Silhouette Saddles anyone?

[jnb]

Anyone any comments or reviews?
Having sold a few body parts to buy my boy a new Black Country show/WH saddle (not that I intend to jump anything!) I find I feel somewhat worried about drowning the reverse doeskin seat all winter plus with now doing more fast work out hacking /suicidal pheasants I could do with a bit more saddle/knee roll for everyday.
I am thinking of having a MTM Silhouette VSD - I had the Black Country GPD previously which is my dream saddle sadly I cannot stretch to another £1700 and finding an 18" XW on a Native or possibly Freedom tree seems like finding hen's teeth so the Silhouette seems reasonable value and their fitter is reasonably local and comes highly recommended.
When I bought my BC in 2004, they were a "cheaper" brand as not very well know & I remember feeling like I was taking a punt buying an unknown brand, I previously had a Jeffries Falcon Adler VSD which I hated with a passion - little did I know BC would double their prices in 5 years, my old show saddle cost almost double the first, 5 years later!
Anyway.....thoughts on the Silhouette brand, any experiences, things to look out for please especially from the saddle makers/fitters on here?
Thanks in anticipation, pic of what used to be my kidneys (!) on my cob - sorry not the best photo.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I had a working hunter Silhouette saddle fitted by Master saddler and Master saddle fitter. At fitting appeared to be a good fit but after 3 or so rides cob was clearly unhappy in it. On close examination it was obvious that the back panels were asymmetrical so I contacted saddler. After a 6 week wait for the saddler to come out to me he said the flocking had settled unevenly and altered it. On second ride after this I ended up leading cob back as he was again clearly unhappy and only one panel was making contact with his back, the other would be 1/2 to 3/4" off it, it was also showing signs of being twisted at the front. Contacted saddler again and it was a further 3 months and many excuses of no show visits (he came to our area every 1-2 weeks) that he arranged for the saddle to be returned to him. It then took a further 10 days for me to get my refund. It took a telephone conversation with Society of Master Saddlers and a letter from a template from CAB for him to do this. The sad thing is is that the tree shape did look like it would have been a good fit for a slightly awkward cob shape.

 

[jnb]

 

[jnb]

I had a working hunter Silhouette saddle fitted by Master saddler and Master saddle fitter. At fitting appeared to be a good fit but after 3 or so rides cob was clearly unhappy in it. On close examination it was obvious that the back panels were asymmetrical so I contacted saddler. After a 6 week wait for the saddler to come out to me he said the flocking had settled unevenly and altered it. On second ride after this I ended up leading cob back as he was again clearly unhappy and only one panel was making contact with his back, the other would be 1/2 to 3/4" off it, it was also showing signs of being twisted at the front. Contacted saddler again and it was a further 3 months and many excuses of no show visits (he came to our area every 1-2 weeks) that he arranged for the saddle to be returned to him. It then took a further 10 days for me to get my refund. It took a telephone conversation with Society of Master Saddlers and a letter from a template from CAB for him to do this. The sad thing is is that the tree shape did look like it would have been a good fit for a slightly awkward cob shape.

That's a bit worrying.....however the saddle fitter coming to me is a lady and obviously not the one you had however I won't be accepting an asymettrical saddle! I do have my showing saddle anyway which I've ridden 3-4 times a week since it came (due for 6 wk check soon)
Anyone else?

 

[Baywonder]

I'll send you a PM.

 

[Frumpoon]

They're all asymmetrical - they keep the costs down by cutting the panels from different pieces of leather, meaning they aren't a true pair

I wouldn't have one again

If you can get a cheap one at a knockdown price it might be worth it if you factor in the cost of putting new panels on it

 

[sbloom]

I would recommend going second hand personally, I fit for another brand that fits natives and wide backs so there are other options out there. And forgive me, I feel you need to move your saddle back about an inch, it's slightly on the shoulder which is making it tip back a little. If in doubt check back with your own fitter, it can be useful to take that kind of photo when the fitter has placed the saddle so you always have it on your phone to compare.

 

[Melody Grey]

Not for me Thankyou- a friend had one that was rock solid, I hated riding on it- it was only a couple of years old at the time. It was a few years ago and a GP type, so things may have improved? I wouldn’t look twice though.

 

[jnb]

Anyone any positive reviews? Am thinking of cancelling now, she is bringing saddles for me to try but I'm a bit nervous - nothing will persuade me to ruin my horse, I'd rather trash my show saddle, all £1750 worth.
What or who would anyone suggest? My heart would love a Black Country GPD but I cannot afford another £1700
If anyone sees a 18 XW GPD on a Native or Freedom tree please pm me!

