I have a favorite saddle from my prior horse (Custom Wolfgang Solo Short Knee Block) … new horse doesn’t go well in it. 
New horse (Lusitano with a typical short/compact wide back and big shoulder) goes super in an Equipe Elegance. We tried a lot of Equipe saddles and the one that was best for my horse and myself was the Elegance. So I bought it. I, however, am struggling. I just can’t quite find my “groove” in this saddle. While I love the close contact feeling of the Equipe mono flap, I miss the big knee blocks and ultra deep seat of my Custom. I absolutely loved riding in a Custom Star but even when flocked and tree adjusted to my Lusitano, it made his back sore. Not good. We tried numerous Custom’s on my Lusitano and none seemed to allow him to really show off his PSG talents. Wasn’t able to try the “pony panels” I’ve heard about as none were available to try. Basically, the standard Custom’s are just too long for his back. I’ve read the Schleese Obrigado is built for the Spanish horses (shorter panel, wider channel, allows for a lot of shoulder freedom) but I’m also reading quite a few negative comments when it comes to them actually fitting the horse well. I’ve never sat in one so I’m not sure if I even like the Obrigado. I’m reading a good deal about this breed requiring saddles with upswept panels because of their compact nature and needing shorter panels with a wide channel. This is case in point with the Equipe. I have some major back problems (some fixed by spine surgery) and the Custom saddles seem to really support my back and hips well. I’m a rider with a long femur, take a 17-17.5 seat. It’s not that I can’t ride in the Equipe, it’s a very lovely saddle, the leather is amazing. I just don’t love it for me in so far as the ride and I’ve been riding in it now for about 6 months. I shall make it work if that’s the way it is but was curious as to if anyone might have some suggestions or ideas. Budget is open to whatever works best for my horse and I. Many thanks for any thoughts!
My 16.3h Friesian-cross has very laid back shoulders and a long back and the Schlesse Obrigado fits him well. The Wolfgang Solo interfered with his shoulders (bummer b/c I loved it). The Obrigado doesn’t fit my 16.0h KWPN who has normal shoulders but a very short back. He’s in a Devacoux. My saddle fitter says the French saddles are good for those with short backs. I think she also mentioned the Equip saddles.
Saddle fitting sucks. You find one that works better than what you have and then always wonder if there’s anything even better than that out there.
I have a very short backed horse as well. I bought an Equipe Emporio, which is the least expensive of that brand. According to my fitter, that model best fit my horse’s topline. There is more to the fit than just considering the back length. The saddle I had been using on another horse was similar to the Wolfgang Solo Short block but was way too long for the new mare. I haven’t seen the Equipe Elegance, but the Emporio I find too deep (and no flat spot) for my taste and the blocks on the Equipe are way too restricting for my long thigh. I suffer in it because it works for the horse an I don’t have a choice.
I have looked at one of the new Scheese models for short backs. You may like it but it was much too deep for my taste. Unlike you, I don’t like a deep seat. Another thing is that according to my fitter, the Custom with pony panels would not have been short enough.
I need to buy a saddle from a fitter that is able to provide service regularly. That rules out companies/fitters that are far way.
I have a short backed morgan and found that a Takt - TSD-37 fits her beautifully. Most of the other saddles we tried were too long on her. The fitter I went through made the process super easy by having multiple brands of saddles to try.
I had an Obrigado on an andalusian I owned. When I got Bravo, (3/4 Lusitano and looks it), it fit him - but I COULD NOT find my seat in it I replaced it with a Lemke. They are mostly found out west and are designed for Iberians. (I have since replaced that with a Custom Wolfgang… it fits ME better so I can sit his trot…) http://www.lemkesaddle.com/sample-page/ and her facebook page also: https://www.facebook.com/SDLsaddles/
I have a Custom Advantage R with Pony Panels and while it is definitely shorter then my coach’s regular panel Advantage, it really isn’t overly short so it may not work for your horse. The Obrigado can be made with upswept panel and they tend to work well with a short back. I have an Schleese HK with very short panels for my other horse as well. Most Schleese can be modified during production to fit a short back. I can relate with the back issues. It took me a while to find these two saddles that work for me post back surgery. If you like a Custom you could always have one made with pony panels and send it back if it doesn’t work. Custom has a fabulous 10 day trial period.
