Using the same saddle on different horses. Fact or fiction?

[eventingdiva]

personally i dont generally use the same saddles on different horses, although i sometime put one of the dressage saddles on one that only has a GP.
but at one of the dressage yards i work at there are two dressage saddles which are used on all the horses. one fits the 'top' horse perfectly, so he always wears that one, but the others just wear whichever saddle isn't being used when your tacking up the next horse to be ridden, if that makes sense!
the saddles go on everything from the 14.2 pony to the 17.3 (i think, may be 18h!) warmblood! xx

 

[FigJam]

Have to admit, I was surprised by this too. Not only were they letting "strangers" ride their very expensive horses (albeit they know they're good riders, everyone has their own way of doing things!) but they swapped the saddles from horse to horse to save having to adjust the stirrup leathers!!!

Surely it wouldn't have taken long to swap even the complete stirrup leathers from one saddle to another to save swapping the whole saddle? There was no way all four of those horses were the same shape!

Maybe (as someone mentioned earlier) the close contact saddles are less "rigid" and so easier to fit to multiple horses?

As for the original question, I'd say as long as you're not blatantly trying to fit a narrow saddle on a wide cob, for similar shapes and sizes, it's not the end of the world. In an ideal world we could afford multiple saddles per horse and get them refitted every season!!!

 

[Rambo]

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Have to admit, I was surprised by this too. Not only were they letting "strangers" ride their very expensive horses (albeit they know they're good riders, everyone has their own way of doing things!) but they swapped the saddles from horse to horse to save having to adjust the stirrup leathers!!!

Surely it wouldn't have taken long to swap even the complete stirrup leathers from one saddle to another to save swapping the whole saddle?

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LOL!

I think it's a bit more than just the length of their stirrup leathers that they were concerned about

SJ'ers are quite particular about the style and fit (to them) of the saddle they jump in. Two saddles can and often will, ride completely differently. It's a bit like adjusting the car seat to suit the way you drive.

I agree that for instance Cavalor Cumano would seem to be a rather different shape / size of horse than say Authentic, but to be honest, they were using so much padding anyway that the difference between an M or an M/W would be virtually unnoticeable....and they were only riding the horses in thos saddles for a very short period of time anyway

 

[FigJam]

Fair point, I just think that if it were my precious expensive horse, I'd be concerned! I'm way too soft though!

 

[Rambo]

[ QUOTE ]
Fair point, I just think that if it were my precious expensive horse, I'd be concerned! I'm way too soft though!

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I suspect the chance to bcome World Champion may have swayed them a little