Which saddle for breaking in?

holeymoley

holeymoley

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My rising 4 year old is due to be backed this year, he's very sweet about things and we're taking our time with him. He's been bitted for in hand shows, had a roller on and he's been led in hand while I ride my other gelding and he's been extremely well behaved. The time has come for him to experience a saddle. For info, he is a Gypsy Cob and has a back as wide as barn door! Obviously we will have a saddle fitter out but it's whether I go down the line of something adjustable such as the new Wintec Wide with heart which seems to be quite popular at the moment with the traditional cob types. Or whether I go to what I personally like which is a nice slim cut working hunter type saddle, normally such as an Ideal. The Wintec can be adjusted as he goes which is the bonus, but also Ideal's are reasonable to pick up second hand and normally hold their value to sell on. Am I mad going for a fixed width leather so early on?! I personally don't like a lot of saddle between myself and the horse which is putting me off the Wintec. My older gelding has had Ideals for most of his life and they just suit my physique, I have tried many other brands and I don't find them as comfy.
 
I'm going to be backing and riding away my young horse Rabbit who is 3 this year, and I'm opting to go for a Thorowgood T4 x

In my experience, they're quite lightweight, you can adjust the widths as the horse gains muscle etc, you can sell them on easily if needed and I find that they are a great option.

I was debating about going down the treeless route myself, but with the fact that there isn't a tree in the saddle, that is what concerns me about using it on a horse that is going to be started and ridden away under saddle x I don't want any risks of damage to their back at this crucial stage of their career. I'm sure with the correct treeless saddle, correct fitter and correct training that there wouldn't be an issue - but it's something I'm not willing to try.

If you know that you like Ideals, I'd say go for it - after all it's no good if the saddle fits the horse but you hate riding in it! x
 
The Wintec lite saddles don’t feel bulky and I’ve used them with success on cobby types.

My current 3yo I’m in a similar quandary over though. The wintec gullets don’t fit him as well as I’d like, the Fairfax ones better (currently XW in his Fairfax breaking roller) so keeping an eye out for an adjustable Fairfax. Kent & Masters use the same gullets but I find them horrendously uncomfortable.
 
rhino said:
The Wintec lite saddles don’t feel bulky and I’ve used them with success on cobby types.

My current 3yo I’m in a similar quandary over though. The wintec gullets don’t fit him as well as I’d like, the Fairfax ones better (currently XW in his Fairfax breaking roller) so keeping an eye out for an adjustable Fairfax. Kent & Masters use the same gullets but I find them horrendously uncomfortable.
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Yes, likewise. I bought a brand new K&M and persevered for over a year with it but it was just no good for me. Went back to Ideal which felt amazing in comparison.
 
Id say one that fits 🤷‍♀️? Go second hand and get a saddler out. I have never got on with synthetic ones as I find they don't soften nicely. And be prepared to get another one if/when he changes shape.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
If I was backing and/or riding-on again: I'd be using the TCS (Total Contact Saddle). Mine is ridden in this now as it is the only saddle I can find to suit her; but if I'd known "back then" what I know now, this is what I would do.
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I am backing my Arab 5 yr old in a TCS.
He is going lovely. We had a disagreement at one stage and he reared pretty high and my saddle didn't move at all. - Tcs and 2 saddle pads.
 
I opted for the saddle fitter and second hand saddle for mine. His first saddle didn't fit for long because he changed shape pretty quickly when he started working. He's now in an adjustable GFS which has been adjusted several times but I think may be getting to the end of it's career as it doesn't feel 100% stable. Horse is 6 this year and recently had a growth spurt.

I don't think you can forward plan with any certainty with a young horse, so you may as well go for what suits you both at the time.

I personally didn't like the idea of backing in a TCS because someone in the future might want to ride him in a normal saddle and I wanted him to be prepared for that.
 
I have never understood how the tcs saddles (basically lunge roller with stirrups?) do not put a lot of pressure on their spines. But maybe that's a discussion for another thread. Most definitely prep your horse for a normal world if you ever needed to sell or have someone else ride.
 
Ideally a used saddle.
Much as it's important to get the young horse used to noises, a creaky stiff new saddle with flaps that are yet to mould to the horses sides and girth straps that are an ar#e to do up as they are like strips of rock can be off putting!

The last few I've backed have been in adjustable gullet leather saddles such as GFS or bates caprilli.

For groundwork and first sits, some use a bareback pad, race saddle etc.
 
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