amerigo vega dressage saddle fit issue

[buzul]

just bought a used amerigo vega ,love riding in it as it fit me like a glove and at first glance,my 16.1OTTB as well,good sweat marks showed nice and even panel contact. i have 2.5" finger to the top when mounted which ok.BUT the BUT front gullet opening /pommel area is very tight SIDEWAYS …

trying to figure why there’s so little space ( can squeeze 1 finger between side of wither and saddle area where the felt dot is) ,never had that in other brands ,front gullet opening /tree size is a medium and measures pretty much like my other medium saddle ( KN).anybody else had that issue with the vega ?

[alibi_18]

You shouldn’t be able to see the felt dot. The saddle is not wide enough or not put at the right place (too in front).

I think it’s the shape/spacing of the panels that doesn’t fit.

Would need a picture.

[beowulf]

that’s not a vega issue; it’s a saddle fit issue. get a real, professional saddle fitter to look at it for you.

[buzul]

yes ,totally a saddle fit isssue,wasn’t trying to blame the vega LOL

am working with a certified saddler ,unfortunately long distance only as i don’t have anyone near enough to come out and work on horse and myself directly.

the panels make perfect contact ,saddler did agree ,so did the vega rep i messaged with pics.problem area is in the pommel " chamber" that seems to be too tight/small on the sides ,tree points have the correct angle and a wither tracing showed the medium in the saddle works for the horse.

just puzzled .

[jaybird660]

It is hard to evaluate without photos. There’s more to fitting than just the front of the saddle. I personally like a little breathing room on either side of the wither as I find a saddle can be too confining if too tight up against the spine. However, the panel shape/depth and other possible options need to support the tree to give a good overall fit for the horse. I will often ask a long distance customer feel for that if I can’t see it in the photos.

[buzul]

i’ve been through numerous saddles and all of them were a pretty close fit ,jay might remember the gorgeous jaguar she picked out for us.fit the horse very well ( was a m/w but had full front gussets so fit like a medium) ,didn’t work for me though.after that,we’ve tried various brands that had similar specs and similar panel shapes.the amerigo is close in shape to the jaguar AND works for me ,the only questionable part is the front opening and again,this puzzles me as none of the other ones were that tight .i am debating if i should let my saddler try and adjust which might involve dropping the panels and/or taking out some flocking further down OR let the saddle go and look for a better fit.here are some pics.i hope they explain a bit clearer what i mean http://i1280.photobucket.com/albums/a488/buzul1/DSCF5322_zps5xn1bcal.jpg

http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/buzul1/library/

[jaybird660]

I can’t seem to open the photos but will look when back in the shop. On the road fitting today.

[buzul]

MUCH appreciated ! can email them to you too

just pasted another link that should work http://s1280.photobucket.com/user/buzul1/library/

[no.stirrups]

It looks to me as though if you shift your weight in this saddle, as to step into a canter transition, turn, or lateral movement, it would be right up against his withers, which he will resent. I would put this horse into a saddle with a more open head (not more open angle necessarily) which is not an option with Amerigo IIRC (if I’m wrong, someone please correct me). This is a tree issue, and cannot be corrected by adjusting flocking.

[buzul]

yes,that is what happens ,when i shift weight even ever so slightly,the saddle is right against his withers .the angle seems to be right,i agree with you on that .more open head…makes sense as that is the way with my old niedersuss which fits him well .you wrote Amerigo
" IIRC " ,is that a typo ?
and you are addressing my concern,i am unsure if this issue can be corrected by my saddler.
since i have to ship out of province for it plus get a 3D mold so saddler has something to work with,it is worth trying to figure it out beforehand

[Jealoushe]

Amerigos are designed to fit horses closely…each model is designed for a certain back and wither shape. You need to get the model thats fits the HORSE and not the model that fits you.

[jaybird660]

It seems very snug against the wither and more so in the stirrup bar area or at least further back from the front. I find that when a saddle is that "snugged up, a horse is more resistant to bending and picking up a canter. I admit that I didn’t read all of the post so perhaps that has been mentioned. I like to look past the opening of the saddle and see how tight the stirrup bar area is. Keep in mind that symmetry is also an influence in this.

[no.stirrups]

IIRC is short hand for “if I remember correctly” I don’t deal with Amerigo-Vega often, so I’m not 100% sure!

[buzul]

well,i think the horse spoke clearly at yesterday’s ride.all was fine for the first 15~20 min warm up ,by the time we were into bending around a line of cones ,he exploded,bolting& bucking - he is usually well behaved and only ever steps out of line ( as i don’t want to call this “misbehaviour”) when sometimes physically bothers him.i think the tightness -located up front or further back as jay suggest - is beyond uncomfortable and as a consequence,i think not worth trying to fix - if that would be possible at all.time to move on ,sell and restart the saddle search :eek: &^%$*&%^!!!if anybody has any suggestions what to look for,by all means ,do tell !!!

[buzul]

THANK YOU ALL for your input !

[no.stirrups]

Brands with open heads in at least some models include Black Country, Frank Baines, Harry Dabbs, and Jeffries.

Take a deep breath, this is fun!!! (Ducking…)

[buzul]

have tried the first 3 brands plus prestige,passier,verhan,currently riding in a niedersuess that works best but has too many stress lines on seat .yeah i will keep looking ,oh so much fun ahead of us !:winkgrin: what i need is patient saddler to come out with a load of saddles ,plenty of time and a good sense of humor .anybody looking for a beautiful amerigo,you know where to find me LOL

[no.stirrups]

Keep in mind that Black Country has 4 different trees, Frank Baines has 5, Harry Dabbs has 7, and Jeffries has at least 3. Sometimes people try one and then give up on the entire line. For an open head in Black Country you would want anything on a Freedom Tree, from Frank Baines the Pirouette and Capriole are the most open, Harry Dabbs has the Avant, IB, and Hunter trees in order of increasing openness, and Jeffries has the Liberty and XP trees. I do not think your horse would be a candidate for the Hunter or XP, though as he is not that extreme. Best of luck!

[achcosuva]

[QUOTE=no.stirrups;8904705]
Keep in mind that Black Country has 4 different trees, Frank Baines has 5, Harry Dabbs has 7, and Jeffries has at least 3. Sometimes people try one and then give up on the entire line. For an open head in Black Country you would want anything on a Freedom Tree, from Frank Baines the Pirouette and Capriole are the most open, Harry Dabbs has the Avant, IB, and Hunter trees in order of increasing openness, and Jeffries has the Liberty and XP trees. I do not think your horse would be a candidate for the Hunter or XP, though as he is not that extreme. Best of luck![/QUOTE]
Is there a way to tell what tree saddles have? It’s so frustrating trying to buy used saddles, and doubly so if you don’t know what trees you have tried if they put different trees in the same models. Or do they usually put the same tree in the same model?

[no.stirrups]

For most brands, a given model is usually built on the same tree, but there are exceptions. I recently saw a Frank Baines Union Lux built on an Omni tree, for example. Black Country is different in that most of their models can be built on any of their trees, so that makes them more challenging to buy used. The best way to know is to get the serial number off the saddle and contact the maker.