The Winning Edge Article H&H - saddles

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icestationzebra

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Was reading this last night with interest with regard to saddle fitting and Louise Skelton's masterclass...... I know that a lot of pros use their saddles on a number of horses and this is something that I have often wondered about - so here goes:

So, they (pros) have (probably) the most expensive kit, on the most expensive horses competing at a high level and asking far more from their horses than the average rider - and yet they appear to use tack that doesn't fit
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Surely optimum performance would be enhanced by having saddles made to fit each horse individually and not made to fit by using pads etc. Thoughts?

It's important to all of us to have comfortable horses and it must make sense to have kit that they can give their best performance in - especially if it is your livelihood and you place on teams etc is at stake?

Discuss....
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The article in question this week was one example - using one saddle for work at home then swapping to posh saddle for comps - does anyone else do this?

Also - page 1 of horse and hound shows a pic of Harry Meade hunting - super picture and I think Harry is fab - but did anyone else notice how far off the horses back his saddle was?
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i was wondering why Louise Skelton had a saddle that didnt fit aswell..........i also thought it was odd that she used a completly different saddle to compete in than she did for everyday use. Surely the different feel of the different saddle on the horse will add to tension when out competing?
 
quite agree... surely it would make sense to have a saddle fitted to each horse - if not say 10 saddles on a yard, then how about one of the adjustable ones like bates, or wow or something?!

and that picture you mentioned.... even OH commented and he doesn't understand anything about saddle fitting!
 
i couldn't believe that either, sounds ridiculous to me to use a different saddle for competing in.
i know of a former GB team rider who had to get a saddler out 3 wks before a championships because the team horse was being crippled by its saddle...
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i suppose it all comes down to money as usual, 2 x £1000+ saddles per horse is more than most owners will pay.
a lot of the trendiest saddle makes are the worst for horses' backs, according to the saddlers i have spoken to...
 
yes but im sure someone wouldnt want to be constantly adjusting something for every horse.....surely if they can have one saddle at home and one for vompeting they could at last have some more that actually fit and use them for both:s
 
Yes I saw that. How interesting that she only uses her 'posh' saddle for comps as those saddles are now beginning to get a really bad reputation for completly jamming up the horse, yet so many of the pro's still use them.

You can see in the trot picture of Evamore that she is using the devocoux dressage saddle and the trot looks jammed up and not soft and through, also Bettina comments on her having a 'showjumpers' trot which I think is unusual for a horse of that quality and athleticsm and it is also not properly stepping under in any of the photos. I dont know, maybe I am just being ultra picky!
 
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a lot of the trendiest saddle makes are the worst for horses' backs, according to the saddlers i have spoken to...

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Ditto this. I was talking to my chiropractor about this in the summer and he was saying how he treats quite a few pro event riders and can't understand why they will pay a fortune on chiropractors visits but then ignore him when he tells them that their saddles don't fit. Apparently he went to a saddle fitting day where they tried several young horses in their usual saddles then swapped them all into a wider fitting one, and every one without exception went better for it. Despite this according to him most event riders just carry on regardless because of cost, using the same saddle on several different horses. And he also says that the fashionable close contact jumping saddles can be the worst for damaging horses' backs if they're not fitted correctly.
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haha, i'm glad someone had the guts to tell the truth about Devoucoux! i was veering away from it...
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lol - I have heard this too from the guy who fitted my saddle. He was saying that Devoucoux are lovely for the rider but 'destroy' horses backs. I took it with a pinch of salt as assumed he was exaggerating to encourage me to buy his saddle instead (they are close competitors!)
 
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a lot of the trendiest saddle makes are the worst for horses' backs, according to the saddlers i have spoken to...

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Ditto this. I was talking to my chiropractor about this in the summer and he was saying how he treats quite a few pro event riders and can't understand why they will pay a fortune on chiropractors visits but then ignore him when he tells them that their saddles don't fit. Apparently he went to a saddle fitting day where they tried several young horses in their usual saddles then swapped them all into a wider fitting one, and every one without exception went better for it. Despite this according to him most event riders just carry on regardless because of cost, using the same saddle on several different horses. And he also says that the fashionable close contact jumping saddles can be the worst for damaging horses' backs if they're not fitted correctly.
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Because they cant ride in anything else that is why!! Pippa openly said that she cant ride in anything else but her posh saddle brand.
I have owned these posh saddles in the past and my riding was just so much better- I felt like I couldve gone round Badminton! But my horses suffered dearly. Now I have more comfortable saddles for them and less comfortable saddles for me. I may look crap in these saddles and not be half as secure, balanced or comfortable, but at least the horses are truely comfortable.
 
