suzi
Well-Known Member
Thank you all.
Have contacted a few people and fingers crossed we can start to make progress.
Have contacted a few people and fingers crossed we can start to make progress.
Still no luck with saddles - feeling bit down
- Thread starter suzi
- Start date
WildRider
Well-Known Member
Hi Suzi, sorry, only just seen your reply! If you use a Flexicurve (they cost £5-10 online) you can use it to take templates of your horses back. If you don't know what they are, they're kind of like a ruler, very flexible though. Can also get something similar (although not quite as bendy) which is an actual ruler, designed for arts and crafts.
You can use it over the horses withers, then draw on to a piece of paper, and then you could use it each side of the withers down into the hollow you described. You could also then back the templates up with the photos you have for further detail.
Any decent saddle fitter should be more than happy to look at any info you can provide in advance, to confirm whether they can help.
You can use it over the horses withers, then draw on to a piece of paper, and then you could use it each side of the withers down into the hollow you described. You could also then back the templates up with the photos you have for further detail.
Any decent saddle fitter should be more than happy to look at any info you can provide in advance, to confirm whether they can help.
bluewhippet
Well-Known Member
Just want to say, persist and not necessarily with expensive, unconventional options.
My Arab has been hurt by his saddle I think from the word go - he has had the saddle 4 years and is a 9 year old - I got him last year and tried to get him a new one. I have tried some very reputable saddle fitters who didn't have anything in stock and so adjusted current saddle with no success. Spoke to loads of unconventional saddle manufacturers who all swore that they were the way forward - with very hard sell. And then after another unsuccessful adjustment from another saddle fitter, went to a very highly recommended fitter who came on Monday.
She found me an Ideal saddle and my horse is so relaxed and happy. A week ago he was a nervous wreck when his saddle appeared, pacing round his box and wincing with the girth being done up, his back was hollow and he was tense and spooky. Now he is great. Even lunging him in this saddle (that was all I was doing by the end with his other one) you can tell the different in his movement, head carriage, responsiveness - everything.
So glad to have finally succeeded and very cheaply. Just keep going and don't get taken in by a lot of hard sell. So glad I persisted!
My Arab has been hurt by his saddle I think from the word go - he has had the saddle 4 years and is a 9 year old - I got him last year and tried to get him a new one. I have tried some very reputable saddle fitters who didn't have anything in stock and so adjusted current saddle with no success. Spoke to loads of unconventional saddle manufacturers who all swore that they were the way forward - with very hard sell. And then after another unsuccessful adjustment from another saddle fitter, went to a very highly recommended fitter who came on Monday.
She found me an Ideal saddle and my horse is so relaxed and happy. A week ago he was a nervous wreck when his saddle appeared, pacing round his box and wincing with the girth being done up, his back was hollow and he was tense and spooky. Now he is great. Even lunging him in this saddle (that was all I was doing by the end with his other one) you can tell the different in his movement, head carriage, responsiveness - everything.
So glad to have finally succeeded and very cheaply. Just keep going and don't get taken in by a lot of hard sell. So glad I persisted!
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merry mischief
Well-Known Member
No advice I'm afraid but I'm in the same boat (albeit with a table backed cob) maybe we should start a support group! X
sbloom
Well-Known Member
You should never feel like you're being bullied into a saddle and it's a shame that some fitters take this approach. Some alternative saddles really appeal to people, but I mainly fit traditional saddles which come in at the £1000 new mark, same as Ideal. I have seen so many horses tranformed on the spot and watched as they change and improve shape over time after getting a well fitting saddle.
You need to find a good recommended fitter who understands your horse's shape, and can explain what they will do for him and why. If it makes sense to you, then go ahead and get them out. I am always happy to talk about what approach I will take with any particular problem.
suzi
Well-Known Member
But it's the first bit I'm struggling with!
The fitter I had out first sold me a saddle that it transpires does not and will never fit. The other 2 that have been out so far have found nothing to fit . . . . hence considering other options...
Will there really be that much difference between the design of a conventional saddle between fitters? Surely if they sell Kent & Masters / Jeffries / Barnsby etc etc the makes will be the same build no matter what fitter you use??
Sorry if I sound stupid!!
Hippona
Well-Known Member
This guy is currently making me a bespoke saddle....
http://www.heritagesaddlery.co.uk/
Saddles have been the bane of my life for the last 18months- my arab has had 6 of them- top brands .....some off the peg, some 'fitted'.....none have been acceptable to me ....or more importantly the horse.
He says the saddle can be adjusted at any time - from the tree up (he makes the tree too) to accomodate his changing shape. Its being made to my specs for what I consider a very reasonable price.
I can't wait
Have a word with him.....
http://www.heritagesaddlery.co.uk/
Saddles have been the bane of my life for the last 18months- my arab has had 6 of them- top brands .....some off the peg, some 'fitted'.....none have been acceptable to me ....or more importantly the horse.
He says the saddle can be adjusted at any time - from the tree up (he makes the tree too) to accomodate his changing shape. Its being made to my specs for what I consider a very reasonable price.
I can't wait
Have a word with him.....
sbloom
Well-Known Member
Not stupid at all but I'm not sure what you mean. Yes of course a MW Bates Caprilli will be the same (give or take) out of the factory but obviously the skill of the fitter will vary, and saddle fitting is an art, so fitters may disagree on the best fit and both still come up with a great fitting saddle.
