About $5K
I had a very hard to fit horse. Stubben let me try a ton of demo and used models in a number of sizes. When we found the one that he liked best, I bought that demo saddle and then they ordered flaps/panels to fit my configuration. Once those came in, I sent the saddle to VA and I had it back two days later and it was perfect. It was a great way to get a custom saddle that we were sure would fit him and I didn’t have to make due with an ill fitting saddle while it was being manufactured. It was not an easy or quick process but it made me a Stubben fan for life. Reading this entire thread and all of the other saddle brand threads on this site, the refund Stubben gave after so much effort speaks volumes on how they stand behind their work.
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??? After the months of back and forth and dragging OP through multiple saddles that weren’t built for a carousel let alone a real horse?
I would say this thread has decided for me that I will never order a new saddle from them.
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I have to wonder if we read the same thread. Stubben did not stand behind their work for me. Their rep blamed my riding for my horse’s devolving performance, and Stubben HQ informed me my custom saddle was supposed to bridge after my vet/chiro noted the bridging was making my horse sore.
At the time I didn’t have the financial resources to pursue legal action. It was easier to cut my loss and sell the saddle (at 50% its original cost, none the less).
The soreness and performance loss went away immediately with a saddle that actually fit. 
Apparently, threatening legal action is the one way a few riders in my area (also served by the same rep) got their money back from Stubben.
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Just to piggyback on the comment from @fivestrideline about a saddle that wasn’t even fit for a carousel…
Here it is again.
I have a much beloved older stubben dressage saddle, and a fondness for old fashioned brands from yesteryear… but no way will I spend money on a new stubben after seeing this thread. I was already skeptical of their fitters… but this is just absurd. Truly. What a joke.
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This is what happened to someone I know also. It’s too bad, Stubben used to be a name most would trust.
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OP here 
I agree, it really is too bad b/c I genuinely wanted to to work and really liked how it rode for me 
I think the thing I am most upset by is their lack of any explanation or apology doe the whole thing 
again, my horse is not some crazy hard-to-fit thing, he is a very typical big wither/short-couple OTTB 
Oh well, I just have to accept I may never know
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What I have seen (and experienced so far myself) with Stubben is that their reps seem to be really hit or miss. If you are lucky enough to get a good one - there’s no company I would trust more than Stubben. But if you get a bad one, it can be a truly horrible experience (as OP’s was).
I have been following this thread for the past few months as I placed a custom order with Stubben back in February and was incredibly nervous on how it would turn out - I had heard such mixed reviews on custom Stubbens, but then again I have for any custom brand. When it came down to saddle design Stubbens had the best chance of fitting my tricky, extremely narrow OTTB. I had to seriously pull some financial strings to make a custom saddle happen for my mare and couldn’t afford to take a loss on it in any capacity, but the one thing I did see consistently with both good and bad Stubben experiences I followed was that they seem to really try to do everything they can to make the saddle fit, and if they absolutely can’t you can get a refund if you push them hard enough. I hadn’t seen that with other companies.
I finally received my saddle last week and it is exactly as I ordered, and fits my (extremely sensitive) mare and I both like a glove. As I do not have a local rep, we had to do everything VIRTUALLY which added an extra layer of stress on my end. She was incredibly knowledgeable, and always responded to my emails full of questions immediately and thoroughly, and it was clear to me that she has years of both general saddle fit experience as well as Stubben specific experience.
But all this to say I have come out on the other hand thrilled with my experience with Stubben and truly could not be happier with my saddle. I think it really comes down to the rep you work with - as with any custom saddle company! OP I am appalled by everything you went through and I don’t understand how anyone could think that saddle would possibly fit ANY horse - but I am so glad you were able to get a full refund in the end.
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OP, have you actually received your refund yet? Hoping so, the skeptic in me is just worried they’ll leave you hanging, again.
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I had more or less the same experience, minus the anxiety. I’ve been through CWD, Antares, Loxley and Stubben since 2015 and am happy to now have 2 lovely Stubbens that fit my TB and warmblood perfectly. The Rep makes the biggest difference with any saddle brand, but at this point IME you couldn’t give me a French foam flocked saddle regardless of fit.
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Okay, so drumroll…
Mine isn’t nearly as bad as @katiesteph’s monstrosity but it’s definitely …bad.
They made it a 27cm from a 28cm despite me telling them the 28 was pinching my horse’s back. And then they flocked it to the gills. And so, so narrow, with weird dimple/ripples on the sides of the seat- I suspect they shimmed the seat as well. It seriously is the heaviest English saddle I’ve ever held, and it doesn’t even have stirrups on it yet. Will follow up with pictures on my horse when I bring it out to the barn…
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OMFG……they did you just as dirty as they did me 
WHY ARE THEY MAKING THESE GOD AWFUL SADDLES???
I feel like I am having horrible flashbacks to mine when I look at this
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That is… something. I’ve seen new wool flocked saddles that looked a bit overstuffed at first because they needed to break in a bit but this is a whole different level.
The ripples at the seat are especially weird!
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Wow.
I’m sorry.
Maybe someone else who effectively got their money back from Stubben for this nonsense can share step by step the best course of action from here.
Personally, after seeing your photos as well as @katiesteph ‘s… I wouldn’t bother trying anything else with them. I would just push for the full refund ASAP.
Someone somewhere inside of Stubben is just clueless.
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It’s such a shame….my final straw and arguably the worst fit was made based on specs someone high up at the VA office passed along….
I went with the 3 strike rule, and on that 3rd strike, I very clearly and bluntly explained to them that I not longer felt comfortable or confident in their ability to make a saddle that fit my horse. Without an apology or explanation, they agreed to a refund.
Fingers crossed that you are able to get the same bare minimum conclusion that I got! 
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So.much.flocking…
Ugggh. Sorry for you. Thanks for sharing, as a warning for others…
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Are you sure they did not just send you @katiesteph’s saddle?
Wow. I am sorry. I would just push for a refund.
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@Yetiparty: Was this a Stubben that you’d previously owned and used that you’d sent in for reflocking/refitting? I wasn’t clear on whether this is already your saddle or something that was new for you.
I’m wondering how Stubben will respond if they wrecked a saddle you already owned vs. building you a “custom” saddle that you’d ordered (and paid for) but not previously owned.
This was a remake of a saddle that I ordered last May and didn’t fit my horse. I tried getting a refund on it but they told me they had to try to fix it before going the refund route, so they remade me an entirely new saddle, with changes to the tree (1 cm narrower, per their insistence, despite me telling the the original was already pinching) and I requested the flap be more forward since the original one had my knee going over it. I’ll attach pics of the OG. (I ride in a helmet!! I just hopped on him for a picture real quick, I know I know)
