Anyone familiar with CWD saddle fit? I have one on trial for 30days through CWD, it’s has pro panels. I had my first ride in it today it looked ok once tacked up, I lunged first and the saddle seemed stable. after the ride I noticed the saddle pad was sliding back and the pommel was lower then I would have liked over the wither (2 finger clearance), oddly enough I feel like the shoulder maybe a little tight. I will have the rep come out to look, but I guess I am an Little apprehensive on how well the consult will go. I see a large amount of practically new CWDs available…thoughts?
That sounds just like the saddle is a touch too wide for your horse. The wither gullet sinking down and that’s also making it tight in the shoulder. Very common standard fitting problem in all saddles. You can try shimming the gullet or using a gel riser pad.
If your cwd Rep knows their stuff they will help you. They should watch you ride. If they are an idiot as some saddle reps are you will need to find a different brand Rep or an independent saddle fitter to help you.
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Thanks!
In my area I see tons of “Looooove this saddle. Brand new. Less than 6 months of use. Sadly does not fit my horse”. A lot of people seem to be moving to the next trending foam panel brand. Personally, I’d have it looked at both by the rep and an independent fitter who doesn’t have a commission on the line.
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CWD has been the major fad h/j brand for the past 5 to 10 years. It wasn’t that long ago that everyone wanted County.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with CWD per se, other than costing twice as much as a wool flocked British or German saddle. Foam is a trade off. It doesn’t need replacing but on the other hand it can’t be tweaked as easily as wool. It may be a little more forgiving of fit, and because the foam panels are naturally thinner it might be easier to shim without feeling you are way off the horses back.
Interestingly foam has not caught on for dressage saddles, just h/j.
People also like the very soft calf skin seats and panels that wear out fast.
People must think they confer a performance and comfort advantage that they are willing to pay double for.
However whenever a saddle is a fad it will get oversold and sold for horses that its not an ideal fit. No brand or model can be made to fit every horse.
Also maybe because these saddles are so expensive they are luxury purchases and the clientele are willing to take a loss and trade up regularly.
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Chiming in to say good brand, bad saddle fit of THIS saddle on THIS horse. Call your rep and have them back out.
“Pro panels” is a fancy phrase for “this is what we think will suit a variety of horses.” Doesn’t fit all of them! And apparently doesn’t fit yours. Happily, the panels can be configured in quite a few different ways.
The perks of CWD are the saddle reps, and the ability for CWD to change the saddle (without major overhaul, normally), in order to have the saddle fit your horse perfectly.
CWD Saddle Reps are trained to go above and beyond. I think that’s part of what has made the saddle company so popular. Have the rep back out, explain your concerns. Have her see you sit in the saddle and ride in the saddle again. It can be adjusted for the horse.
