Talk to me about Aussie stock saddles

[ponyparty]

If that's "Bates Kimberley" I'd give it a go. If it's "Kimberley Saddles" I think it may be Asian made and I'd probably give it a miss.

Oooh good spot!! A bit of google sleuthing revealed that it is indeed Indian-made. I'll be swerving that one. No wonder it was a bargain.
Meh. Guess I'd better get onto the saddler about a Wintec of some desciption!

 

[sbloom]

I specialise in fitting the rider and would say the ultimate security for the rider comes from a seat shape that supports all three "tripod legs" of the pelvis ie the two seatbones AND the pubic arch. You get front to back and side to side stability like you'd not believe. High cantles, big blocks etc are, often as not, compensating for the fact that we've not been assessing actual pelvic shape and hip articulation and fitting what suits that. Sounds like the TG doesn't suit you - they do have a tendency to tip the rider forwards even if they're fitted in correct balance, and can make the leg come forwards too (though that is also down to the horse's ribcage shape and the rider's hips and legs).

 

[ponyparty]

I specialise in fitting the rider and would say the ultimate security for the rider comes from a seat shape that supports all three "tripod legs" of the pelvis ie the two seatbones AND the pubic arch. You get front to back and side to side stability like you'd not believe. High cantles, big blocks etc are, often as not, compensating for the fact that we've not been assessing actual pelvic shape and hip articulation and fitting what suits that. Sounds like the TG doesn't suit you - they do have a tendency to tip the rider forwards even if they're fitted in correct balance, and can make the leg come forwards too (though that is also down to the horse's ribcage shape and the rider's hips and legs).

My hips are extremely tight (my right one in particular). I am exercising to mitigate this, but it's a problem.
Need to have a browse of local saddlers round here, see if I can find one that specifies that they do actually fit to suit the rider as well as the horse/only stock one brand... I just kind of assumed that the TG would be ok as my old K&M was, but it doesn't feel quite right.

 

[sbloom]

All fitters will fit to the rider....to the extent that they are trained. You may well get a great result and find the perfect fit, but the ultimate approach is to assess the rider off horse including taking an imprint of their pelvis, and having saddles that are designed around the concept, or otherwise have well shaped seats for real human pelvises. It's more hit and miss without that assessment but you may well get there (it helps if you have a more "average" shaped pelvis of course ). Narrow hips need a narrow waist, on the whole, which is the very top of the flaps/skirt area more than the actual twist, if you put a narrow twist (ie the tree itself) on a wider horse you can cause issues.