I tried horses at 3 Iberian sales barns. 2 barns use custom saddlery (one I know they used icon range of saddles), one uses equipe. I’m sure sponsorship plays into that but the saddles must work ok for the horses. I also know schleese and albion can put shorter panels on the saddles.
I have a Schleese Link which actually had the panels customized and shortened for my short backed lusitano I was riding. However, it does not fit me AT ALL and I need to sell it
I have a Patrick Rigel on a short backed 1/2 Andalusian. It is a mono flap with huge knee blocks if that is what you like (and I will say it’s been very secure through some young horse antics). Mine has the short panels.
Keep in mind that upswept panels are not the answer for some short backed horses. If the horse has a short back, but is low in the cantle area, then there will be no support there with an upswept panel.
I have a short backed, very wide, stock horse, and had a hard time finding a saddle with a tree and channel that fit the horse and me. I ended up wtih a Black Country Eloquence, and its been great. Lots of freedom in the shoulder, and a seat for me.
Black Country Eloquence all the way!!!
For short backed horses, my go-tos are Black Country and Harry Dabbs. Both are also great at fitting wide horses.
I ended up with an Hermes for my wide, short backed, deep shouldered PRE. My girl had the additional issue of NEEDING foam flocked, since she would just shift wool all over the place. In hindsight, I think it may have been us trying to put a flatter tree on a curvier back, so she just settled the wool differently. Who knows! I certainly learned my lesson that trainers don’t necessarily know about saddle fitting, and to advocate for my horse when I think something isn’t quite right.
Either way, she has been happy in this saddle for quite a few years now. Is it perfect? No. But it was as close as I could get without the blind faith leap of a truly fully custom saddle. The two Hermes tree options (M/W and W) and lack of simple adjustability kinda freaked me out, but the W has worked well. We did try a Devocoux which seemed pretty good, but the seats run super small, so the ‘deal’ saddle didn’t work out. The Iberian shoulder is truly the biggest problem in saddle fitting, and when combined with short backed and wide, makes for a super tricky fit.
Fred Taht of Veritas saddlery has the relatively new Libero which looks promising, and may ride more like what you are used to, but I have not sat in one. I see Maude is trying one now, and she is the person who sent me down the Hermes road years ago lol. Good luck!
I’ve neglected replying because my fingers were really crossed that a different Custom Star was the answer. Each Custom (even if the exact same model and size) can be very different. We were going quite well in the saddle for a few weeks but as with the other Custom saddles, one day my horse said, “I cannot possibly do this anymore.” Big twitching in the shoulder which then led to a stomps with the front feet. This horse never says no so I took it off, switched to the Equipe, and all was well again. Sigh. He goes so well in the Equipe it makes me quite sad that I cannot figure out my body in the saddle for whatever reason. Equipe says the Elegance model I have has a U seat which is a more open seat. To me, I don’t feel secure because I can’t feel the cantle rise behind me which, whether it be physical or mental, supports my lower back. If I don’t feel secure there, I protect my lower back by becoming rigid. I also immediately tip forward when I’m unsure of a situation. In the Custom, with that nice deep seat, I am far more comfortable sitting back.
It’s seeming to be that the length of the saddle isn’t really the problem (the Custom Star I was riding in was an 18" seat) as it is how the saddle sits on my horse’s shoulder. The Equipe Elegance is supposedly set up to allow for greater shoulder movement and even sits a bit on top of the shoulder. Our best assumption is that the tree points on Custom saddles are too long and while he’ll tolerate it for a few weeks, he eventually can’t deal with them anymore. Now, we’re looking into saddles that are similar to the tree of the Equipe … shorter tree points.
