Saddles - boring I know

BethH

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Hi Am just sorting out a new saddle for my ned. Unfortunately he is round and I am short making it hard to get something to fit us both. As he is 3/4 connemara and 1/4 TB he has a deep ribcage and is pretty wide.

I was hoping to find a straight cut GP for him as he has a big shoulder that needs to be free but the saddler is struggling a bit to get a good fit and the only thing that seems to fit properly is the new adjustable Albion dressage Saddle (platinum) for a whopping £1850. As I do a fair bit of hacking and want to start him doing some low level jumping aswell the dessage saddle isn't going to be particularly flexible. I've just seen a Black country GPD on the internet that looks straight cut for less than half the price of the Albion has anyone got one of these or something similar that they could tell me what it's like to ride in? I do ride much more in a dressage position than GP so would need to be straight cut for me too - any ideas greatfully received. (by the way have investigated treeless and all the rest of it and they aren't suitable for a variety of reasons)
 
Hi there,

I have just bought a Fylde Saddlery saddle for my mare who needed a more straight cut fit ( website ). I have the 'Ray' model. A friend who recommended them has a 'Marjorie' for her 14.2hh cob.

May be worth a look.
 
There are various makes of GP saddle that are fairly straight cut and will allow for your horses shoulders.

Dever deluxe rrp £800
Kings GP rrp £800
Thorowgood T6 cob £425
Arabian GP rrp £950

Hope that helps

Martin
 
I have a round-bodied, no-withered warmblood pony filly - tried an Ideal VSD to very bad effect and am now looking at WOW and Sue Carson - both seem potentially suitable. Both a tiny bit cheaper than the ALbion and the WOW at least is very adjustable

good luck

I seem to spend more on saddles than I did on the horse....

E
 
I have a round, low withered cob and the only saddle that suited her was a second-hand VSD that had been custom made for the previous owner, also a round cob. If I hadn't found a second hand one that fitted I would have been looking at a WOW as nothing else was adjustable enough to suit her.

Have you considered a second-hand saddle? My saddler seemed to have lots of promising WH and VSD type saddles all in fantastic condition, some only a few months old.
 
I've got one of the Kings for my mare - it was cut as a VSD and was a great saddle until the little b*gger changed shape! She's 3/4 TB 1/4 Welsh and is round with a huge shoulder! Had the saddle been a wide, I'd be OK, but its a med and nips a bit too much now.

Saying that I got a saddle company one that I love, but she's changed again and its rubbing now.

Grrrr! Blimmin horses, can't win!!!

Oh...

Photo of VSD Kings saddle - we used it for showing too...

Photo-0190_001.jpg


Its beautifully made too, and very comfortable...
 
I was wanting to do the same as you in terms of dressage/jumping.I also have a similar shaped horse,i got a Black Country working hunter in the end,you can jump up to 3ft 6 in it and it's also straight cut enough for dressage and showing.It's lovely and comfy,i found it kept me in place for dressage but had enough knee roll for jumping too.I've had a B.C event saddle too before and that fitted perfectly.Found it hard to find a make that fitted my mare well but will prob stick to the B.C ones from now on.
 
My saddler recommended and fitted a GFS for my wide Hanovarian x cob.
Fits well and her back has been in great shape for the last two years I've had it.

Is also cut well enough for flat work.

Sadly I am selling mine now as need jumping and seperate dressage saddle but have a look at them. Was only £800 new too,
 
Thank you all so much for your replies and time, am going to go investigate all of the suggestions on here and am sure one must fit so I can save myself loads of cash. The photo of the Kings saddle looks great - have never heard of them so that is a great tip and there are also some names mentioned that I had thought might be worth a look so will definitely go ahead and tackle my saddler with some alternatives for him to talk me through.

I have decided that saddles are a good business to be in, I can't believe how much they all cost since I had my 1st ned 10years ago. Would love to find a good secondhand one but I think Ryan is starting to look like he needs an extra wide fit and they seem to be in short supply - mind you might be cheaper for the saddler to come from Shropshire to Kent with his supply than pay for the Albion!!!!!

Thanks again everyone
 
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