What saddle for a haffie?

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oldhat

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Hi there! I know a lot of peeps hate haffies but I have an adorable one who is shaped like a barrel, I have used three different saddles on him so far (had him 2 years he is 13), an arabian saddle company one which belongs to my other much finer pb welsh cob lady, a v old one with no name which came with him and a wintec which had been used on a much smaller welsh cob who we sadly lost. They are all 17 in, extra wide but nothing will stay in place! It is exasperating as I find myself having to constantly pull saddle over with my weight when I ride him! Any suggestions please!!! The best one is the arabian one but that also slips tho is a good width! Help!!
 
All above are good suggestions, I use a treeless saddle on my highland as he is still growing and I really don't want to be changing my saddle every six months. I got mine from these guys and I think its fab, although I will be investing in a traditional saddle for jumping.

www.treefree-saddles.co.uk/
 
My Wintec Wide fits my haffy brilliantly. I would love a New Wintec Wide for her as I've been very impressed with the New range compared to the ones.

I think saddles which slip do not fit.
 
I use a Thorowgood cob (useful 4th girth strap) - ours is XW 16"
And recently got a nearly new Ideal Highland and Cob - only 3 girth straps but seems very very stable and is very nice quality and a lovely fit altho shes lost weight (yay) and is yet to fully muscle up comign back into work so it is a tiny bit low at the front so will prob use a little padding there - it is XW 17 inch and it is fine on length vis a vis ribs etc, she is 14.2
I have also in the past used a Treefree Dartmoor (v high quality treeless saddle) and she went very nicely in that too.
Edited to add - Indiat - just noticed you have posted you used one too for a Haffy! - they are lovely saddles arent they, proper quality construction and made in GB too. I think they are among the best treeless saddles (tho not cheap new)

I wasnt impressed with the leather quality of a new GFS saddle I bought for my other horse, like cardboard compared with the Ideal, so I wasnt interested in their one even tho it is called Haflinger, tho I may have just been unlucky with dodgy batch of leather (have sold that one now)
 
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oldhat said:
It is exasperating as I find myself having to constantly pull saddle over with my weight when I ride him!
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I know exactly how you feel I also have a haflinger that is a barrell, no withers, table top back, he is just built like a brick s**t house :p

In the end I had to have a saddle made to measure for him it's a 16.5 Saddle Company one & it's XXXXX Wide (yes thats right 5 X's lol) lady said she has never had to get one made so wide. I do have pics of it on my haffy if you want to get an idea :)
 
I have a WoW with flair panels - fantastic and if it starts shifting over I know it needs more air/attention. Pricey, but I was in a position at the time to buy it, and it has taken him from aged 4 and being rebacked to now (2.5 years) being ridden and jumped. If the panels need puffing, then almost instant. If I need a new head plate, it is 2, maybe three screws and et voila!
 
Thanks for all the ideas folks, not sure what we'll end up with, I need to feel secure when riding him, nothing worse than feeling like you are teetering on top! I know that the perfect saddle for us both is out there somewhere!
 
Check out the saddle exchange website. My welshie is as round as they get and I spend so much time finding something that fitted propperly but they sorted us out perfectly! They do pony saddle company, native pony saddles, comfort saddles and retractor panel saddles! They specialise in difficult to find ponies ;) .
I know how enjoying it can be, good luck
 
lachlandandmarcus - its my baby highland I use the Treefree for and yes, its lovely! Bit of a shock at first, looks wise, but very comfy and I don't have to worry about replacing it every six months as my four-year old grows. We only use it for light hacking and school at the mo so it does us fine. And I got a bargain on ebay! ;)
 
I fit for Native Pony Saddles and have Haffies in two different trees - the very wide ones can go in the wide twist tree available in the M&M GP and the Glen WH, the not quite so wide ones tend to go in the narrow twist tree which is in the M&M as well, and the Fen and Symphony SH saddles. They tend to need very flat trees, and the rails/bars on many other trees, even if flat from front to back, tend to not be straight enough.

Kikke said:
Check out the saddle exchange website. My welshie is as round as they get and I spend so much time finding something that fitted propperly but they sorted us out perfectly! They do pony saddle company, native pony saddles, comfort saddles and retractor panel saddles! They specialise in difficult to find ponies ;) .
I know how enjoying it can be, good luck
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This company make their own version of the NPSC saddles based on old designs and made by a cheaper workshop. The owner of my company designed all the NP and earler (pre monoflap) Comfort designs despite what the Saddle Exchange/Woodward & Woodward website says. We can only apologise for the confusion with the NP brand and are STILL trying to sort the situation out.
 
After two years and 4 saddles that slipped, I now have a Strada saddle for my haffie. It fits him like a glove and doesn't move at all. More importantly, he's comfortable in it. It was magic watching him being ridden in it for the first time. His usual tension and wariness disappeared when he found that it didn't hurt. Ilga, the saddler, said it was probably the first time he had ever been ridden without pain.

The saddle is comfortable for me too. I find that I naturally sit in the right position in it.

Diana
 
I have an Ideal saddle for my haffie and also use a Stubben string girth. It is quite a good fit for him but maybe not for me! When I can afford it I will investigate some other makes and try to find one that suits us both.:D
 
I have a Thorowgood T4 on my Haffy, although she isnt as wide/flat as I believe a lot of them are. I have the wide gullet in both saddles and use a stubben string girth with the GP and an ergonomic one with the dressage.
 
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