Small cobs and jumping saddles question

Sparkles

Sparkles

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Am I just eternally doomed and hoping for something that doesn't exist lol?

I loved my bareback pad, but started jumping and xc a lot more regularly so saddle shopped this summer. I then purchased my Farrington gp saddle.

Now, I love it for flatwork and hacking around. It fits him and has done the job. I have no issues riding at a longer/normal schooling length. However, for jumping, it's just not doing the job. I'm too leggy and when jumping length, my knees are over the knee rolls permanently.

I know the obvious answer here is chop my legs off or have a bigger horse, but that's not going to happen so just wondered if anyone had any suggestions for brands they'd recommend?

Coblet is 14.2hh and I'm 5'9. He's wideish but not a table top or flat with a gutter etc..... He's just quite short backed (which is where I'm wondering if there's even a jump saddle to suit us lol).

Nothing immediate as I need to save up ££££ a fair bit to have something made, plus off to Africa again soon, and Xmas etc etc. But just shopping for recommendations and ideas really :) TIA!
 
Well I've been all round the houses on this issue and concluded that despite what a certain company who claim to specialise in cob saddles will tell you no you can't successfully have a jump saddle on a cob if you have long legs. Feel free to pm me if you would like to hear my jump saddle cob saga and help you avoid being sucked in too.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Well I've been all round the houses on this issue and concluded that despite what a certain company who claim to specialise in cob saddles will tell you no you can't successfully have a jump saddle on a cob if you have long legs. Feel free to pm me if you would like to hear my jump saddle cob saga and help you avoid being sucked in too.
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Can I PM you too please? I'm 5'10 and currently jumping my wee 14.3hh cob in a dressage saddle (teeny tiny jumps only!). I'm waiting on my saddle fitter selling my old GP before I go looking for another saddle, it'd be good to know what to avoid! Thanks!
 
If funds will permit and if you like them, take a look at Wow saddles OP.
I have one on my cob, the panels and flaps are completely independent and changeable. The panel sits behind the shoulder so there is no way it can interfere. I have panels a size shorter than the seat, and angle the flaps forward so that I can hike my stirrups up.

I love them. If they suit you and your horse then you'd be onto a winner :)

ETA can pick them up 2nd hand for much less ££ than new ;)
 
Try Solution Saddles - www.solutionsaddles.com - we have a 14.1hh short backed welsh cob and my sister is 5'7" and long from hip to knee (she is very light before anyone starts a weight discussion) both comfortably jump in a solutions jump saddle. Due to the saddles being rigid free there is no problem with tree points or length of saddle on short backed ponies/horses.
 
Thanks all.

We only compete 90cm showjumping currently and again similar xc, though do jump bigger at home (and Coblet has a good old ping in him when he wants to lol).

We don't do anything amazing level wise, but we get out a fair bit so definitely need comfort as we hack for miles also.

Another random problem is my hips....its hit and miss in some saddles as depending on the stirrup position it aggravates my dodgy hips - mostly my hip flexors. Anyone have any issues with any particular saddles that are suited or not suited for dodgy hips lol?
 
not sure about the hip thing but Wows have 2 stirrup bars so you can choose which to use. Was an instant fix for a position issue I was having when I got my first one.
 
My cob had an Equipe monoflap which was great on her but unfortunately she has changed shape so it no longer fits. Have now got her in my youngster WOW saddle which she really seems to love. Only problem is a now need to buy another one for her so that my youngster can come back in from his holiday!
 
I have 14.2hh cob and we do BE90 in a 17 inch kent & masters cob model with medium-wide gullet. I have sat in comfier saddles, but it's the only one that suit us both!
 
I have an Albion K2 jump saddle for B :)

whilst he is a lightweight cob, he has big massive shoulders so can be quite hard to fit. I find my jump saddle very very comfy on him, and fit-wise it's a good fit for him.

I am only 5"4 and B is 15hh (although he's probably a 'small' 15hh) and I find I ride much shorter in it. I can't ride 'long' in my jump saddle, but can ride at my schooling length which is about 3/4 holes longer than my jumping length very comfortably in it. It has massive knee rolls and a thigh roll in front, and I find it supports my bad knee much more than my GP (I have to ride with my knee brace to feel as supported in my GP and can ride without in my jump saddle). If anything, I find I feel much 'shorter' in my jump saddle than my GP even when the stirrup length doesn't change (I only have one set of stirrups :D)

Not sure if that's much help or not though, as B is a bit bigger and I am a lot smaller! If you can find a good saddler, they should be able to help find what fits you both but I've always found if you have a few brands and types of saddle you like in mind it helps a saddler know what sort/type of saddle you want and any similar ones if your first choice doesn't suit :)
 
Take a look at the Andrea Hicks native pony saddles. I have their GPJ in 16.5", so not a full on jump saddle but I love it and they certainly do lots of sizes. (They do full jumping saddles too, not just the GPJ)
 
My friend had a small cob and eventually found a saddle fitter for a jumping saddle who said she needed a saddle with the points of tree pointing downwards not sloping forwards like they are on many jump saddles. She was told the sloping forwards tree points get in the way of cob shoulders. I am sorry I cannot remember the brand of saddle she bought though.
 
