Saddle-where do I start

[Vicki&Milo]

SO, lifelong dream of buying pony comes true, finally sinking in, very giddy and then realise there is so much I don't even know where to start with.

I need a saddle (well will do when he arrvies in a month or so). He had a very bad fitting saddle, which was replaced with a treeless. You could tell he was much happier (it was lik riding a new pony), then his owner decided she liked the treeless but wanted a dressage one, so sold that and bought dressage treeless, nice and good fit, but I don't think as good as the first treeless was for him. This is all a bit irrelevant really, as she's keeping it.

But I don't know where to start looking (well I know where but not what at) I want a GP I think, but then its been suggested in the past working hunter/showing/dressage shapes will be better due to his lack of whithers.

Part of me wants to stick with treeless,I like being able to feel him move under me. But then at the same time I've heard there are not good for jumping and as he's only 4 I'm not 100% where we'll be going together, but I would like to have a go at popping some fences sometime soon.

Part of me wants synthetic from a weight perspective (I'm big on him anyway-although not too big).

Part of me wants a lovely leather saddle, because thats what the dream always involved (no one ever spoke of synthetics or treeless).

I suppose the answer would be to get a saddlef itter and get them to recommend something, although noone really speaks very hgihly of any up here. Poohsmate has offered to visit again and check my saddle when I get it, but I don't think I'll be able to afford a saddle co. one from him. But in that case, how do I pick my saddle in the first place?!

Help

[Yann]

Nope, it's a desert round here as far as good saddlers go. The saddle you ideally want sounds just like the ones Poohsmate sells:D Why not try and find one secondhand on ebay and then get him to fit it for you? They can often be got pretty cheaply on there by all accounts

[Vicki&Milo]

I have no idea what size to even start looking at, on second thoughts, I wonder if poohsmate would remember?!

Also looked at a cob GP (wide backed and no whithers)

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/vickiollie/CIMG2072.jpg

[Vicki&Milo]

So apart from havign established there are no saddle fitters capableof the job here, does anyone else have any suggestions?

[Daffy Dilly]

If money was no object I'd say contact the Native Pony Saddle Company, but you're looking at £800. Mine was well worth the wait, it depends how long it would take you to save that amount of money.

Best thing to do is to have a fitter out and try various saddles to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Daffy for example, needs a saddle which has the tree points way back from his shoulder. My sec C though, was fine in a second hand working hunter we found.

ETA, you don't have to buy one of their saddles, just find the tree/style/make that works best for you, then either save up for it or look for a second hand one.

[Yann]

If Poohsmate has seen your horse he'll be able to suggest what size seat and style to look for. If it's a Saddle Co the width fitting isn't that important as that can be infinitely adjusted with the hydraulic gizmo, so it considerably widens the scope of what you are able to look at buying.

[Vicki&Milo]

If money was no object I'd say contact the Native Pony Saddle Company, but you're looking at £800. Mine was well worth the wait, it depends how long it would take you to save that amount of money.

Best thing to do is to have a fitter out and try various saddles to get an idea of what works and what doesn't. Daffy for example, needs a saddle which has the tree points way back from his shoulder. My sec C though, was fine in a second hand working hunter we found.

ETA, you don't have to buy one of their saddles, just find the tree/style/make that works best for you, then either save up for it or look for a second hand one.


That was my plan, but I dont have the confidence in myself to know what 'works' and sadly I think £800 will be out of my price range for a long long time.
Although that sounds like a good plan Yann, I hadn't realised that was the case-to ebay it is! :D

[Bebe]

So apart from havign established there are no saddle fitters capableof the job here, does anyone else have any suggestions?

Well, Poohsmate will fit a SC saddle for you even if you haven't bought it from him. Ebay sometimes has good buys and is worth keeping an eye on.

You can jump in treeless saddles, I've popped logs and small courses in mine in the past. You just have to be secure in your position as there are no knee rolls to help you out. Obviously if you're planning to do anything ambitious you probably won't get away with it, depends on the level you're aiming for really.

As I see it your options are:

Same treeless as he had originally
2nd hand adjustable saddle, fitted to him
2nd hand saddle, fitted to him (if you can get to Throstle Nest they've probably got the best fitter in our region, though I've not always been personally impressed by the job he's done and it's very much a case of the best of a bad lot I'm afraid).

Based on the pic I'd steer clear of a saddle that's got forward cut flaps, he's not really got the space for it. It also looks like you won't be able to go too mad on the length, which may rule out some treeless saddles anyway.

[Vicki&Milo]

His treeless was HUGE, made my legs look shorter though :p (ETA-realsied you meant length of back-believe it or not, he currently has a 17" treeless)

I'm just not 100% sure that was best for him, its just that his old one was SUCH a bad fit anything was an improvement. I really like the idea of an SC one with poohsmate coming to look at him again, but worried about forking out alot and not getting the right one. :eek:

As for the forward cut flaps, do you mean jumping style, or did you mean straight cut. The marks on his back there are from his old WHP saddle, but as that didnt fit it is hard to judge.

And then we get onto the option of having a new cheaper saddle. If so I was thinking something like this (http://www.stockleyonline.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=75770&Category_Code=1114) but brown-wide but short in flaps and seat as I know he and I'll be happy in a 15 1/2" and they're cheaper too!

Am looking for a SC one, suppose we shall have to see what times brings our way a bit though

[Bebe]

By forward cut flaps I meant jumping flaps or GP flaps that are very rounded at the knee rolls. Some are less forward than others, it depends on the make and model a lot of the time.

A maxam might suit, though round here you'd most likely have to buy before you could try, potentially leaving you with a saddle to sell as it doesn't fit. They're also like sitting on bricks, I had 2 maxams for Bebe when I first had her as I knew she'd outgrow any saddle that fit her initially, we went through 2 in about 9 months at which point they didn't come any wider and we went treeless.

If you're going to buy off the peg you need to know what sort of width you're looking at (a template made using a flexicurve is the best way to know this, you can't rely on a measurement or fixed size as they differ between manufacturers), whether you need a tree that's flat, curved or somewhere in between, what size will suit you and your horse best, what sort of saddle you want - dressage, gp, working hunter, etc and the length of flap that suits you best.

As you can see, it's a bit of a minefield and it doesn't usually pay in the long run to skimp as you'll end up paying in the long run one way or another. I've spent far more on saddles over the last 6yrs than my horses original purchase price!

[Giveitago]

I'd stick with the treeless saddles, your 4 year old is going to grow and if you buy a treed saddle you'll need to replace it very soon anyway.

Have you looked at http://www.freewebs.com/alternativehorse/treeless.htm