Thorowgood Griffin saddle fitting

[foxy1]

I know these saddles are as old as the hills now! But has anyone found them a good fit? I'm thinking of buying one fairly cheaply as a stop gap saddle for my daughter's pony while he gets some weight off after being out on loan. Looking at a square cantle version which I believe is the flatter tree? Specifically the older Griffin. Thoughts? Thanks

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

They're fantastic. I've had loads of these, I love them.

The square cantle is the cob saddle on the flatter tree. The round cantle have either the standard version (that generally fits anything of average shape) and a high-wither version which is very definitely cut back at the pommel and has deeper panels, together with a slightly straighter tree than the standard version. The cob saddles are nice to ride in but do feel a bit wide if you're not used to that and you can't get your stirrups up that much for jumping.

Maxam is a cheaper, more plasticy feeling version of the Griffin. There are some ancient Maxams around which have a very curvey tree and some ancient Griffins which are totally leather-look with no fabric parts on a standard tree, they won't be square cantle though, so easy enough for you to avoid. The slightly less ancient Maxams match the slightly less ancient Griffin models in tree shape. Griffins offer more comfort with prolite in the seat and panels.

The ones that are old but not ancient have a "fish" adjustment system which narrows the saddle by 1/2 or a whole size, depending on whether you insert the thick or thin "fish", the "fish" do also lengthen the points of tree though, which can sometimes mean the saddle won't fit no matter what. You can tell if it has "fish" by looking under the point of tree, if there's a horizantal velcro pocket that's where the fish go. Like the knee blocks though, lots of people will have lost their "fish", so if it's important to you to have them, check first before buying. You can sometimes buy knee blocks and "fish" 2nd hand on ebay or Thorowgood might be able to sell you some direct.

If you're buying online and not sure what model you're looking at feel free to PM me a pic and I can probably tell you.

ETA: if you want some variety in riding position look out for the Selecta model, which comes in cob, standard and high-wither versions. It has the changeable knee pads with integral blocks. I had one and found it good for helping with leg position. It's a bonus that you can change the knee pads without removing the saddle from the horse eg if you're doing different classes at a show. With the Selecta, the panels are a dressage shape, so it's good if you've a horse with big shoulders making saddle fitting difficult, but the knee pads allow the rider to have a forward cut saddle flap for jumping.

 

[foxy1]

Thank you for such a detailed reply I think I will give one a try!

 

[sbloom]

AFAIK the smaller Maxams are on flatter trees than any other TGs, I may be wrong, I don't fit them, but it's what I've heard from someone I trust.

 

[tristar]

i could have any saddle, but prefer tgs, i have loads including t4 t8, griffin, large and small and pony in dressage and gp, my horses go better in them than anything else.

 

[annabelshiroi]

They're fantastic. I've had loads of these, I love them.

The square cantle is the cob saddle on the flatter tree. The round cantle have either the standard version (that generally fits anything of average shape) and a high-wither version which is very definitely cut back at the pommel and has deeper panels, together with a slightly straighter tree than the standard version. The cob saddles are nice to ride in but do feel a bit wide if you're not used to that and you can't get your stirrups up that much for jumping.

Maxam is a cheaper, more plasticy feeling version of the Griffin. There are some ancient Maxams around which have a very curvey tree and some ancient Griffins which are totally leather-look with no fabric parts on a standard tree, they won't be square cantle though, so easy enough for you to avoid. The slightly less ancient Maxams match the slightly less ancient Griffin models in tree shape. Griffins offer more comfort with prolite in the seat and panels.

The ones that are old but not ancient have a "fish" adjustment system which narrows the saddle by 1/2 or a whole size, depending on whether you insert the thick or thin "fish", the "fish" do also lengthen the points of tree though, which can sometimes mean the saddle won't fit no matter what. You can tell if it has "fish" by looking under the point of tree, if there's a horizantal velcro pocket that's where the fish go. Like the knee blocks though, lots of people will have lost their "fish", so if it's important to you to have them, check first before buying. You can sometimes buy knee blocks and "fish" 2nd hand on ebay or Thorowgood might be able to sell you some direct.

If you're buying online and not sure what model you're looking at feel free to PM me a pic and I can probably tell you.

ETA: if you want some variety in riding position look out for the Selecta model, which comes in cob, standard and high-wither versions. It has the changeable knee pads with integral blocks. I had one and found it good for helping with leg position. It's a bonus that you can change the knee pads without removing the saddle from the horse eg if you're doing different classes at a show. With the Selecta, the panels are a dressage shape, so it's good if you've a horse with big shoulders making saddle fitting difficult, but the knee pads allow the rider to have a forward cut saddle flap for jumping.

Hi Sugar and spice, I know it was a long time ago that this original post was started but you seem to be the Griffin guru so thought I’d try my luck!! I’m looking at buying a 13-14’ Griffin saddle but I notice some are adjustable and others aren’t. How can I tell the difference? Are they all T4 models?? Thank you in advance ??