Another SADDLE post!

[lexhex]

Okay, I am in the midst of saddle shopping/fitting he** at the moment. I have read many of the COTH posts and have seen some really great advice. I am currently bringing home 2 saddles at a time form a ‘local’ tack shop about 60 miles away (I have sat in their entire stock)… I am sending off tracings and photos to online shops (fine-used-saddles.com and Trumbill Mt and have a trainer helping me find a suitable fit for me and my horse (6 yr old Friesian cross with broad shoulders-- and long scapulae and low to normal withers…me: I like a 17.5"-ish w/ a narrow twist: 5.8" on a good day). I am at the point where I want to do what is best for my horse, the sport and overall fit for the both of us.
Cost is not really the issue— getting it right is the most important thing. I don’t care if it is used, new, ‘custom’ or what have you (as long as the quality is good).

Any suggestions ?

Anyone know of a good saddle fitter in central coastal Calif?

Much appreciated!

[angel]

The webbing of a saddle has a limited amount of leaway in relationship to the width of the saddle’s tree. This relationship is what influences the “twist.” It is quite possible that if a wide saddle fits the horse, it will not be the correct twist for you. For the saddle to fit the horse that you describe, my guess is that you are going to have to settle for a medium twist, rather than a narrow. I am not a saddle-fitter, but have had an interesting learning path with saddles over many years.

[buck22]

there are saddles meant for fresians, ryder’s fryso, sterling farms and something called redline come to mind. For a quick inexpensive 'tweener fix, I had at one point a courbette bernina that was a fresian stallion’s saddle from 5-6.7yrs old, fit the stallion well till he outgrew the width (and the pair moved onto the same saddle in an xw tree) and as I’d hoped, it did a fair job of fitting my morgan who is very fresian shaped through the shoulder and back.

if I were to ever go full custom and money was not an option I’d be calling mr. stackhouse or mr. foster myself.

[meupatdoes]

What angel said.

[lexhex]

seat bones too

Thanks guys!
I am assuming I will soon be headed towards a saddle fitter and a custom saddle instead of this trial and error (nauseatingly tedious!) stuff…
Any thing I am missing?
Also, as an aside I have been looking for some info as to where exactly your seat bones should fit. I am sure it is all personal preference, but is there a rule of thumb I have yet to come across??

[angel]

Your seatbones should hit the deepest part of the saddle’s seat. That is the ideal though not always real world. It might not be quite the deepest part if you need to settle for a shorter saddle because of the horse’s back, or if your stirrup leathers are not hung correctly from the tree for your conformation. As you ride a soft seat saddle, there will be two indentations created on the seat that are the results of your seatbones always being in one spot (hopefully). Those indentations might be just a hair behind the deepest part of the seat. They should be equally spaced, side to side, and be of equal depth. However, if there is much more deviation than that, you are not sitting the saddle correctly for some reason. One indentation deeper than the other also indicates that you are sitting crookedly as well.

[Spyder]

BTDT, lexhex. With my Friesians. Too many wide saddles in the quest for the perfect saddle for me and my (too many) horses.

I found ones good for me but this one reject may be perfect for you: Have you tried an Albion SLK W or XW? I know someone with a SLK 17" W that fit my young Friesian and I hated it because … the twist was too narrow. It fit him perfectly and the saddle’s owner loved the saddle. Have you tried SLKs?

I also found an XW Lauriche that I resold because although it fit a couple of horses perfectly, the twist was too narrow for me. That was a custom vs. off-the-shelf Albion.

I found all my saddles on eBay because driving 100 miles each way to buy then return 5 or 6 saddles, or paying shipping both ways mail order got very old very fast. At least on eBay sometimes you make money, sometimes you lose a little. But mostly I break even.

[lexhex]

wow guys thank you! the albion saddles were next on my list spyder thanks!
I had tried a brand new Stubben (not even on the website yet) called a Porto (they have the same name for a jumping saddle) my horse and I had the BEST lesson in that thing! My trainer and I didn’t like what it did for my body but I think my horse liked what it did for his!—Rode in my usual Bates Innova today and not such a good ride…
:no:

[samd]

Look on www.rideforlesstack.com
My black Lauriche dressage saddle is for sale through the womans company. It was custom made for my friesian gelding who was broad shouldered as well. Its a very comfortable saddle. I don’t own my gelding anymore so that is why it is for sale.

[HollysHobbies]

If you can find one, try a Luc Childeric monoflap dressage

They’re hard to find used, but fit a variety of horses really well, especially through the shoulder area. Great for rider balance as well. Their trees are standard solid MW, so if your guy is a true wide, it might not work, but if he’s solid MW, it should be ok. I would call the twist medium…you’re not riding a board, but BY NO MEANS is it a wide twist like a Lauriche (Lauriche has a REALLY wide twist IMO and was very uncomfortable for my narrow hips)