The brands do vary hugely between them, and not all brands have saddles to fit all horses. Bench made saddles such as Jeffries, Barnsby and our own can also be made to order - I always try to have customers buy from stock so you try the exact saddle you end up with. Ordering one that is supposedly identical can often lead to tiny difference as bench made means hand made and variations can happen.
You do need to chat to the fitter, explain what has happened, send them photos, talk to them again and ask what their approach will be. I can't see that you can tackle his muscle loss with a traditional saddle without using a corrective pad. What is right for him now will be wrong for him when he has regained muscle if you go for an exact fit without padding.
I do cover your area and we do have a "normal" saddle range with a jump saddle (www.phoenixsaddles.com) but we do only have the one, not up on the website at the moment sadly, though we can put different trees in it, or could tweak for you, but most people find them very comfortable and they seem to be a very versatile fit for the rider, especially as the blocks are on velcro.
Otherwise feel free to pm me qith specific questions and I'll help if I can.
wizbit
Well-Known Member
What a crap saddler!!! if you are not comfy in a saddle DO NOT BUY!!! Their job is to find a saddle that suits you AND horse, not one or other. Sounds like you need to try a few more saddlers. I tried loads before I found the one i use now, so trust your gut instinct, if it doesn't feel right, it probably isn't!
eatmoremincepies
Well-Known Member
My 2p worth - have been working with remedial horses and riders for over 10 years and in that time the only saddler I have found who is any good long-term is Kay Humphries at Norton & Newby (based nr Oxford but travels all over). She is the only one I recommend to clients because I know that they will not end up paying twice for a saddle (at least noone has yet).
She can usually alter 2nd hand saddles to fit from about £600 all in, or make you a made to measure for almost £2k if you are rich! She fits so that the hollows/muscle wastage gradually disappears.
Honestly you will not know whether a saddle fits until you and horse have been working in it for 3-4 months. If it's a different shape to your last one, your horse will inevitably move better when you first try it, but after 3 months it may be a different story.
Please do not fall for the hype of the "alternative" or top-brand £2k type saddles, it's really not necessary IME to spend that much to have a saddle that fits properly. Many of the people I have worked with have had to discard their reactor panels, wow's, Jaguars etc after being persuaded that this particular design/brand was best for the horse. Of course they will be perfect for some horses, but not if they don't flippin fit!!
Good luck and do try Kay, saddles are one of the main frustrations of equestrian life I think.
She can usually alter 2nd hand saddles to fit from about £600 all in, or make you a made to measure for almost £2k if you are rich! She fits so that the hollows/muscle wastage gradually disappears.
Honestly you will not know whether a saddle fits until you and horse have been working in it for 3-4 months. If it's a different shape to your last one, your horse will inevitably move better when you first try it, but after 3 months it may be a different story.
Please do not fall for the hype of the "alternative" or top-brand £2k type saddles, it's really not necessary IME to spend that much to have a saddle that fits properly. Many of the people I have worked with have had to discard their reactor panels, wow's, Jaguars etc after being persuaded that this particular design/brand was best for the horse. Of course they will be perfect for some horses, but not if they don't flippin fit!!
Good luck and do try Kay, saddles are one of the main frustrations of equestrian life I think.
miss_wilson
Well-Known Member
Try Allsaddlesolutions, they sorted my awkward mare out!
highly recommended!
highly recommended!
Bluejazz
Well-Known Member
perhaps you have now found the answer...but if not....
I been through loads of saddles...my other half is fed up of my excitment of a new one arriving which will be fab only to hear a few months later it all wrong.
I'd had numerous saddles on my mare since I bought her 3 years ago. She can move very well but had got to the stage she was refusing to go forward altogether. Didn't rear or buck but might of well have done. However I bought a Barrie Swain semiflex late last year and the difference is incredible. As soon as I started riding in it the mare just couldn't do enough to please me and she loves it. 5 months later she is still working fab in it and loves it. She has gone from ears flat back and refusing to go forward to flying round the arena, building loads of top line and I'm so pleased.
I been through loads of saddles...my other half is fed up of my excitment of a new one arriving which will be fab only to hear a few months later it all wrong.
I'd had numerous saddles on my mare since I bought her 3 years ago. She can move very well but had got to the stage she was refusing to go forward altogether. Didn't rear or buck but might of well have done. However I bought a Barrie Swain semiflex late last year and the difference is incredible. As soon as I started riding in it the mare just couldn't do enough to please me and she loves it. 5 months later she is still working fab in it and loves it. She has gone from ears flat back and refusing to go forward to flying round the arena, building loads of top line and I'm so pleased.
MissMincePie&Brandy
Well-Known Member
Do you think this might be worth looking at? It was custom made for an A frame horse, wide at the shoulder but with hollows under a high wither. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Albion-K2...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item2ebaaca699
Kaylum
Well-Known Member
You need a good few weeks to get on with a saddle. 10 minutes to find out how you feel is just not good enough. You might want to change your stirrup leathers, stirrups, girth.
I remember the people our guys used they would loan you a couple of saddles after they had fitten them for you. You could then get your back person out to look at with you.
Again watch for creases in saddles and make sure you cant hold the saddle at both ends and it moves. Tree has a major problem.
As the others have said dont be pressured.
I remember the people our guys used they would loan you a couple of saddles after they had fitten them for you. You could then get your back person out to look at with you.
Again watch for creases in saddles and make sure you cant hold the saddle at both ends and it moves. Tree has a major problem.
As the others have said dont be pressured.