Arrived yesterday, good condition and seems to fit quite well but going to get saddler out at the weekend. It is initially very uncomfortable to sit in because it really does open your hip out and push your leg back - which is good but after a little while it became unnoticable and my canter was a definite improvement, it really makes you sit deep because theres so much support front and back - in fact its almost like a western saddle in that respect!
I'm a bit confused by the girth straps though to be honest. It has two webbing straps that come from under the saddle one of which has a leather girth strap sewn to it. The other girth strap seems to come out of the knee roll. They are also both really long. Is this right? It seems a bit odd to me but then what do I know about dressage saddles anyway!
unfortunately I dont have any knowledge about Albion saddles (got saddle fitter coming out monday with 1 so I might need this answered too) but my current dressage saddle has 2 long straps that come from the same place under the saddle flap, sorry not been of any help to you.
Uuh, I envy you really - owning an Albion... Lucky you!
But seriously - the girth strappings are ok, that is just the way as the dressage saddles should have them, so don't worry.
mmm my current dressage saddle also has 2 straps but they come out of the same place too. Perhaps this is the 'Y' shaped arrangement you hear about. If so whats it all about?
Front one is point strap, helps to stop the saddle shifting forward.
I briefly had an Albion for Tavia but it didn't suit my 'conformation' or my niece's (crippled my back and rubbed her legs) so can't say it ranks in a 'favourite saddle' category for me! Another girl on the yard has one and loves it to bits.
The arrangement of straps is to help position the saddle, and stop it moving forward, bearing in mind that dressage saddles sit further back the a GP saddle. Saddles with large knee and thigh rolls are good for riders who need a little support in the position and Albion are very popular for dressage. I personally use Passier, which have very little in the way of rolls, but feel resticted in an Albion when I have used them. That is not to say they are bad, just not for me! I prefer to be able to control the whereabouts of my own legs!!!!! If you feel you need some help with position, so you can get used to your new saddle, there is some excellent advice available on www.classicaldressage.co.uk I hope this helps.
I wouldn't have a saddle with a point billet, either. I can't tell you how many I've moved, for horses who had sore shoulders thanks to point billets.
The shoulderblade rotates backwards as the horse extends his leg. The point guides the shoulderblade under the saddle; the front of the saddle should curve away from the horse to allow the shoulderblade to gently slide under.
A point billet straps the front of the saddle down. The shoulderblade can't smoothly slide under the front of the saddle, the shoulderblade bangs into the front of the saddle with each stride. Sore shoulders...especially on horses with more prominent shoulderblades.
The point billets made no difference to the saddle sliding forward or not, since the saddles are fine after I move the billets from the points to the body of the saddle tree. These things are getting more and more popular...sigh...more work for me, but how sad for all the horses whose owners don't even think about it.
I wouldn't have a saddle with a point billet, either. I can't tell you how many I've moved, for horses who had sore shoulders thanks to point billets.
My new saddle has point billets and I am getting them changed to normal billets shortly after discussing the issue with Galadriel. Doesn't cost much to do the change.
Here is a pic of a point billet for those who care to see.
My old Barnsby had that girthing system, I loved it and am a great fan myself of Albions, I have the K2 Legend on Zak, fitted correctly by Saddleworld, its a fantastic saddle.
But its the same as anything what suits one may not suit another.
But are there ANY saddles that are made better, on a regular basis? The things I find when I open up saddles...oh shudder, some of these are horrendous.
My second girth strap isnt a single piece of webbing in a Y shape like in the pictures its 2 straight peices of webbing on which the leather girth strap is attached to one of them I suppose this system does allow for some amendment if it doesnt suit shoulderwise? I mean it would be simple enough for a saddle to remove the girth strap from the knee pad and put it on the second webbing strap underneath and I assume thats why there are 2 there to allow for finer adjustments? I thought it was a bit cheap that the whole girth strap isnt made of leather though but perhaps theres a reason for that too?
Nah, look under the flap of any saddle, and you'll see that the billets are attached to webbing at the very top. It would be a lot more bulky to have leather all the way up to the tree! Not to mention making it near impossible to replace a worn-out billet without completely dismantling the saddle; as it is, you simply take the leather off the webbing, then stitch the new one on.
Haven't seen your saddle, of course, but in many cases I wouldn't want to simply move the leather of the billet. For example, with Scarlett's saddle, if the Y webbing were cut to allow a billet at the front and the back, the rear billet would be much too far back. So her saddle needs the Y billet to stay just as it is, and have the point billet simply moved off of the point.
Many of the girthing systems I've seen under dressage saddles are adjustable in some way; Scarlett's slides through the metal ring, some have velcro on the rear part to make it shorter or longer, some have a ring through which both billets go that allows the rigging to be positioned a bit forward or backward. Your billet may have some adjustability also, or it may simply be fixed in place, allowing one billet to stabilize the saddle at the rear as well as the center of the saddle.
Lucky you! 
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