Air Bladders -- yay or nay

[joannr24]

I have had a tight backed mare for 7yrs. Extremely girthy, grinds her teeth, lifts her back under saddle then drops it back down. Had nuc scans, scoped her, always came back healthy. One consistent thing her entire riding career has been a DK saddle with air bladders. It’s adjusted regularly and I’ve been told it’s the best.

I tried a new trainer a few weeks ago and she immediately said she didn’t think the saddle fit right despite it being fit two months prior. It was so bad that she recommended I not ride her again until I figure out a solution on the saddle. She likes Schleese who are coming to town in a few weeks. She also wondered if the air panels are causing her issues.

Has anyone dealt with air panels before in saddles? Did you have good or bad experiences? I have NO desire to drop several thousand more dollars on another saddle but I won’t give up on this mare either so I’m willing to try it if it could be causing her issues. Like I said, that is the only consistency in her entire riding career.

[jaybird660]

Air panels such as Flair should be kind to the horse’s back as they disperse pressure and fill in areas that a different type panel might not. They are adjustable and perhaps they were too filled? Often, saddlers will do the front with Flair and the rear with wool and your saddle can likely be converted to wool. I would double check the tree shape itself to see if that is the issue.

[MysticOakRanch]

My friend’s Flair saddle was always going partially flat - after repeated fixes, she gave up and had the Flair removed and regular wool put in. I tried ONE saddle with Flair and it bounced on my horse’s back - felt like I was riding a dribbling basketball. So based on those two experiences, I’ve avoided it ever since.

I know a lot of people swear by it, just my own personal experiences, I stick with tried and true, wool flocking. Have to agree with Jay, if the tree doesn’t fit, it doesn’t matter WHAT is in the saddle.

[DownYonder]

Acting girthy and grinding teeth are also indicative of hindgut ulcers. You can’t scope for those, so you may want to try her on a good gastric support supplement that works in the hindgut.

It could certainly also be the saddle (and that discomfort could contribute to gastric ulcers).

[adelmo95]

I know there are lots of people that love the DK’s but they certainly were not for me! I gave them two chances - bought one for my hanoverian gelding and it always slid up his neck and to the right (after repeated adjustments). When that gelding sold I quickly sold the saddle as I had ended up with a quarter pony that there was no chance of it staying put on.

This past year I got pressured into buying one for my 4 year old gelding. We both hated it! A horse that had never bucked in his life started bucking out of the blue, his back was always tense and I never felt like the saddle was very secure. The combination of a powerful bucking horse and a saddle that wouldn’t stay put was not a good combination and he was almost at the point where he had my number. I threw my Amerigo back on and the bucking instantly stopped maybe it was that he liked the Amerigo more, maybe it was because I liked it more and therefore was a more effective rider, either way I decided to sell the DK and will never get another one.

The other thing I found with them is that in order to have a hope of them staying put you have to have your girth extremely tight in comparison to a wool flocked saddle.

[Equibrit]

As more pressure is applied from your saddle or your weight, the air bladders will compress until they become hard as a rock or they will squeeze out from under the saddle. At this point, they will actually hurt your horse!

[joannr24]

Thank you all. I really think the saddle could be her issue and great input on the hind gut ulcers too.

[netg]

I used to ride at a barn where a majority of the riders had DK saddles. He gave very good explanations of why his saddles fit well, how great they were, etc. It was very convincing. However, about 50% of the horses always had sore backs. Danny (I think that’s his name?) had them convinced the saddles were helping, and the horses would be worse without them.

I have seen ever worse with Schleese.

I have not seen this phenomenon with ANY other brand. There are many brands which aren’t here, which may have similar problems, but it is a seemingly common problem with those saddles, and I would not get either unless an independent fitter thought they worked.

As for air - theoretically it sounds good, but I suspect they get hard when pressure is built up as Equibrit mentioned, because they seem to be harder to get to work rather than easier.

[Heinz_57]

My horse goes in a Schleese with FLAIR quite happily, but it works for him for a very specific set of reasons and I would hesitate to say that it (or any saddle) works for ALL types. And no, my FLAIR panels have not squeezed out from under me, they’ve never burst and they aren’t hard as rocks. But, not all systems are the same, and I’m not familiar with DK saddles. I have had my saddle on a number of other horses and the number of backs it does not fit well is much greater than those that it does.

