Saddling a mildly croup high horse

R

rubyhatty

Member
Joined
29 September 2018
Messages
14
Visit site
Hello all,
Really hoping someone can help me with suggestions for what makes of saddle would suit an ISH that has a big back end & is slightly higher behind than infront please? He has big shoulders so I need to be careful that the saddle doesn't then pinch his shoulders.
Hoping to get a selection of saddles together for the saddle fitter to check.
Thank you.
 
Is there a reason for being croup high - how old is he? I have a home-bred ISH mare - now 6 - and hell, she was so bum high it looked like lordosis. But she is just SO weak in front, she dipped badly behind the wither. I dread trying to fit a saddle - because of her weakness she is currently just doing exercises as directed by my physio - and being long-lined. It's working - she looks almost normal now. But if he is less than 8, he WILL change so wouldn't go too wild on a new saddle. Perhaps a hi-riser pad?
 
Thank you. He's just turned 7. In full work & I would say quite solid/strong. Jumps 1m+ & reasonably schooled. We've tried a front riser but pinches further down his shoulder. We have played about with different width saddles but anything bigger than a MW the saddle then moves at the back so it seems to be a style/cut issue?
 
I have one that is croup high although his back has much more top line now so the saddle fit is much easier, sometimes girthing it differently can help like using the 2 front straps, my horse also has an anatomical girth which really helps.
 
rubyhatty said:
Hello all,
Really hoping someone can help me with suggestions for what makes of saddle would suit an ISH that has a big back end & is slightly higher behind than infront please? He has big shoulders so I need to be careful that the saddle doesn't then pinch his shoulders.
Hoping to get a selection of saddles together for the saddle fitter to check.
Thank you.
Click to expand...


These were the kind of issues that persuaded us to go treeless, we are very happy with Solution.
 
Moving about at the back is usually a too curved a tree. With anything croup high and wide you want a short saddle so its not as affected by the croup high bit, and then as flat a tree as you can get. Front risers wont work if the saddle doesnt fit well in the first place.
 
I think it depends on the rest of the horse, our welsh is typically bum high but saddle fitting has never been terribly complicated (he has a standard fitting MW ideal VSD). The mare is a bit more bum high, has no shoulder, a big belly and a forwards girth groove- she had a M2M ideal.
 
I have a very slightly group high ISH with huge shoulders and quite a big wither.
I'm currently riding her in a HW compact K&M at the minute and she seems to be going well in it at the minute.
Tacking up, I set the saddle slightly further back that I would on a normal horse to make sure it's totally clear of her shoulder. I also use a anatomical girth which helps slightly to prevent the curve of her belly pushing the saddle forward again, and girth on the point and balance straps at the minute (this may change with the changing shape of the horse). Additionally I use a gel saddle cloth on top of my number to help keep the saddle in place and not slipping forward onto her shoulder again.
 
I have an ex sulkie racer whose hind end is a massive amount higher than her front as she was bred that way. It totally depends on chatting to a saddle fitter and seeing what suits the horse and you. My issue was stopping the saddle slipping forward, so i use non slip pads and numnahs that have a slight front riser. You would be better getting a saddle fitter to look first, and then them picking saddles, otherwise you could spend a lot of time and effort on saddles that don't suit. I got a cheap and cheerful saddle without too much hassle, but i'd def pick a saddle fitter who will bring a range of saddles with them, after looking at the horse.
 
This is a complete pain G one of mine was like this we solved this by completely retraining him and it made a huge difference to his shape .
We tried various sticky pads which sadly he objected to ( try these with extreme caution ) but the thing that got us through was monthly checks by our fitter and using a Fairfax girth funnily the prolite version worked better than the leather one and the narrow gauge better than the regular despite the horse measuring for the regular .
He was fitted to fit snugly in the tree , it takes a brave fitter to do this .i am luckily I have a lot of saddles and we used a range until he topped out in his development and things settled .
Good luck I think correct training will help you out the most long term .
 
Leo is bang on. Shorter and flatter is the way to go, which is why I'm not a fan of some of these "compact" saddles out there. They can often be deeper seats, which on average will measure shorter on the underside, but actually give the rider no more room. They have a high pommel ie a curvy tree because they can be easier to balance ie get the back down and the front up, on a croup high horse, but can be unstable and cause issues with the rails not being the right shape. So many croup high short backed horses do not have much wither height, so should have a flat tree. A low, short or non-existent rear gusset (plain upswept panel) will work in your favour IF the horse is truly lower at the front of the saddle than the back. Many croup horses are actually quite level under the saddle. I would also agree that training especially in hand work will help, I like Straightness Training as it's set up for anyone to have a go.
 
I have a 9yo ISH with a short back, slightly high croup, massive shoulders and withers... I had a problem with various saddles slipping forward or sideways. Now trying out a Cavaletti dressage on him which he seems to like! Gives him room for the withers and shoulders and doesn't slide forward. I use this in conjunction with a prolite dressage girth. Please note before getting a new saddle for him I did retrain him first on the lunge using lots of raised poles to improve his topline and make him more symmetrical (he was much more muscled on one side than the other).
 
