would you touch this saddle with a bargepole?

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sharman&apollo

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Hi all, I have a p/b arab that has a lot of muscle wastage and a dipped back (a mess, basically)

I am currently using a Nuumed shim pad underneath a wintec 500 saddle, but feel that it is too narrown on his withers.

Thorowgoods and the like are much too flat and bridge on his back, and he is far to bony and high withered for a treeless, without spending an extortionate amount!

I have spotted this item on ebay, a saddle that claims to flex length ways with the contour of your horses back. Worth a try, or run for the hills?

Here is the item

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Flexi-tree-MULTI-fit-synthetic-close-contact-SADDLE_W0QQitemZ220736153751QQcategoryZ47281QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7546163318318180374

and here is a picture of Apollo

63024_137937329585939_103564049689934_194064_1134839_n.jpg
 
I did have a Trekker Talent for a long time, used it with a suber pad underneath, but still pressure on his withers... can you suggest another type? The thing is... I'm on a student budget at the moment.

I know a decent saddle is important and I'm not a tight wad, but at the moment I would have to not ride rather than pay out for a custom made... :o
 
I don't like the concept of the tree flexing like they say, surely it must be putting pressure on somewhere if it is doing that? The one on the horse modelling the saddle certainly doesn't fit it. I'd be concerned that the gullet looks narrow in the photo and may put pressure on/right at the side of the spine, and is that stuffing coming out of the panels in the picture where its upside down?
 
Hi Ive always had Ideal's on my Old boy - pure bred Arab. He's retired now but ridden well into his 30's, has a very dipped back and high wither. The saddle was fitted, but not custom made and I never had a problem with it or his back in over 10years
 
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personally i wouldnt go treeless as if your horse had high withers it is quite likely to rub. my girl has a dipped back too and finding a saddle at a decent price was a challenge, but my saddler came out and said the best type of saddle to suit her would be one with a sprung tree as they are curved, not flat. i paid £150 for mine even though its about 30yrs old and still in really good nick.
saw one on ebay a little while ago for £145 and it was only 5 yrs old. defo try an find one with a sprung tree.
 
He is due to see Lavinia who is a fitter for Balance saddles so will see how that goes... just exploring all the options really.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I will certainly be exploring the sprung tree option :D
 
I have a horse who's back is very similar to yours. I'd put a pic up, but I don't know how! I use a T4 Thorowgood high wither that's just been fitted properly by a saddler with the help of a Numed Shimmy pad and my boy seems to be going well in that combination. They have changeable gullets so you an alter the widths pretty easily (if you have the knack, I don't, took me 2 hrs with lots the air around me turning blue when I tried to fit it myself....). You can alter them all over the place to help horses with irregular backs.

Re the saddle, worth a shot if you can afford it to be a mistake? In principle it sounds good.
 
I've got one horse with a similar shape, slightly better covered, though, but the basic shape is the same. I was recommended to buy an old style Stubben Siegfried or Parzival, found oldish Siegfried on E-Bay for about £200 and sure enough, with a bit of flocking it fits like a glove. It's not cut away at the pommel, but it has a banana shaped tree.
Another option, and I am ashamed to admit it, is a Kincade Redi-ride synthetic saddle that seems to fit those types really well (and I paid £100 for a new one :eek:)
 
Will the horse lunge? Personally I would forget about saddles and riding for 3 to 4 months,I would feed a condition cube at recommended levels and put the horse into a gradual fittening regime on the lunge,taking small steps toward working in an outline. when muscle has been built up you can then get a saddle fitter out ,
I expect his shap will change considerably by then.
 
I would also forget about riding for 3-4 months. The horse needs a good condition feed (preferably something like simple systems feeds which are all natural and no startch which you get in build up cubes and mixes), i would lunge in a pessoa daily starting off with 10mins walk on each rein every day for a week and then building up to add in some trot gradually.

When did you last have a physio/bowen/chiro out? And teeth checked?
 