 

[brighteyes]

I have an older one - super saddle.

 

[Pippity]

Anyone any positive reviews? Am thinking of cancelling now, she is bringing saddles for me to try but I'm a bit nervous - nothing will persuade me to ruin my horse, I'd rather trash my show saddle, all £1750 worth.
What or who would anyone suggest? My heart would love a Black Country GPD but I cannot afford another £1700
If anyone sees a 18 XW GPD on a Native or Freedom tree please pm me!

I have a Chunky Monkey (as I mentioned in the other thread) and I'm pretty sure they're made by Silhouette. I haven't had any problems with it, and my horse certainly seems to like it, too. (She's stoic about a lot of things, but she makes it plain if she doesn't like a saddle.)

If you go with Chunky Monkey, Sam's usually happy to leave a saddle with you for you to properly try it out over a month or so.

 

[saddlesore]

I also have a chunky monkey saddle and really like it ?

 

[jnb]

Interesting! How can I find out for sure Chunky Monkey are made by Silhouette? Come to think of it - a lot of the saddle example photos I have seen on Chunky Money Facebook page do look similar to Silhouette, especially the Vision models - stitching for instance and the cantle embellishments that are available.

 

[sbloom]

I believe CM may have changed workshop. jnb seriously, read around on other brands, seek opinions of fitters as to what may fit your horse, it's very individual and even different fitters fit differently, you can save a ton of money and get a really quality saddle, especially as you already have a saddle to ride in so it's not desperate to find one quickly.

 

[jnb]

I believe CM may have changed workshop. jnb seriously, read around on other brands, seek opinions of fitters as to what may fit your horse, it's very individual and even different fitters fit differently, you can save a ton of money and get a really quality saddle, especially as you already have a saddle to ride in so it's not desperate to find one quickly.

Thank you that is useful.
I cannot find what I really want which is a BC GPD XW
@sbloom, can you please advise if it's true I need the Native (hoop) tree, or Freedom for BC, if so what other brand / trees should I look for secondhand?
Also - if I had the Classic tree with my old GPD would I ever get as deep a seat with a Native or hoop tree?
I don't understand why my show saddle feels so shallow, I did specify I wanted a deeper seat than the Black Country Classic Show saddle (I'm OK with it but would prefer deeper for everyday use)
I truly loved my GPD - it was like an extension of myself & I know I was lucky my old cob's saddle fitted my baby cob for over 2 years but letting it go was like chopping off an arm! So many wonderful memories - my first sit on my cob, my first win on my beloved old boy, my first gallop. It's just a saddle but I loved it so much!

 

[sbloom]

I would have to ask you to pm me as I am not allowed to advertise on here, otherwise I do use my real name, you can find me as a saddle fitter with Google.

The Classic is a very flat tree with an open seat, the GPD has a more generalist tree with a deeper seat. I would check back over any paperwork, and for anyone ordering a saddle to be custom made be 100% sure you know exactly what you are getting, and ideally ride in the tree/seat even if the flaps are wrong, before ordering. Having a saddle fitted from stock is so much easier. However, it may not be possible for you to have a deeper seat if you have a very flat backed horse, it's all a matter of degree, but on average a flat back needs a flat tree.

I don't know the BC trees intimately, those two are likely to be deeper seated than the Classic, but probably not as deep as the usual tree in the GPD, though of course as all are made to measure it's impossible to say without knowing your exact saddle which tree it was made on. You CAN make a sear deeper by extending the cantle but again it feels different, it can ride smaller, so it's best to try obe before committing to a made to measure.

 

[AFB]

Not well made, I also had an asymmetrical one - physio said it was far from the worst silhouette she'd seen but needed to go.

 

[conniegirl]

I have a second hand Black country VSD on cobbus! I would highly recommend finding one second hand if possible.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I don’t know anything about Silhouette saddles, but I had a wonky ex demo BC jump saddle. It never fitted the horse (too long), despite being fitted to that horse and rider by BC themselves. It should never have been allowed out of the workshop.

 

[Christmas Crumpet]

I had a lot of problems with Silhouette saddles - I sent my saddle back to have a new tree in and they sent it back 8 weeks later with the same twisted tree in. Saddle also had wonky panels. Wouldn't have another one or trust them again.