide. The new wintecs have not just the gullet adjustable but a system where one can add shims to balance the saddle better and can be brilliant. I would look for a saddler that really properly knows winters and bates saddles and get him or her out. I have a bates wide dressage saddle (and winter wide gp) on my boy who is also wide with a wither and it is brilliant with the shims and a wider gullet.

 

[Tilo]

Cobs and Natives are ever more popular riding horses nowadays, hence the need for wider saddles?

Looking at the local tack shop's 2nd hand stock with many saddles from the 80's era, it is very difficult to find anything wider than a medium!.

Unless you can afford made to measure/brand new, the Wintecs et al, are the only choice for the broader backed types.

 

[Bosworth]

if you cannot get your hand between the front of your saddle and your horse when no rider on board, then the saddle is too wide, and dropped at the front. So it needs lifting, ie narrowing to raise it off the horses back so I can understand the saddler putting the narrower gullet in it, and actually it sounds as though it is still too wide even with the narrower gullet as it is still fitting too low. You could leave it on the wider gullet and put a Prolite pad underneath it which will fill the extra width and lift the saddle. Whether that works for you depends on the shape of the saddle and how that fits your horses shape. i personally loathe the wintecs, and never find their shape suitable for a wider flat backed horse.

 

[cremedemonthe]

I've PM'd you some info on having a saddle fitted, hope it helps,Oz (Saddler)

 

[happyclappy]

is it under the pommel you are trying to get your hand in, or elsewhere. sounds probably as if the bar is too wide which allows the saddle to drop. hope oz has sent some useful info, i turst him