Any thoughts on the newer generations of adjustable saddles (ie the Fairfax) for a growing 4yo? Fairly flat backed, moderate wither. I’d love to get something we can get a couple of rounds of growth spurts out of before having to look for something else.
Yes, I am totally scarred by my late mare who grew out of saddles every 2 months at this age 
I have two Kent and Masters. Which is the step down from the Fairfax. My independent saddle fitter is a big fan of the Fairfax, K & M and Thorowgood saddles for young horses because they are so adjustable! I think they have different models for different types of horses too.
I have been pleased with mine. My SIL has a Fairfax that she’s not a big fan of but the saddle quality is great. It’s just really not the right fit for her and I think she would have been happy with a different model instead of what she ended up with. But her horse goes well in it.
The other option is a saddle that fits in all the right shapes, but is 1-2 sizes too big, and you use some extra padding to fill in. This is the model that www.balanceinternational.com uses and it works really well with the right pads.
Both methods are a little limited in that they can’t predict that the actual shape - not size - of the horse will stay the same, but in general, they usually do or at least close enough
Pads and shims are cheaper than saddles!
I had a Fairfax when my last horse was young. It was nice because I just easily changed the headplate when he widened under the guidance of my fitter. Ultimately his shape changed too much for the saddle though. There is only soo much adjusting you can do, and sometimes the tree shape is no longer right.
Most saddles are adjustable these days + or - a width or more. It’s just that with a Fairfax, K&M, or Thorowgood you can do it yourself and it’s cheaper because no machine or press is needed. Sometimes you need to call a fitter anyway to take a look at the wool every now and again.
So a Fairfax may or may not offer a huge advantage, especially if the horse just changes to a shape that’s no longer right for that tree.
Absolutely - I don’t think whatever I get will be THE saddle long term. We’re out of the way for any fitters to be up regularly, so I’m trying to find something that adjusting that, in combination with (to JB’s point) corrective pads to at least smooth things out. I went through 6 saddles in two years with my mare, in addition to regular flocking adjustments, and including an adjustable Bates, so trying to maybe reduce that a little bit with the new guy…
Yeah, I get it, I’ve been there. Best of luck! I’ll be in the same boat soon with my youngster.
I have the Fairfax World Class models for both of my youngsters as their first saddle (one is 3 now and just under saddle; the other is 5). I love the saddle for myself and do consider this to be a long term saddle as long as it continues to fit my horses. I love the narrow twist on it and the prolite and the adjustability. It’s not a cheap saddle.
My older horse likes the monoflap design without the lower knee blocks (just the blanks) because he has very wide shoulders; the younger one, who is more narrow, goes with the medium knee blocks. I also keep a saddle fitter pad, just because they can change so quickly, but I do get fittings by my independent saddle fitter about 3-4 times a year at this point. It seems to fit a variety of horse very well, and Fairfax has a lot of seat/flap/block options for this type of saddle. I had another model initially, but I did not like the thigh block placement for me or the twist. I worked with a fitter who would work with any type of saddle, but did rep Fairfax and some other brands and so she was very familiar with the saddle and how to fit it.
I did try A LOT of saddles when fitting the older horse when he was four, and even had a custom saddle made for him (that ended up being too wide for him). I sent A LOT of saddles back. I think with the young horses, it is very difficult to fit them long distance and that is what happened with my custom saddle.
Following this closely. I have another thread recently about my young mare who has been a total pain to fit. I don’t have any answers but I commiserate completely.
I was recommended a Fairfax at some point but I’ve only seen ones with rear gussets, which my compact little mare has rejected.
I have a K&M saddle and a cob Thorowgood saddle for my short backed pony that has lasted the test of time. I want to upgrade my horses saddle but he goes extremely well in the K&M.
I have an older Fairfax Cob dressage and it has really held up well. I bought it as a “growing horse” saddle but we haven’t found anything that fits better (and we both like it). My guy is a Connemara cross, so we don’t have a lot of real estate on his back to put my 17.5" bum in. He has a wither, but moderately broad left to right over his back.
I am very local to my fitter so I am fortunate that she can fit me in multiple times a year. If we change the headplate/gullet it is generally between the W and MW. Sometimes she will suggest a half pad or Thinline for a stretch if he is sort of “in between” or if I know he will be filling out soon cough winter cough cough. Overall it is a very flexible setup that has worked well for me for about 7 years…
I don’t think that mine has a rear gusset. My older horse has a bit of a swoopy back and he does like this saddle. But I can say that Fairfax’s website is worth another look because they have so many different models now. I also contacted them once about the girths (which I have used since they first came out with them) and they were very helpful. What I really like about them is that they are real wool flocked (with a prolite lined panel) and can be adjusted. The panels are filled with quality wool, not what I’ve seen in some other adjustable saddles (i.e. looks like rug fibers).
I forgot to say that I rode in three different Fairfax saddle models and the World Class is the only one I liked. My best friend also bought a World Class after sitting in mine, and it fits her much narrower and shorter backed horses.
Before this I rode in Hennig for like 20 years and found nothing, not even the newer Hennigs that came close to the ride for me. This did.
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