Leo Walker said:
Moving about at the back is usually a too curved a tree. With anything croup high and wide you want a short saddle so its not as affected by the croup high bit, and then as flat a tree as you can get. Front risers wont work if the saddle doesnt fit well in the first place.
Click to expand...
Thank you. Do you have any suggestions for what makes of saddle have a flatter tree??
 
TotalMadgeness said:
I have a 9yo ISH with a short back, slightly high croup, massive shoulders and withers... I had a problem with various saddles slipping forward or sideways. Now trying out a Cavaletti dressage on him which he seems to like! Gives him room for the withers and shoulders and doesn't slide forward. I use this in conjunction with a prolite dressage girth. Please note before getting a new saddle for him I did retrain him first on the lunge using lots of raised poles to improve his topline and make him more symmetrical (he was much more muscled on one side than the other).
Click to expand...
Thank you. He is being seen by a very good back person & we are doing endless stretching & lunge work. Might look at different girths as well as hadn't thought of that!! Thank you.
 
sbloom said:
Leo is bang on. Shorter and flatter is the way to go, which is why I'm not a fan of some of these "compact" saddles out there. They can often be deeper seats, which on average will measure shorter on the underside, but actually give the rider no more room. They have a high pommel ie a curvy tree because they can be easier to balance ie get the back down and the front up, on a croup high horse, but can be unstable and cause issues with the rails not being the right shape. So many croup high short backed horses do not have much wither height, so should have a flat tree. A low, short or non-existent rear gusset (plain upswept panel) will work in your favour IF the horse is truly lower at the front of the saddle than the back. Many croup horses are actually quite level under the saddle. I would also agree that training especially in hand work will help, I like Straightness Training as it's set up for anyone to have a go.
Click to expand...
Thank you. He is only slightly higher behind & hopefully with schooling will improve completely so really just want a short term solution until we can get him correct & then sort a better saddle. Do you have any ideas for brands of saddle that might be suitable? Thank you.
 
Pinkvboots said:
I have one that is croup high although his back has much more top line now so the saddle fit is much easier, sometimes girthing it differently can help like using the 2 front straps, my horse also has an anatomical girth which really helps.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I hadn't thought of different girths but good idea will look into it.
 
Goldenstar said:
This is a complete pain G one of mine was like this we solved this by completely retraining him and it made a huge difference to his shape .
We tried various sticky pads which sadly he objected to ( try these with extreme caution ) but the thing that got us through was monthly checks by our fitter and using a Fairfax girth funnily the prolite version worked better than the leather one and the narrow gauge better than the regular despite the horse measuring for the regular .
He was fitted to fit snugly in the tree , it takes a brave fitter to do this .i am luckily I have a lot of saddles and we used a range until he topped out in his development and things settled .
Good luck I think correct training will help you out the most long term .
Click to expand...
Thank you. Yes, he's being seen regularly by a physio/chiropractor & we have a programme of stretching & lunge exercises to help. Unfortunately, I don't have a bank of saddles to choose from so looking at borrowing a few to try before buying. Saddlers round our way do not stock 2nd hand saddles anymore just like to supply new but as he's going to change shape i don't want to invest in buying new at the moment.
 
paddi22 said:
I have an ex sulkie racer whose hind end is a massive amount higher than her front as she was bred that way. It totally depends on chatting to a saddle fitter and seeing what suits the horse and you. My issue was stopping the saddle slipping forward, so i use non slip pads and numnahs that have a slight front riser. You would be better getting a saddle fitter to look first, and then them picking saddles, otherwise you could spend a lot of time and effort on saddles that don't suit. I got a cheap and cheerful saddle without too much hassle, but i'd def pick a saddle fitter who will bring a range of saddles with them, after looking at the horse.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Saddlers round our way don't stock a great selection of 2nd hand saddles as there's not a market for them & I don't want to invest in a new saddle at the moment as he will change shape again. Long term will be a new saddle but for now will be 2nd hand saddle to keep him going. We always have a selection for the saddler to try but on this occasion I just need suggestions on what saddles may be a possibility.
 
atropa said:
I have a very slightly group high ISH with huge shoulders and quite a big wither.
I'm currently riding her in a HW compact K&M at the minute and she seems to be going well in it at the minute.
Tacking up, I set the saddle slightly further back that I would on a normal horse to make sure it's totally clear of her shoulder. I also use a anatomical girth which helps slightly to prevent the curve of her belly pushing the saddle forward again, and girth on the point and balance straps at the minute (this may change with the changing shape of the horse). Additionally I use a gel saddle cloth on top of my number to help keep the saddle in place and not slipping forward onto her shoulder again.
Click to expand...
That's brilliant thank you. A friend has a K&M I can borrow to check!!
 
rubyhatty said:
Thank you. He is only slightly higher behind & hopefully with schooling will improve completely so really just want a short term solution until we can get him correct & then sort a better saddle. Do you have any ideas for brands of saddle that might be suitable? Thank you.
Click to expand...
It's often not really about the brand but about the individual model, but that will depend on the shape of horse. I work for only one brand but no advertising on here! K&M makes several different shaped saddles, the compact does have shape in it and not really for flat backs. Trying a random one will only tell you if that model in that size and width might fit :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top