URGENT - Dressage Saddle issues..?

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bandit

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Morning guys...

will try and keep this brief..

last night tried my horse in a dressage saddle - appeared to fit very well etc, lunged in it first too. then got on and all hell broke loose!

horse went well in walk and trot, but threw the most almighty bucks in canter. she is known as a bucker but hasn't bucked seriously since about October last year - only fly bucks at horses in warm up now!?!...

I had ridden on sunday doing the same kind of riding as i did last night in my normal GP saddle - the only change is last night it was a dressage saddle. (Ideal Jessica if that helps)...

Does anyone else know of dressage saddles making horses react like this - I don't know if she's been ridden in one before.

She's an ex flat racer / 7 yrs old, and off the track since about 4 yrs. prior to me she was with an advanced event rider for 18 months.

advice and ideas please!!

ta

Bx
 
Maybe the saddle doesn't fit her??? Is it hers? And are you sure it fit?

They are also (on the whole) heavier than a normal saddle. Apart from that amybe she was just reacting to a different saddle being on her - tempremental woman!!
 
There was an interesting post on this a couple of days ago. Basically quite a few people had been told by their saddlers that a horse should not be lunged in a saddle. I think that the reason was that a saddle is designed to be sat on - and therefore liable to move around when a horse was being lunged. Perhaps this is why your horse reacted as he did.

Or perhaps he just feels very, very well???
 
Wouldnt the style of tree be different? I have been peeing around with saddles and I currently have a Stubben 29, but to have a vsd I would need a 31? Therefore the fit be completely different.

Hope you get it sorted.

Hb
 
it was a borrowed saddle so it may not fit her 100% - but it wasn't obviously mis-fitting her.

saddler is coming on sunday and this is a saddle i was going to ask her to look at but frankly it a) may not fit her or b) she may just not accept them! ?

Bx
 
I would suspect your saddle either doesn't fit - or it has a nasty lump somewhere under the pads. If she lunged alright in it and only went ballistic when a rider got on I would initally question whether it was too narrow - then whether there was any lumpiness in the flocking or under the pads as rider weight would push those into the back.
 
Don't panic then if saddler coming
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I'm sure they'll sort something out for you.

x
 
It is a completely different feel for them! my boy has bucked to start with in all his saddles until he has got used to them He has his back regularly checked, and all saddles pro fitted, its just what he does!! they do get better!!
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She hasn't been ridden properly in a while so this may be the cause of the excitement?? You know what she is like LOL

Saying that though it does sound like she was objecting to something!! I would of been inclined to put the GP back on straight after to see if the same reaction occured.
 
thanks Kat

the kind of reply i had expected... i will await the saddler. i get good work from her (dressage work that is) in the saddle I have, and I don't aspire to be a dressage superstar, so it may not be worth the battles and visits to A&E if the GP works!!!!

Bx
 
She might just hate the tree in it to. Mac is very pernicity about saddles some would fit perfectly but he just would not go forwards in them, you put a different make on that again fits but has slightly different tree and we hey we're off!

Deffo worth getting a fitter out with a lot of different saddles to try on her.

Was the dressage saddle a bigger size (length) as too long a saddle can make horses buck.

Or it may have been a tad wide and fun on lunge without your weight but with rider on board it could have then slid down and hit her withers.

Saddles are mine field.
 
Hi

it may have been longer and def had more stuffing than my old (ancient GP saddle) she goes well in. when i bought her she was being ridden in a close contact too.

glad saddler is coming out - and frankly i would not pay the money to get bucked like that again - it was reminicient of my few minutes before my fall in october when i got blue lighted away with suspected fractured pelvis
crazy.gif
crazy.gif


cheers for advice.

Bx
 
My horse cant have the big knee blocks on the panel as when the girth is tightened they block her. She had a major reaction to correctly fitted saddle and this is what we put it down to.

I bought a saddle with knee blocks on the flap.
 
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