I have recently got a TB mare. I am having difficulty in finding a saddle that fits her as the narrow saddle doesn't clear her withers and pinches her shoulder and the wider saddle also presses on her withers but doesn't pinch her saddle.
Would a medium cut back saddle work or do you get other types of sizing to consider.
I can't get a saddle fitter out as the nearest one is 3 hours drive!
I am in the lower price bracket for either a AP or dressage saddle.
I have attached some pics. 2 of her with no tack and 2 with the narrower saddle. I don't know how to measure gullets, so if you need that info, please tell me how and Ill post it!
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Suzy_Dove/Saddle%20Fit/StellaPiggle023.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Suzy_Dove/Saddle%20Fit/StellaPiggle024.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Suzy_Dove/Saddle%20Fit/StellaPiggle060.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm203/Suzy_Dove/Saddle%20Fit/StellaPiggle061.jpg
Thanks!
Yes, she is a bit thin right now. She has not been worked much over the last year, so we will be starting to get fit and I am upping her feed, hopefully she will chunk out a bit! How do I compensate with that in mind?
 Schleese Link II Saddle 18 excellent condition US $3,500.00 |
 OVATION EUROWEAVE 32L FULL SEAT BREECHES ZIPPER FRONT BLACK Dressage NWT US $72.00 |
 NEW All Purpose or Dressage Saddle Pad US $14.99 |
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Welcome to saddle fitting 101 and give yourself a pat on the back that at least you are trying, so many ppl just ride horses in poor fitting saddles and wonder why they misbehave, so bigggg kudos for you.
Cut back would help alot. Do they make risers for english saddles? If you can find a pad that is built up by the withers to help lift it off would be a huge help. You don’t want alot of built up because then you will have bridging problems, your saddle fits everywhere else it appears, just not the withers.
I’m sure there are english riders that will post with ideas on that.. but if you know an english shop as them if they make riser pads for narrow horses to pull the saddle off the withers.
Good luck.
EDIT– heres what I was thinking
http://www.expertvillage.com/video/56319_english-saddle-risers.htm
She’s a bit on the downhill side; that makes things difficult. If this is the narrow saddle in the photos, then she must be much narrower than she looks, because that saddle is too wide for her.
Kieffer makes a good saddle for TBs either a Wein or the Reine. They also have an all purpose that is great, although it has a dressage tendency. Most of the Kieffers can be made quite narrow, and have a harrow twist. A Wintec Isabelle would also do well, but you may have a preference for leather.
You are going to have to have a saddler fit her. You are also going to have to have a wool flocked saddle so it can be built up a bit at the withers to make it sit flat on her back.
It’s only 4 hours for me to get to the saddler, and I go every 6 months with 4 horses. If you can meet at a show, that helps, but it could still mean some travel.
Call your saddler. He will be able to explain how to use a flexible curve, available at Office Max, to measure her withers and shoulders. Then you can send that to him and he should be able to tell you if he has anything suitable in the store before you make the trip.
A good trick for testing if a saddle will fit your horse is to get an outline of her withers to test at a saddle shop. To do this take a flexiblee wire that will hold a shape (cheap coat hangers work well) and bend it so that it forms to the shape of her withers where saddle is usually placed. Once you have the wire shaped, lay it out on a large piece of card stock and trace the shape. You can then cut or fold the card stock so that you have a solid outline of the withers. Then when you are at a tack shop you can use this to get an impression of how the saddle will fit our horse. If a tree is too wide the outline will have no clearance at the withers. If it is too narrow, your guide will be a tight fit or bend.
Your mare is very cute, but she looks like she might fill out a little more. Any time a horse gains or loses about 50 lbs. or develops more muscling a saddle fit can change drastically so it might be good to try a wither pad with the wider tree to lift the saddle away from her withers for a little while, rather than the narrow tree that pinches her shoulders.
Good luck and THANK YOU for caring about saddle fit! Too many people don’t realize that a poorly fitted saddle can cause extreme discomfort for horses.
I have a TB mare that is 16 hands and a stock saddle fits her fine….
l had the exact same problem as you. Just recently, l got a TB gelding and same problem with saddles. l eventually found an Australian Stock Saddle (l live in Australia, which helps) that had a higher gullet, and that seems to work for him fine.
The only other thing l could suggest is l know those Wintecs sometimes come with adjustable gullets, so maybe look into one of those.
She looks a bit high in the rear; you should try a front riser pad. It should help lift the saddle from her withers (or atleast pad her withers), and could help fill in the gap from lack of muscle in her shoulders.
You can get a front riser pad from State Line Tack or Dover Saddlery, made by Roma or Wintec.
if possible try and get a syd hill and austlrian made one they fit a large range of horses =] except wide cart horses just give it a test drive
If I’m being honest I really don’t know much about saddle fitting, I’m trying to learn but I don’t really want to give you advice that’s wrong. A poor fitting saddle does cause a lot of health issues for the horse- I am personally experiencing that with a horse who has many health and soundness issues and a saddle that didn’t fit perfectly was no complement to that. But anyways I would say that before going to a saddle fitting there are a few other options I can think of: 1. Go to your local tack shops and see if they have gullet fitting systems- that can be one way to find a better fit and most tack shops that carry english saddles should have one that you could ‘rent’ or use for a few days with a deposit. 2. Ask your vet to come out- that may sound weird but your vet should know a lot about your horse and his issues, he could also look at your horses back and should be able to recommend a saddle type that would be best for you. 3. See if there are any chiropractors in your area- I’m not saying that you have to have your horse ‘worked on’ but because chiropractors know so much about the back they could definitely help with saddle and saddle placement- because I’ve learned that placement can also have a huge impact on the fit of the saddle- you may have the right saddle but if you’re positioning it wrong it can cause a lot of problems.
Hope that I helped- Good Luck and good job to you for trying to find a good fit! : )