Wrong conformation to ever jump?

Ellemoo

Ellemoo

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My girl is a 14.1 Welsh x Arab.. nothing special- infact she was an accident (although the best accident there ever was :) ) I broke her myself etc and shes turned out to be just an all round 'fun pony' i suppose.. Shes very sweet and tries her heart out at everything i ask her- and seems to have a pretty neat little jump in her! The problem is, ive been told by a saddler that her shoulders are such a size/shape that she cant have any saddle thats forward cut in any way/shape/form :( If the only saddle that she can have is WH style then theres no hope in hell of me being able to jump her! Not that im thinking of competing massively etc but i did like the idea of maybe a few local shows ie up to 2'9 ish (im a wimp :p)

Currently riding her in a borrowed synthetic GP which im told i 'just about' get away with how forward cut it is- but im already struggling with feeling un supported in this saddle!

Anyone else had a problem like this before? suggestions?... or shall i just accept that jumping wont be for us!?

Thanks in advance lovely people :)
 
I have a similar problem with my horse as she hates anything which goes forward over her shoulder. I have a Farrington KN VSD saddle which holds me in a really good position as it has quite a deep seat but is very straight cut. I jump up to 1m 10 at moment on it and cope fine. Maybe you could look at some different makes of saddle which make you feel more secure? Good luck.
 
I'm no saddler but have you thought of going down the made to measure route? My friend has a horse who has proven very difficult to fit, shes gone through 5 saddles in 3 months (and several saddlers!) and has eventually had one made to measure for him, I think it cost her about £800 in total.

I've never heard of a horse completely unable to take anything that isn't straight cut, but I honestly have no idea.
 
LouS said:
I've never heard of a horse completely unable to take anything that isn't straight cut, but I honestly have no idea.
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This was what i thought! My girl cant be the only pony in the world with big shoulders that does jumping??? :confused: The saddler said 'anything more forward cut than a WH and she wont be able to move/use her shoulders properly.

Flight- i feel like ive looked at just about every make/style of saddle there ever was :p its not just her shoulders- she has a very short back and i have pretty long legs so put it all together and i cant seem to find anything that ticks all the boxes :rolleyes:
 
But working hunter saddles are designed for working hunter classes - where you jump :confused: I actually choose WH saddles over GPs for some of the native types I ride as they fit better. Get some decent jumping lessons and work on your stability and balance, but there is no reason you can't jump in a WH saddle!
 
Rhino- i was going on my assumptions about WH saddles from the pictures ive seen of them.. they just didnt look very 'supportive' in the way of knee blocks etc (my girl can be a bit spooky/quick darting at times) :)

Maybe ill look into the made to measure idea..
 
My old dressage horse had enormous shoulders - right pain in the neck to fit. He also had a hell of a jump, so being totally secure was essential! The only saddle I found that was forward cut enough for me (as a long legged rider who hoicks the stirrups right up to jump) and also fitted the horse was a Duett Allegro. Duett saddles are designed for wider horses - worth a look at least
 
Well, I jump mine in a dressage saddle (which has'nt got the huge big blocky knee things which are so popular at the moment), just not very high. Working Hunters jump like billy-O, so you'll be alright there then.
 
Have you looked at some of the close contact jump saddles? My Devoucoux is very flexible over the shoulder and there's plenty of space for the shoulder to move underneath, yet still forward cut. Essentially it doesn't fit close to the shoulder at all but there is a gap underneath. There are plenty of other similar around.
 
Abacus- why did my saddler not suggest such a saddle?? :confused: ive had opinions from 2 different saddlers and both have said its a no hoper getting anything forward cut :(
 
My girl is happiest in her dr saddle - and it's the only one she has, so she jumps up to about 3ft and has hunted in her dr saddle. Tbh it wasn't really anything I thought about when doing it, just carried on and went jumping :)
 
Why not contact Kay Humphries who is the most famous remedial saddler in the country!
If you aren't going to jumping huge fences almost any saddle should be OK.

I used to show jump in a showing saddle on my 12.2 hh pony, but then that was an improvement on the felt saddle I had before.
 
Kay Humphries is the best around.

But there is no reason why you can't jump up to 3' in a WH or dressage saddle. If you are concerned about staying on, work on your seat and balance, don't rely on knee rolls.
 
A working hunter saddle is designed for working hunter.....which is a high proportion jumping?! I have jumped up to 1m in a very straight working hunter with no issues.

If your horse has big shoulders then I wouldnt want a saddle that fits over the shoulder, it will restrict the horse, and the points could dig in as the shoulder comes back.

As an aside I wouldnt recommend Kay Humphries to my worst enemy after my experience with her!
 
Our fell was the same. She coped ok in a GP, but really improved massively in a WH saddle.

OP, have someone stand behind you and put their thumbs to the inside of your shoulder blades. Now push your arms back and foward. It'll give you an idea why a pony with chunky shoulders needs a straighter cut saddle.

My sister used to Jumpcross and jump up to 2.9ft in her ideal WH saddle.

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Have you looked at Albion Selecta? It has changable kneeblocks which attatch by velcro, you can get 3 types of knee rolls, dressage, GP and jumpin/xc. The idea is that the saddle itself is straight cut but you just add the knee blocks on top depending on what you wanna do. Great saddle for eventing, you only need to take one and 2 sets of knee rolls, rather than faffing around with changing saddles you just change the knee rolls :) theres 2 for sale on ebay currently. even if you buy it and it doesn't fit, it doesn't matter as they sell so easily as they're not produced anymore :)
heres a website that shows the saddle with the 3 different types of knee rolls, and how it works :)
http://www.doebert.com/product_list_albion.php?active_nav=106&lid=2&wpid=106#247
 
I have the same issue, so have a WH with Velcro blocks, including the ones that go behind the leg (whatever they are called).

I have also jumped quite happily and regularly in straight WH.

Good luck!
 
My horse was like this so I have a monoflap jump saddle which is the only saddle he goes well in, the blocks are on top of the flap so don't impede his shoulder it's an ideal impala pro
 
MissSBird said:
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What a cracking Fell :):):)

I would have thought you could get a saddle to fit your Welsh x Arab, yes she might have loaded shoulders but still possible. All my Arabs and PBAs are big shouldered flat tops and I use a Kings Event on them. I did look at Native Pony saddles as well - they cater for the wider horse. The thing to watch with the fit is that the seat is level and not tipping back, I do see a lot of Arabs in lovely saddles that just don't fit (yet obviously professionally fitted), they either slip to the side or climb up over their shoulders.
 
I jump an anglo arab x Irish cob with what sounds like a similar build to yours in a isabelle werth wintec synthetic dressage saddle with wintec jumping blocks in it. It's perfect!

Also I am looking at the Albion K2 Genesis VSD saddle as this is designed for big upright shoulders and has a very good knee roll! If you're not competing above 1m50 then you don't need a proper jumping saddle- you can get away with cobbling something together!
 
Have you tried a saddle company saddle? My mare is extremely wide and flat (in fact, nicknamed tabletop) and I tried god knows how many saddles when I got her, was ripped off by a saddler and bought something that didn't fit (a show saddle, was told she'd never be able to have anything even slightly forward cut), bought the saddle company saddle and discovered she actually walks out (didn't know she could do that!). She jumps in it, and I find it really comfy. Maybe not suitable if you're going to jump 4' or something but I find it great for what I do. Bonus is that they are adjustable so as she puts on/ loses weight it can be made wider/ narrower so she stays comfy.
 
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