I read an interview with William Fox Pitt where he said that with his length of legs and sometimes riding not-massive horses, he has come to accept that some of the time between fences he has his knees over the front of the saddle, as long as they are in the right place over the fences.
 
I meant to say also - I ride a 14hh welsh cob in a 16.5" barnsby pony club saddle. I really like it and can just about do flatwork and jump in it. I am only 5'5 but have quite long legs for my height so I expected a similar problem but we seem to cope ok.
 
My vsd/gp has Velcro blocks so for jumping I can put the small triangles on and accept that my knees will prob go over the rolls or take them off completely, nothing in the way then :)
 
Would a working hunter saddle suffice? I had a Farrington WH for my 13.3 cob which worked well. Admittedly I wasn't jumping 90cm but WH goes to that height for pony classes!
 
Firefly9410 said:
My friend had a small cob and eventually found a saddle fitter for a jumping saddle who said she needed a saddle with the points of tree pointing downwards not sloping forwards like they are on many jump saddles. She was told the sloping forwards tree points get in the way of cob shoulders. I am sorry I cannot remember the brand of saddle she bought though.
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Funnily enough that was one of the many issues with the "specialist cob saddle" I bought!
 
Thanks all some ideas to think about.

I don't really know if a wh would be any more suited, as I'd still have the knees hanging over I'd think? I can tolerate that solely showjumping, but can't tolerate it during xc or hunting as there's just nowhere for my legs when you're up out the saddle for long fast periods.
 
I have an Ideal Gazelle on my 15hh Welsh Section D and it fits her a treat. The points are quite far back so plenty of room for her shoulders and a nice wide baring surface underneath. :)
 
FfionWinnie said:
Funnily enough that was one of the many issues with the "specialist cob saddle" I bought!
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A pity it did not suit your horse. My friends cob was very happy with hers. No idea if it was the same brand though. She never described it as a specialist cob saddle I think was an ordinary saddle but one with the tree points going straight down not sloping. I only remember because my friend had so much trouble finding a suitable saddle. Her cob was like a barrel with legs stuck on! Not even fat, that was her normal shape.
 
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Firefly9410 said:
A pity it did not suit your horse. My friends cob was very happy with hers. No idea if it was the same brand though. She never described it as a specialist cob saddle I think was an ordinary saddle but one with the tree points going straight down not sloping. I only remember because my friend had so much trouble finding a suitable saddle. Her cob was like a barrel with legs stuck on! Not even fat, that was her normal shape.
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Well it's was wrongly described in my and various other saddlers opinion because as you say, the tree points are very important.
 
Sparkles said:
Thanks all some ideas to think about.

I don't really know if a wh would be any more suited, as I'd still have the knees hanging over I'd think? I can tolerate that solely showjumping, but can't tolerate it during xc or hunting as there's just nowhere for my legs when you're up out the saddle for long fast periods.
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I hunted in mine with no issue. Admittedly I didn't do any jumping (wuss) but I was out of the saddle for long periods with no bother.
 
My spotty boy is 15 hands and has big shoulders and we have an Exselle jumping saddle which I absolutely love :) it's really comfortable, helps to keep you in a secures position over a fence and is really smart too - highly recommend!
 
Abacus said:
I read an interview with William Fox Pitt where he said that with his length of legs and sometimes riding not-massive horses, he has come to accept that some of the time between fences he has his knees over the front of the saddle, as long as they are in the right place over the fences.
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Interesting as I had a similar conversation with a saddler years ago.

I'm 5ft8, with 34" inside leg. My ponies range from 13.1h to 14.2h. All are in MW-W saddles so they aren't huge chunks.

I have three jump saddles, all at 17" seats. I prefer flat seats and minimal blocks.

Barnsby Milton
Barnsby Whittaker
Prestige Paris D

The Paris is the flattest, the Whittaker has the deepest seat but still on the flat end of the spectrum. The Whittaker is the one I'd get rid of first, luckily it's on my 4yr old so highly likely to be gone in the next 12 months.
 
I've had a couple of Jeffries jumps on mine which worked fairly well (other than one being stolen and the other not really suiting me / Dae), but they don't make them any more and buying second hand is a gamble as they're not all created equal (hence the beautiful Flyover which sits in my study but would never sit on my horse!). Thus I'm having one made by my local independent saddler - on the same tree as my dressage which fits the horse pretty damn well, and I currently jump your sort of heights in - but with a nice forward flap. I very much hope this works, but I won't have it for a good few weeks yet, alas.

I'm generally skeptical of M2M, particularly the company in FW's saga, but my dressage saddle has been a huge success and has been popular with everyone who's ridden in it (from the 6'ish international biomechanics trainer to my - er - rather diminutive friend, so I hope the jump version will work out well enough.
 
little_critter said:
Take a look at the Andrea Hicks native pony saddles. I have their GPJ in 16.5", so not a full on jump saddle but I love it and they certainly do lots of sizes. (They do full jumping saddles too, not just the GPJ)
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Also recommend AH Saddles and have an AH jump saddle ( I am a 5"5' adult on a 13.2 pony) and is the only jump saddle i found that would stay put on said pony after trying approx 25 other saddles.
 
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