[islandhorsegirl]

[QUOTE=netg;8202676]
Danny (I think that’s his name?) had them convinced the saddles were helping, and the horses would be worse without them. I have seen ever worse with Schleese.[/QUOTE]

Danny and the guy that makes saddles for him (Kevin from Regal) both worked for Schleese before starting their own companies. I think there are many similarities in their products.

I think the DKs tend to have curvier trees. They may not work for your horse’s back.

[Wicky]

I have had two Wave (Schleese) saddles and one jumping saddle with Flair, on seven different horses. All of them liked the saddles a lot. I gather that many people put too much air into the Flair bags. I went back to wool with the Obrigados when I switched to Lusitanos, because of the problem of finding fitters who can actually fit Flair properly.

[joannr24]

I’ve been looking at the Customs too. A lot of upper level riders seem to like them.

[SonnysMom]

My saddle fitter does not like air panels. She doesn’t mind the Flair as much as the ones in the Wintecs. She feels there are frequently pressure points on the edges of the bags.
She is an equine massage therapist in addition to being a saddle fitter.

[sheltona01]

Customs is very good at sponsoring, which is why you see a lot of upper riders ridding in them. As a saddle fitter, I see a lot of quality problems with them. Crooked panels and broken tree.

[LookmaNohands]

I just had a saddle fitter say that air filled pads are hard as rocks. Not comfy. I have been dealing with a horse who likes “cush!” She called him the “prince and the pea.” He wants soft and squishy under a saddle that fits. Then he is okay.

Sounds like your horse is trying to tell you she isn’t comfortable. Also, girthy horses can be so because they have a rib “out.” You might consider chiropractic if you haven’t already.

[KyrieNZ]

I’m confused as to how ‘air bladders’ become hard as rock?

I have FLAIR (the original air flocking) in my saddle (a WOW, and have had wool flocked saddles converted to FLAIR), and LOVE it.

If you are bouncing, your saddler/technician has put too much air in.

[HappyTalk]

[QUOTE=KyrieNZ;8206826]
I’m confused as to how ‘air bladders’ become hard as rock?

I have FLAIR (the original air flocking) in my saddle (a WOW, and have had wool flocked saddles converted to FLAIR), and LOVE it.

If you are bouncing, your saddler/technician has put too much air in.[/QUOTE]

I have 3 saddles with Flaire and they are NOT hard as rocks. All of my horses go very well in them. They do tend to be “bouncier”, but you will adjust. It feels “dead” when I ride in a wool flocked saddle. It is a matter of preference and what you are used to.

[Moogles]

I don’t mind my air panels, yet at the same time I’m no preacher of them. Funny thing though is I like to ride with a mattes pad underneath as I find the ride more comfortable. I think there is more of a “bounce” feel to air but I guess I adjusted to it. The feel is not the actual saddle bouncing but more of a “large range of motion” my hips need to accomodate.

I’m truly not 100% sure of the benefit of air. It makes some sense but at the same time I feel that once the girth is done up tight it may almost be just as “formed” to the horse as wool if that makes any sense. Ergo I don’t see how it can be gentler or softer. There is only so much freedom once that saddle is strapped down!

I guess my opinion is as long as the saddle fits you and the horse then continue on. I think tree shape is important and that is the key with the DK saddles. If they fit then they are great, but if you need a special shaped tree no amount of air or fancy pad will fix that. This is basically my theory on why both DK and Schleese tend to be loved or make horses sore. There is very few tree shapes in these brands, so if your horse fits it, then great! If not then sore backs occur.

Overall, I do think they are well made and I will fully admit mine has made me ride better with my legs more underneath me, but I think there are still areas for improvement (ie more options for tree shape) and I’d prefer a wider twist. Both brands push ultra narrow twist and not everyone fits that!! I did have trouble with the saddle sliding forward and had great success with the billets being moved more forward. Once that problem was solved, I think the air vs wool is negligible.

[Grasshopper]

No specific input on the air bladders, but my tight-backed mare appears to loooove Black Country’s serge panels.

With horses that are extra particular about their saddles, I think the best thing you can do is find a good saddle fitter and budget to have them visit twice a year. If you can tell us where you are located, perhaps we can make some suggestions. It can be a bit tough sometimes to find a good saddle fitter who is not a rep, but there are good saddle fitters out there who happen to rep and will not push their particular brand if it’s not going to work for you (or your horse or your budget).