Stubben Saddles - out of fashion?

meardsall_millie

meardsall_millie

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I've been looking for a new jumping saddle and have been surfing Ebay. I've noticed that some saddles - Devoucoux, Wow, Albion, etc, are really popular and fetch high prices - but Stubbens don't seem to be very popular.

Am I missing something - I thought they were a good make - am I wrong or are they just not 'in fashion' at the moment?

Any advice greatly appreciated (don't have much dosh but want as good a quality second hand one as I can get - don't want much do I?!!)
 
i've heard good things of the new stubbens, but old stubbens (and i had one) usually have very hard round panels underneath, "like sitting on top of two rolling pins" is how it was described to me. flatter, wider panels that spread the weight more certainly seem to be a lot comfier for the horse. they are very comfy for the rider, you can hunt all day in one and still be able to walk when you get off, but i don't think they're that comfy for the horse.
having said which of course, a lot of horses jumped huge courses in them without looking in any discomfort...
next time you get a chance to flip an old stubben over and compare it to a more modern saddle, you'll see what i mean, hopefully.
pm me if you want a tip about lovely cheap saddles on ebay...
 
I have also seen some where the panels are hopelessly narrow ... and flocked so hard that as Kerilli says, are the equivalent of 2 rolling pins sitting on top of the horse's back ... you can imagine what it was like for the horse trying to bend in those saddles. It isnt even possible to reflock those saddles to make them more comfortable.

I have seen a lot of horse's not complaining about the fit of their saddles despite the fact that one had a broken tree and the other with a twisted tree. They still continued to jump etc and if any bucking was involved it was because they were "fresh"!
 
Stubben are out of fashion. I have a lovely stubben dressage saddle that I bought very cheaply on ebay. Any saddle can hurt a horses back if it does not fit and if the flocking has been allowed to go hard. I had mine stripped out and reflocked. Some people complain the older models have hard seats - I do not agree with this, I think my saddle is very comfortable.

You will find Jaguar saddles very expensive, a saddler friend of mine says they do not fit horses very well, she also says the Wow saddle don't fit well. I am afraid fashion is a terrible thing.
 
Yes, I'll second that. My dad's old Stubben was serious hard on rider backside... It was like sitting on wood. I do hear good things about the new Stubbens though that they are less hard and have good wither clearance.
 
I have got a jump saddle and really like it! The panels are quite squashed so dont IMO have the 'rolling pin' affect, mare went well in it, better than my Ideal dressage saddle.

Hb
 
Ferdie has a new-ish stubben (new in about '03) the panels are wider and softer than an old stubben, and it fits him like a glove - our saddler is very well respected and has kept up maintenance on the saddle. It has been adjusted as his shape has changed and is still a good fit to this day.

Ferdie is not a stoic horse when it comes to things that don't fit - with most saddles that we tried, he simply wouldn't move straight or lift his back - would simply crab along grinding his teeth and swishing his tail - the fact that from the start we have had none of this with the stubben suggests to me that he finds it comfortable.

He is a very old fashioned type of rangey IDxTB, so perhaps the stubben suits this type of horse better than the warmblood type, and perhaps this would explain the trend away from stubben saddles and towards flatter close contact saddles.
 
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You will find Jaguar saddles very expensive, a saddler friend of mine says they do not fit horses very well, she also says the Wow saddle don't fit well. I am afraid fashion is a terrible thing.

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bit of a sweeping statement surely. no saddle is going to fit all horses? IME wows dont fit if the fitter has no experience of them but I'm not stupid enough to say they dont generally fit horses well.you are being as generalising about those makes as others are about stubbens.
 
I think there is a fashion as people become more aware of what is seen to be better for the horse. I ahve heard Jags can be tight through the shoulders, also that Stubben suit TB types etc etc, so depends what suits your horse i think!?
 
My friend is a Saddler. In the last 6 months she has seen 4 FAKE Stubben saddles. A couple of them had genuine buttons, but most of them had fake buttons. All were bought via eBay... different sellers, but all fake Stubben saddles.

Careful on eBay, they are faking all sorts of branded saddles these days!
 
Thanks everyone. The one I was looking is is advertised as a year old - so may be one of the better ones?

As with anything I guess it's all down to the shape of the horse and rider in the end. Will take all your comments on board - much appreciated.

Kerrilli - have PMd you.x
 
I used to work as a groom and one of the horses had a stubben. It was lovely and fitted him well.

The flocking can always be removed and something else inserted so it is not necessarily what was originally in the saddle making it like 2 rolling pins.

I bought a saddle of ebay and I do not recommend it. It was shall I say foreign made with unequal stirrup bars one of which dug into the riders thigh all the time.
 
I have an old Stubben Siegefred, atleast 10 years old i'd imagine and scuffed as but with a sound tree, stitching and leatherwork. I paid very little for it but I did noticed other second hand saddles of a similar age/condition were pricey in comparison. Its VERY hard on the rider but at the same time it's a beautifully balanced saddle which actually lets you move unlike some of the 'lock-in' knee roll business you get on newer jumping saddles. I always feel very secure in it.

I get it checked every 6 months along with my dressage saddle by the saddler and he always says it suits and fits the horse but it also 'fits like a Stubben'. The panels aren't particularly narrow or hard but I always put a Poly or sheepskin under it and he moves well in it and has never had any tenderness from it which he has had from the dressage saddle before it's been reflocked etc.
 
i think they're fantastic saddles - you cant come out of a stubben easily and iv seen some older ones and also a very new one - very different but both look good!
 
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