[/QUOTE] When did you last have a physio/bowen/chiro out? [/QUOTE]

We had all our horses checked by Jin Langstone. She does massage and a lot more.
During her session she discovered that one horse needed a new saddle but the others were fine. I trust her implicitly.

www.kismettherapy.co.uk

Before you ask, no, I don't get a commission!

Sorry, I didn't answer your original question. No, I wouldn't touch this one with a barge pole. Sorry to be so blunt. In my humble opinion Wintecs are better. They are the synthetic model of the Bates saddle, a good quality make whereas Nortons are a cheap alternative. Personally I would stick to Wintec but perhaps upgrade.

I really hope you find a good solution and that the advice from all on H&H has been helpful.
 
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What about something like a TG high wither? I have had the T4 and T6- They both fitted my high withered TB well and are decent quality- Look on Ebay for a second hand one.
 
He is only ridden twice a week for a short period at the moment.

He has seen a chiro who has advised me to stick to walking hacks to build up stamina and fitness, and that he will probably never do anything more strenuous unfortunately.

He last saw the dentist when I bought him but have booked him again as he seems to be quidding :(

He has built up condition since that photo to be honest, it was just the shape of his back I wanted to show. Here is another picture of him looking a bit better :)

148512_460597594583_580324583_5573264_3349049_n.jpg
 
I wouldn't be riding him at the moment even though he has improved a lot and would use a good saddle fitter anyway, wouldn't touch the Ebay saddle to be honest.

Have you tried the Ho as a lunging aid, it does wonders in having the horse work over it's back and getting the belly off the floor. He looks a nice chap!
 
Mmmm... I'd personally avoid Wintec like the plague: I've had two horses who've both had back problems with wintec saddles, which is also why I'd avoid anything synthetic as they have no "give" in them whereas a leather saddle does.

I would be inclined to get the physio out to look at your horse's back as it looks like there may be considerable atrophy there; followed by a good saddle fitter - with a back like this I wouldn't be looking on the web for a saddle, I'd be getting the experts in, and taking their advice.

I would leave the saddle on e-bay where it is - frankly I think it will give your horse more problems then you've already got.
 
sharman&apollo said:
Hi all, I have a p/b arab that has a lot of muscle wastage and a dipped back (a mess, basically)

I am currently using a Nuumed shim pad underneath a wintec 500 saddle, but feel that it is too narrown on his withers.

Thorowgoods and the like are much too flat and bridge on his back, and he is far to bony and high withered for a treeless, without spending an extortionate amount!

I have spotted this item on ebay, a saddle that claims to flex length ways with the contour of your horses back. Worth a try, or run for the hills?

Here is the item

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Flexi-tree-MULTI-fit-synthetic-close-contact-SADDLE_W0QQitemZ220736153751QQcategoryZ47281QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7546163318318180374

and here is a picture of Apollo

63024_137937329585939_103564049689934_194064_1134839_n.jpg
Click to expand...

Just a point worth bearing in mind. If you have a high withered horse and therefore need a narrow gullet to 'lift' the pommel off the withers then you will compromise the fit of the saddle in other areas if your horse in not a narrow fit. I had this problem with my previous high withered horse and wintec saddle and in the end got a front riser pad to take the saddle off the withers without compromising on the fit over the shoulders as the horse was a medium fit. All this did was to spread the load bearing onto the back of the saddle area and made my horse sore. The only way you can get around it is to sadly buy a second hand leather saddle properly fitted by professional.
 
Thanks guys, we are seeing a Balance saddle fitter in April (ouch!!!), but was just exploring all the options really. (I wasn't truely deeply set on this saddle but had never come across a flexi tree before)

I know there have been some comments about his condition on this thread, so I just wanted to say that he is putting on weight slowly. He came from auction and was skin and bone, but getting him to build back up is proving a challenge.

He is very finicky and will often leave his hard feed if something more exciting comes along to look at - always on his toes!

He is a very lovable horse and I don't have great ambitions for him. If we can go for hacks, fantastic, if not, he can be my big fluffy lawnmower :D
 
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