Holy crap thank god they’re refunding your money!!
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And stuck an airbag under it!
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So glad that you’re getting a refund and can be done with this!
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Really?! My not skinny OTTB is happy in a 28 and I know a 27, with the right tree, would be great for him as well. But agree, this saddle looks really odd. I’m very surprised Stubben would make this saddle.
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Stubben’s 27 cm tree is really narrow. TBs tend to have have large withers and broad shoulders and benefit from longer tree points, but reps and fitters see the tall, narrow wither and hear “TB” and think “Narrow”. Most TBs are not actually narrow through their back, they’re broad/flat. I am sure there are a few TBs here and there who genuinely fit in narrower trees but it is not the norm in my experience. The horse will tell you pretty quickly - unless it’s generous.
I’m not surprised Stubben made this saddle. Their reps are not good fitters. I’m more surprised they agreed to refund OP, and very happy for that outcome. I didn’t get anything when I dealt with my Stubben fiasco. HQ actually buckled down and said the saddle was supposed to bridge.
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Much as I love my custom Stubben and found the buying experience to be totally painless for my very odd-shaped pony…
I am totally flummoxed by the absolutely massive panels on that saddle. 
Just when I thought they couldn’t get any bigger (the original), they did. Even if it did “fit”, I don’t see how being that high above the back could be desirable. Or how the flare on that tree/panel was ever determined to be correct. IMO it all falls back to the rep that did the initial fitting and ordering. I’m glad OP is getting a refund.
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Oh my gosh 
They’re currently remaking mine from a 28 to a 27, same deal, I had an independent fitter tell me my horse was a medium and basically to shim it where he needs to fill in, to get wither clearance. I discussed this with the VA office and they refused and are going by their fitter’s rec of 27cm.
OP, I am scared. I will post pics here when I get here whatever they send me… But hey at least you got a refund!
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Oh nooooo 
Fingers crossed you don’t go through what I went through!!!
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I hope the saddle you get doesn’t look vaguely familiar!
“Oh, you know that one that one we just got back, the one that looks like a hat on the horse it was supposedly made for? Let’s send it to Yetiparty and see if she notices!”
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Bahahahaha can you imagine? Honestly at this point I wouldn’t put it past them…
OP- That is a scary saddle. I am glad you got a refund. I have a custom Stubben I love. My horse loves it. I sometimes throw it on other horse on the farm I ride since my horse is on rehab. My trainer loves it. Different model. Much wider tree. Great balance point. I really like my rep. I also have access to a fabulous independent saddle fitter that I have known for 20 years
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Have you been dealing only with only US rep? If yes, please send your pics and story to the Stubben HQ in Germany and let them see what is happening here in the US. That saddle is inexcusable. Glad they are giving you a refund!
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Both versions are one weird looking saddle…especially on your horse.
I am glad you are getting your money back.
Susan
I’m debating ordering a custom stubben for my hard to fit horse but seeing this has me nervous 
I really would not advise it. If you have the ~$5,000 to spend that it would be to order a custom saddle, I’d do it through Black Country.
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I got a custom Stubben last year (Ascend) and I had a fantastic experience. I also bought a basically new Stubben from a seller on Facebook (Portos) and I love it as well. I’m in Texas and my fitter was great. She helped with the custom saddle as well as confirmed the sizing on the one I bought from the Facebook seller and fitted to my horse after purchase. I also learn a lot from Amanda Anderson on the socials (saddlefitter.us) and she’s been super helpful every time I’ve reached out to her.
If you have a truly hard to fit horse find an independent saddle fitter that will work with Patrick Saddlery. I had a REALLY hard to fit horse. Super shark fin withers, hollows, that quickly went to a flat wide short back. At the time I needed an 18.5 inch saddle since I was fat. Horse really only could accommodate an 18 inch. Oh and he had a bit of lordosis going on. Patrick got it done. I lost a lot of weight after weight loss surgery and bought a much smaller saddle from him and he got it right again. Wool flocked. Lots of options on colors, models, trims, dual flaps, mono flaps. I never tried either saddle before I bought them and loved both of them and so did my horse.
I had tried maybe 25 saddles before that. He actually reared with a treeless he hated it so much. He was pretty opinionated and willing to quickly tell me about it.
I have a custom Ascent for my current horse but he is not a difficult fit and because of my difficult to fit horse I know more about fitting so can advocate for both me and my horse.
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Another vote for Patrick saddles!
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What a relief! I thought they would never give up.
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How much does his jump saddles usually run? I don’t have the biggest budget unfortunately
