those with big tb's!

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pixiebee

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what size saddle does yours wear? mine is 16.3 but not much topline and high withers. the saddle i have had to make do in is a 17inch and 8inch d to d!! I had to put a front riser under it. Ive now been offered a lovely 18inch saddle which is 6 inches d to d. sounds better? what are yours in???
ps spare me on saddler/correct this that etc!! Im skint at the mo so making do!
 
Sorry, can't help - other than to say get yourself a good saddler to fit the saddle properly.

It's one area you simply can't 'make do' in.
 
Also depends on the make of the saddle. My TB is short coupled and we have a 17 inch Albion jump saddle and a 17.5 inch Ideal show saddle. Both fitted by master saddlers. they both said that the area that touches the horses back is longer in the Albion saddles so a 17.5 would be to long for her.
 
Maggie is TBxID but very high withers. She is 17.2hh and jumping saddle is 17" and dressage is 17.5". The jumping one looks like a postage stamp on her and the dressage saddle would look a lot better if it was bigger. But ultimately the saddles have to fit the rider as well.
 
mine is quite long in the back and the saddle is for me and my other half to ride,so needs to be big enough for him to get his bum in.lol!!! im skint for the next few months so not riding for that long will send him bonkers-espec with spring grass etc. im doing a mixture of lunging and hacking and very light schooling. i dont have the saddle yet hence asking what yours wear-when i get it i will ask yard owner who is much more experienced than me and i have a reletively good idea on basic saddle fitting atleast.,ok not a saddler but i certainly wouldnt ride in anythung that fitted so badly it would hurt him!!
 
Mine is 16 2, he's quite a chunky boy with high withers and big shoulders but is fairly short coupled. I am just over 5'7 with long legs esp from hip to knee and an 18" does us both nicely.
However I had a saddler advise on the best fit for me and my horse.

Appreciate you are short of cash and don't want lectures but my saddle fitter charges between £15 for a saddle check and £40 for a saddle fit, that's not a huge amount surely esp if it saves on having to have physios out.
 
For me the saddle is the most important thing my horse needs. Whether the saddle is 17" or 18" is irrelevant for a 16.3hh, that is more to do with fitting the rider. You need to make sure the saddle is the correct width all over, has good wither clearance, it lays flat and there is completely even pressure. The TBs have very sensitive backs and riding in an ill fitting saddle could make him unsound, or he could develop dangerous habits like bucking because he's uncomfortable.

I have a 17.2 full TB. He's an ex NH racehorse, and he's a big, chunky Tb, and I've had a total nightmare with saddles. A highly regarded Master saddler fitted him with a medium Albion k2 GP. However it was just slightly too wide, causing uneven pressure and hindered his muscle development under his withers. I then got a different saddler out who sold me a 32, 18" Stubben which is a much better fit, and his top line has started to develop properly, but I'm worried the gullet is quite narrow, and I have to be really careful about making sure my numnah does not cause any extra bulk along the gullet, because my horse’s spine is quite pronounced.

I'm currently saving up for a custom made saddle with a changeable tree, so I can easily have it altered if he drops off during the winter and bulks out in the summer. I've seen 3 different saddlers who've all told me different things and I am knowledgeable enough to know that none of the off the peg saddles I've seen are completely perfect for my horse.
 
My 16.3 hh TB has a 17" VSD - he is short backed and has hollows beneath his withers. VSD means that saddle sits where it should and doesn't dig into hollows like a jump saddle would.

He can't take any longer than 17". Good job I'm a midget!
 
Yes, what Carolineb said is right. What I meant to say was for my horse a 17" or 18" would be irrelevant, but a horse with a short back may not be able to take an 18".

It's really imposible to give advice on the forum, as every horse is so different. I think it would be a good idea to get a saddler to come an visit.

Good luck. It will be worth it :)
 
My 17.2 TB is in a medium narrow gullet wintec 500 - it is 17.5 inches, to accomodate me - he could easily take an 18 inch saddle. The width d to d does vary according to the make. You need to make sure it is placed correctly on the back, that it allows full movement of the shoulder, that it is balanced (from front to back and side to side) that it doesn't move or bounce when girthed up, that it doesn't bridge and that the flocking is not hard or lumpy.........all that taken into account I would second what everyone else has said and try to find a saddler to come out and fit it - it's just not worht the risk - you can do so much damage in a short amount of time with an incorrectly fitting saddle.

Also if you are strapped for cash, is it worth considering a synthetic adjustable ? The reason I have one is that my boy has alot of topline to develop and I don't want to fork out on a lovely leather sadlle until I have a vague idea what size he will need.
 
hmm didnt realise saddlers were that cheap to come out! hmmm, ok well i really like the saddle so may get the saddler to pop over and check the fit. hopefully at worst the flocking could be altered!
 
Nothing, he is out of work for at least three weeks with a bad back as I borrowed a saddle and was making do :(

Going to get him a Thorrowgood t4 hi-wither professionally fitted for £375 (plus fitting at £35), luckily it was meant to be my birthday present from my parents at the end of July but going to try and negotiate an early birthday so that I actually get to ride my horse this year! Failing that £400 isn’t a huge amount to even stick on a credit card if you’re skint.

At the moment the plan is to just stay off his back and build muscle up from the ground for a while then get a saddle fitter out…

When I first got him and was a skinny little thing the only saddle I could find to fit was a 15inch kids saddle! Thank god I have no bottom!
 
I was mug enough to buy 5 saddles over 2 years for my 16.3hh as she changed shape and none of them fit now! they range from 17" to 18" and really the length made not a lot of difference. It was the fit over the withers and the spine which mattered. Also I have been looking at everyone else's saddles and to start with none of the GP were right on her cos she had the dips under the wither and big shoulders. I couldn't gat any of the saddles flocked though as there's nobody who does that in Cyprus. I also tried someone's 2nd hand Wintec Pro dressage but it pinched really badly as it turned out the flocking had got a bit flat and 1 ride was enough to have 6 weeks of no riding.

In hindsight I should have bought 1 new synthetic dressage or VSD saddle and maybe It would have saved a lot of aggro and money. I hope to try one of the new wintec VSDs, with CAIR as they seem a reasonable price at £314 on ebay, have a large surface area for her sensitive back, won't stick into her shoulder and are adjustable.

Also to note, a friend in UK had a harry dabbs jaguar saddle made to measure (£1800) and although it could be and was adjusted, eventually the tree just wasn't the right shape for the horse any more!!!

Good luck...
 
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