We have a 15-2 cob Diesel who we bought last year. Recently we thought he had a bit of a bad back and the saddle that he came with did not seem to sit right so got someone out to see to his bad back who is also a saddle fitter. He has got sore points but thankfully not too much of a sore back but the problem is the saddle. The saddle he came with is not correct which we pretty much thought. The only thing is she does not think we will get a saddle to fit him as there is none wide enough. Do any of you have the same problem and have a big cob. Can you give me any suggestions. She did suggest a wow saddle but for one there is no way i can afford this as said the maximum spend is about £400-£500 due to not having a lot of money and she did say a wow saddle may not fit . Any help would be great on this matter
saddle problem especially with cobs
- Thread starter Bengi1991
- Start date
I'm in the same boat - I finally had to admit defeat and go treeless. I have a Freeform which is very very comfy and which he goes well in - you can pick them up second hand off ebay for about your budget but there are many other makes and every one has their own followers
I was toying with WOW but by the time I got the one he would need it was going to be £1800 and I just wasnt convinced it would work. I have heard so many mixed reports and it was a lot of money to spend to be wrong. I have since heard that very wide, flat backed cobs are not particularly successful with the WOW saddles so thats one off the list!
I am looking at Ideal at the moment - they have a new range of very wide saddles but I dont know if they go wide enough. My boy is not even particularly heavy - just really wide across his wither and shoulder area. I've had 3 saddlers to him so far and none have been able to fit a treed saddle for him. I'm willing to go made to measure but I had to wait till he finished growing - hopefully thats him now, he's 7 and I'm just getting him muscled up then we might go down that line.
The Wintec Wide is quite a nice saddle and it fitted him for a while when he was younger - then he grew and it started to bridge. If its the right tree shape for your boy its an idea as it can be adjusted to incredibly wide. I also tried the thorowgood saddles but they just didnt fit at all.
Oh and just seen Paulines comment - the SC cob saddle might fit but the rest wont go wide enough for Arnie - I finally gave up on them cos they are really uncomfy (sorry Norm)
I was toying with WOW but by the time I got the one he would need it was going to be £1800 and I just wasnt convinced it would work. I have heard so many mixed reports and it was a lot of money to spend to be wrong. I have since heard that very wide, flat backed cobs are not particularly successful with the WOW saddles so thats one off the list!
I am looking at Ideal at the moment - they have a new range of very wide saddles but I dont know if they go wide enough. My boy is not even particularly heavy - just really wide across his wither and shoulder area. I've had 3 saddlers to him so far and none have been able to fit a treed saddle for him
. I'm willing to go made to measure but I had to wait till he finished growing - hopefully thats him now, he's 7 and I'm just getting him muscled up then we might go down that line.The Wintec Wide is quite a nice saddle and it fitted him for a while when he was younger - then he grew and it started to bridge. If its the right tree shape for your boy its an idea as it can be adjusted to incredibly wide. I also tried the thorowgood saddles but they just didnt fit at all
.Oh and just seen Paulines comment - the SC cob saddle might fit but the rest wont go wide enough for Arnie - I finally gave up on them cos they are really uncomfy (sorry Norm
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There are Wintecs which go up to an XW fitting then there are Wintec Wides which come with pink and purple gullets. TBH, I think they are easily wide enough for any horse (the widest gullet is virtually flat) but the tree shape doesnt suit all horses.
I've got a thoroughgood I think its a T4 cob (must check) with the widest changeable gullet it fits my Ardennes mare she is a table top. It did bridge at first but extra flocking sorted it out, it is an 18" seat she has a 60" girth I rode it in a sponsored ride last year. I don't use it much now as I use a western saddle instead. Wintec do wide version there has been mixed feelings on this but my friend loves hers.
Do you have any saddlery shops around you that stock a lot of second hand saddles?
I went to a couple of shops around here that let you take up to 4 or 5 second hand saddles for your saddle fitter to fit. (with your credit card details) I went and got the widest ones and my saddler tried some. None fitted so I legged it back to the shop and got another load while saddler did some of the others on the yard and we got one. It was just trying a load until we found one.
Mine was a custom made one that just happened to fit my boy perfectly.
If you take your OH you can get more saddles at once.
I went to a couple of shops around here that let you take up to 4 or 5 second hand saddles for your saddle fitter to fit. (with your credit card details) I went and got the widest ones and my saddler tried some. None fitted so I legged it back to the shop and got another load while saddler did some of the others on the yard and we got one. It was just trying a load until we found one.
Mine was a custom made one that just happened to fit my boy perfectly.
If you take your OH you can get more saddles at once.
We use an Albion K2 on cobs and it seems to work very well, also Ideal VSD seem to fit, and also Black Country Saddles have some which seem to do.
The VSD versions which sit behind the shoulder and are straighter cut seem to work better than the general purpose ones.
I found the wintec ones either fitted at the front or back but not both together! Even the ones they made specially for cobs.
The VSD versions which sit behind the shoulder and are straighter cut seem to work better than the general purpose ones.
I found the wintec ones either fitted at the front or back but not both together! Even the ones they made specially for cobs.
Y
Yann
Guest
There are definitely options for very wide horses, the Thorowgood Cob and Wintec Wide saddles would be in your price range and there are a few others (Ideal spring to mind) that might have suitable options. There are some downloadable templates on the Thorowgood site that would indicate whether your horse is too wide or not, bear in mind that each model comes in a variety of widths.
Treeless is certainly an option, but not necessarily such a wonderful one for the rider as you'll really have to open your hips on many of the saddles
Treeless is certainly an option, but not necessarily such a wonderful one for the rider as you'll really have to open your hips on many of the saddles
Black Country are lovely treed saddles but a new one would be above your price range. Trying to find a secondhand wide or extra wide saddle suitable is almost impossible in my experience. Hardy has a GFS at the moment but I now have slight concerns about that and he's booked to see a saddle fitter again on the 1st of June!
I've got a Black country18" wide/xwide VSD in Havana I used on my Ardennes for sale as I've gone over to western tack.
I
Oh and just seen Paulines comment - the SC cob saddle might fit but the rest wont go wide enough for Arnie - I finally gave up on them cos they are really uncomfy (sorry Norm
I think it depends which one you have - I have a Heather Moffett GP from Saddle Co, with a foam seat, and the only thing more comfortable is an armchair ...
It's very adjustable too; it was bought for my daughter's warmblood - fairly narrow and with quite a high wither - and with some adjustment and re-flocking it now fits my Hebe, who's a typical Haffie table shape - wide flat back and low withers ... (she's not that big though, so it mightn't be right for your heavyweight chap).
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