stoopid horse and his stoopid saddles -.- RANT

StormyMoments

StormyMoments

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to cut a long story short i have a 17.2hh ISH and he is an absolute pain in the a*se to fit a saddle to. he has a short back meaning he cant take anything over 17inch which is fine but people presume he should have a bigger saddle because hes a big horse, he is also drop backed meaning his bum is lower then his withers by about an inch and a half meaning most saddles sit pommel high, if you stick something on with bigger panels they bridge he is high withered has huge shoulders which push most saddles back and depending on the make of the saddle he ranges from a medium to a wide to extra wide.

i havent had a saddle that has fitted for a year now he had a T4 and that was too long too narrow and sat pommel high, i then get a lovatte and rickets and that is too narrow and is pommel high grrr


i mean he doesnt even look that complicated he looks normal but hes just a pain to fit a saddle to and like most people no i cannot afford to have a made to measure for him but i really am at my witts end with him and saddles and saddlers so now im on the hunt for either a bates dressage saddle or a keiffer dressage saddle and i cant afford to pay a huge amount. mission impossible :rolleyes:

sorry its long haahaaa just having a little rant after another saddle condemned to being sold again :(
 
my physio has said that because of his shape he wouldnt suit one as they have a large weight baring area :/ as he is too short in the back and they are really flat :/
 
made to mesure doesnt have to be expensive. I knw someone who got a lovely one ofor her cob for £500.

i feel your pain though, my highland is short backed and tricky to fit. Hope you find one for your boy.
 
I have been battling with similar problems with my irish girl and have finally sorted her out with a second hand Passier grand gilbert dressage and a farrington event saddle which suit both of us. good luck in your quest.
 
thank you fidleyspromis and whatawizard :) hoping we will be able to find a few saddles tomorrow at the saddlers to try and fail but none the less i will carry on if all else fails i'll stick with the bareback pad :o
 
I feel your pain.... when i bought my boy his old owner offered me his made-to-measure saddle for an extra £600.... I was already overbudget buying him at the full asking price so had to decline and boy did i regret it.

same problem really, low bum high wither broad shoulder, went through alot of trial and error with saddles as I couldnt afford to get one fitted. In the end we've settled on a wintec isabelle with a wide gullet in, thankfully it doesnt bridge the wither like his wintec close contact did, and i'm not fussed on doing alot of jumping with him! Had a fitter out a while ago just to double check the fit (i'd had a bonus at work i think!)
 
Oh, so totally understand where you're coming from. My problem though is with small ponies! New Welsh came with a saddle but as she was fairly poor when we got her she quickly changed shape and now saddle definately doesn't fit, you can't even pretend it fits her OK. Am currently using a T4 on her which is fine as long as we don't do any real fast work / jumping (not a chance of that).

Had my saddle fitter out and she was amazed that she didn't have anything that was close to fitting her. She doesn't look that difficult, just quite flat backed with not a lot of wither. Nothing sits right on her though.

Am considering a treeless but can't find one I like in a 15" as as she is only 11.2 and having had 2 Barefoot ones in the past know that even though they are treeless they are still super bulky and will swamp her. Also know the girth straps are way too long even with a tiny dressage girth.

Will just have to teach the kids to ride bareback
 
OFG said:
She doesn't look that difficult, just quite flat backed with not a lot of wither. Nothing sits right on her though.

Will just have to teach the kids to ride bareback
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Also have this problem with new pony i've bought to break in for my bump to learn to ride on.... 11h sec a with a short back like a square topped coffee table!! finding a 14 inch extra wide pony saddle is a bit of a nightmare!

Not sure i want to break her in bareback though! lol
 
well i went up to the saddlers today and out of 623 secound hand saddles not one will fit him and he said i could try a kent and masters dressage saddle but that may not fit still and would cost £750 or i could try a bates nearer on £1200+ and there is still no garentee of it fitting :/ i have had him for 7 years now and he has never been this difficult :(
 
what about one of those synthetic self adjusting memory foam ones?

I know cheaper tack seems to be looked down upon like its tesco value or something but if its worth a try?
 
Tell me about it! my mare is similar to yours, high withered, slightly sloping back, and a dip to the left side. Im on saddle no 3 in less than a year. Doesnt help that i am awkward too....have a ridiculously long hip to knee so have to have something forward cut. Am on a jeffries event saddle at the mo which is fine with a Mattes four point numnah with shims (which i have borrowed a couple of times) but with any other sort of numnah (even the ones with shims) isnt quite right.....which would be great if bloody Mattes wernt on holiday and even if i order now i wont get it to mid september and i cant get a second hand one for love nor flaming money.....aaaaaaaaaaaaggghhhhhhhh!!!! fingers crossed am going to be able to get a second hand nuumed one with shims to try that.......i am getting close to imploding!!!!
Oh and dont even get me started on flipping fly masks that rub and make holes in my horses face.....im on the 4th different make this summer!!!!! Rant over!
 
Feeling your pain. My 16.2 takes a 6 foot rug.

I have had a new saddle per year since he was broken at 3 (then turned away). Now he is 6 - 3 saddles @£1000

I have now gone down the highly expensive WOW saddle route which I have to say has been a great decision.

I will never have to buy him another saddle - yey!
 
taz is 17.2 almost 17.3 and takes a 6'3-6'6ft rug so he is small and he is a middle weight kinda build so he should really take bigger rugs :o i was thinking of a wow saddle but i have seen tonns on ebay and i wondered what was wrong with them but it might just be that there is other saddles they like more or something :o
 
StormyMoments said:
my physio has said that because of his shape he wouldnt suit one as they have a large weight baring area :/ as he is too short in the back and they are really flat :/
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Have a look at www.solution-saddles.co.uk , I can highly recommend them. Started using their saddles about 4 years ago for my very narrow, high withered TB who was awful to fit a treed saddle to. I also went down the route of made to measure which was fine for a few months until that then didn't fit either. Since going treeless I haven't looked back. I know they are expensive but I have had 3 horses since buying my original saddle and have fitted the saddle to each one without any problems. I also use my saddle on other horses I ride. The horses love the saddle and it has made my riding better as well, also might add that I now don't get back ache when riding like I used to in a treed saddle.

My horses backs are checked regularly and have never been a problem. Might be worth talking to the company as they are very helpful. You can have a test ride, rent the saddles to try them out properly and they also offer a finance deal.

Hope you get something sorted :)
 
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