I know that we only do showing, but our horses all share saddles. I think there is only one horse on the yard which has to have a special saddle. The rest share. They are nearly all Ideal showing saddles, different widths and gullets. Sometimes it is a problem when the classes clash and more than one horse usually wears the same saddle, but generally we have more than one saddle that fits each horse. There are probably 20 or so saddles to choose from in the tack room for about 25 horses. We don't appear to have a problem with their backs (they are checked regularly throughout the season), but again, the horses are not worked to the same degree that event horses are worked. In the past we have had problems with Stubens.
 
absolutely. a lot of the close-contacts e.g. Pessoa have, acc to my saddler, a trumpet-shaped tree, which crashes down on the withers on landing. just how good must these top horses be to keep putting up with that! Butet are a bit better than Dev, apparently, but not much. and as for Stubben and Albion... words fail me...
 
kerilli i have also, as i have said ebfore, heard exactly the same about stubbens and albions, as well as the devoucoux not being great for a horses back
 
Incredible isn't it? When I think of the money spent on travel, entry fees, chiropractors, nutritionists, coaches, psychologists, gait analysis, spa treatments, sports massage - the list goes on - surely a well fitted, regularly checked saddle would alleviate the need for some of this?
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absolutely. a lot of the close-contacts e.g. Pessoa have, acc to my saddler, a trumpet-shaped tree, which crashes down on the withers on landing. just how good must these top horses be to keep putting up with that! Butet are a bit better than Dev, apparently, but not much. and as for Stubben and Albion... words fail me...

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I totally agree. I've been told that it is the tree shape as well. Stubben are just awful. I think that these horses are just phenomanal to put up with it and still keep jumping. I also think that when using such saddles, because the horse is having to use itself in such a compensatory way, there is a far higher risk of injury- tendon breakdown etc. Also this means a higher risk of falls at fences and rotational falls.
 
Im really glad someones brought all this up. I read the article and was honestly wondering if i was either losing the plot or turning into a certified bunny hugger! I suppose the only saving grace is that these competition horses do at least get regular chiro and physio so any problems caused are picked up and dealt with quickly.

Does seem a very odd way to do things though.
 
yep. you only have to look at the underneath of a stubben to see one huge problem, it's like riding on top of two parallel rolling pins. poor horses.
btw, ace saddle maker told me last week that they have always been told to do the gullet width to 3 fingers, but wows are 4 fingers' width. hmm. the metal plates that attach the flaps to the wow tree worry me, as well. there are edges under the panels.
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Hi

Sorry to jump on this post but I am currently looking for a new jump saddle and have found this interesting, my albion had started to rock and needs changing
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so what saddles do you all recommend for our horses not us?
Thanks
 
FMM you have 25 saddles there for you must have pretty much every fit / shape avliable so not surprised your horses can share them and their backs are fine.

Have heard the same comments about the posh brand saddles as everyone else and apprently my old favourite of barnsby now make the tree then ship to india to have the rest added! Weird.
 
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Hi

Sorry to jump on this post but I am currently looking for a new jump saddle and have found this interesting, my albion had started to rock and needs changing
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so what saddles do you all recommend for our horses not us?
Thanks

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Saddle Co - completely changed my two TB's way of going - got an event saddle coming very soon too, very excited...!
 
Saddle co is completly different to Ideal..

I have a saddle co event saddle for jumping my horses- LOVE THEM, and they are only £550 new and made to measure!
 
I think it's important to have a well fitted saddle to bring out the best in a horse, unbelievable the amount of people who just stick a pad underneath thinking they have solved all the problems, when in actual fact they have probably now made the saddle too narrow!
I know Albions have had a lot of stick and you all have your good reasons, but I just wanted to stick up for mine! Since I bought my SLK Osc's very weak back has got so much stronger and he is so much happier than he used to be. But then maybe that is because he has the oddest shape back and this saddle just seems to compliment it?!
 
CAn I ask what is so bad with Albion saddles Kerilli? Have heard this and was put off them because of this, but my horse goes well in his....feel free to PM me please!
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Very interesting thread!
I have my saddles checked every 3 mths, yes between my husband and I we only have the three horses but each has their own saddle.
Currently my horse goes in a saddle that I would never dreamed of buying her - but it is a perfect fit for her and she LOVES it.
A bad fitting saddle can cause you endless problems
 
I've got a Humpries and Swain jump saddle and recently bought a Sue Carson dressage saddle as it was alot more rider friendly. There is no way my SC saddle fits anywhere near as good as the H & S.
 
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