I have Devoucoux coming out this weekend to try some models. I sat in a Makila and my super long femur was a problem, putting my knee almost over the front of the flap. Hoping maybe another model will accommodate me a bit better. Seemed decent on my horse when he was standing but my trainer said she saw a fair amount of bounce/movement in the back of the saddle when we were trotting. I’ve also started researching Prestige (the X-D1 K and Venus K look intriguing to me re: what I like in a saddle) and Erreplus (they have a model called the Freestyle which looks like something I would like). I know nothing about Erreplus (other than the founder came from Prestige) and there isn’t any info on fitters … I messaged them via their website to learn more. I’ve also done a little looking into Amerigo (sat in a Cervina I think? The twist was too wide for my liking and I also didn’t like the way it perched on my horse’s back). Amerigo’s knee blocks look quite vertical to me which I’m concerned about. I really love those Custom Wolfgang Solo short blocks that are angled to be basically parallel with my femur and allow for complete knee freedom.
I reached out to a saddlery that specializes in Black Country but my big (and I mean GIANT) concern is that I like a super narrow twist and their saddles sound like they’re built on a wide tree. My horse isn’t really that wide to begin with. He’s about a MW. For those of you with Black Country saddles, would you say the twist is more on the wide side? There aren’t any fitters in my area for Black Country so it makes it quite difficult and far less than ideal.
I did a look into Veritas saddlery … the saddles do look VERY similar to Custom! And while I love that, I’m concerned I’m going to run into the same problems if they’re so similar. The Libero sounds like a possible option but zero fitters anywhere near the west coast (every single fitter is on the east coast) so unfortunately, that’s is a deal killer.
From the looks of the saddles at Takt, The TSD-21 looks like the one I’d like best followed by the TSD-10. I will have to inquire as to how their tree points are set up. I see they have a fitter in California so I’ll reach out. I’d not heard of Takt before so thank you for the suggestion!
For Hermes, the Arpege is the one (of two options) that look like something I might like but I don’t see anywhere on the site to find a fitter.
Schleese is a little concerning for me, I’ve heard a number of stories of the saddles not working out over time (poor horse fit, poor rider fit). It’s not out of the question but I do have some big hesitations with that brand.
Really appreciate all the recommendations, I read each one and take notes on the comments and what I research into each suggestion. This saddle adventure is so disheartening in so many ways
Custom does make models with shorter tree points than their typical saddles. My daughter has an Icon Alpha with short tree points that fits her wider than wide pony and he likes the shoulder movement better than in her Wolfgang Solo, which has been her favorite saddle. The Alpha is a newer model so your Custom rep might not have any demos.
I’m SO excited to read this! The only Custom I’ve really disliked was the Coda. Does your daughter think the Alpha is as deep seated as the Wolfgang Solo? I wish Custom would release some info on this saddle.
FYI, I have been happy riding my short-backed big shouldered Lusitano x in a Borne Barracuda (made by Sankey) and now in a Trilogy (Debbie). Both are somewhat more open seats than the typical Custom. The Trilogy has a deeper seat feeling to it.
The Prestige Venus K has a more open seat with a large knee block. Very cushy seat tho. I had one for my older horse - it’s a bit of an up-sweeping panel to accommodate more curve from the wither back to the croup. My guy had high long withers. He liked this saddle and it really only fit me. I had the short flap so it didn’t work with anyone with long thigh bones. He also liked the Patrick saddles but with a regular panel. We tried custom and the shaped just did not work for him.
Patrick makes a saddle specifically for short backed horses like Lippies, Morgans, and Ponies. We will be getting one for our pony once our rep is back from Florida. The pony has like a 3in back even though he’s 15.1. The Patricks have a medium twist and a deep seat. But they have to be balanced correctly to find the sweet spot where you sigh in comfort right when you sit down. You can get custom thigh blocks (lots of different shapes and sizes to choose from) fitted to where you like them. There’s enough support underneath me that I’m not leaning on my thighs and my back doesn’t hurt at all.
I have ridden in a Sankey Barracuda and I felt like it was too restrictive (thigh blocks too straight) and and too narrow of a twist for me. It felt like a razor blade in the front even when the saddle was balanced correctly. Not the saddle for me!
Have you tried a WOW? They’re very adjustable.
