I’m looking for a new dressage saddle to fit my short shelf with long thighbone and my slightly curvy short backed mare. Has anyone had experience with this saddle in either the double flap or monoflap options?
I just bought a double flap older model on consignment. My mare is pretty short backed with a petite build and it fits her well. I have a very short thigh so I’m not sure on that. IMO the quality is quite good for the price. I like the billets. The leather is very soft and grippy. My saddle fitter was pleasantly surprised with the quality and price.
the only thing I’m not wild about is the big blocks, but my saddle fitter said she could change those a bit.
Thanks! I’m only 5’ 3" but I guess I have a long hip to knee and I ride in a shorter stirrup so I’ve actually gone over the flap on straighter flapped dressage models. My mare is also short backed so that’s good to know. I had a saddle I really liked but the back of the panels are shaped wrong and would be expensive to fix so I decided to try and sell it.
I decided to go ahead and contact Dover. I asked their live chat if the saddle was able to be reflocked since there was a thin layer of foam inside the panels. I also asked if the tree was more curvy or straight as I need a slightly curvy tree for my mare (even with wool flocking my current saddle wasn’t able to be adjusted correctly for her).
The person doing the chat had no idea about any of the saddles so submitted my questions to someone else.
Today I got a response. They had no clue what I was talking about regarding the curvy tree as all trees are curved. Then they copy pasted the text from the online description to answer my other question. Which didn’t have the info I needed in the first place.
Very disappointed and I will be passing on their saddles since they don’t see to know anything about them.
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That is disappointing. Why sell stuff you know nothing about?? :rolleyes:
Looking at your picture I’d try looking for saddles with a short, forward flap. They’re difficult to find used, but most new saddles can be configured that way.
I think it’s really difficult to assess curviness etc without actually sitting in the saddle. They can definitely be reflocked/adjusted. My saddle fitter liked the design with the foam. That is something that they should have been able to answer.
To be fair, that is expecting a person that’s paid minimum wage to know intricate details about something that a saddle fitter is expected to know. If you want to know what type of tree fits a specific type of back you ask a SADDLE fitter, not an employee at Smartpak, Dover, or any other retailer. think expecting them to know what kind of leather, type of seat, narrow or med twist is fair, but to expect them to know anything beyond that is unfair.
You wouldn’t expect a person that works at the grocery store to know how to make a five-star dinner involving caviar, would you? But you might expect him to know how to make something like pancakes? Kind of the same thing.
I tried a Warendorf on two occasions, for very different horses: one was a shrimpy TB with a QH-type build and short, compact back - the other was a big old style TB, with huge long scapula and a smidge-too long of a back. It did not work for either. In the first one, it fit okay in the shoulders but just wasn’t wide enough and was too curvy on his back - the second one just couldn’t get any shoulder clearance. Neither were the fault of the saddles but more the way both horses were built.
The tree is, to my knowledge, the same tree used in Circuit saddles. Circuit did not work for my guys either. I am not a saddle fitter, so take it for what it is worth, but my initial impression of Warendorf saddles was that it would be a good fit for a horse with a WB style barrel - sausagey, semi-flat and long.
They can be reflocked and I agree that is something that the person in the chat should have been able to answer. However, you need to pull the foam out entirely and you would need to reflock, not just pull the foam out.
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Well, if you buy a saddle from Dover and don’t like it or it doesn’t fit you/your horse, you can send it back - used or not - with their 100% satisfaction guarantee. I agree with the other poster that expecting a customer service person to know saddles as well as a fitter is a bit much…
I respectfully disagree. When I shop at Lands’ End and have a question about their apparel, I can get an intelligent answer. Their staff seems to be informed about the products LE sells. That’s all I expect from a large retailer: to be informed about their wares. That is not the same as asking a grocery employee about preparing a meal worthy of Michelin stars.
The questions enjoytheride asked seemed straightforward, especially for a retailer that specializes in tack. I don’t blame the associates earning minimum wage, but it behooves the company to train them sufficiently.
I assumed those questions would be easy to answer as I contacted another tack store about a used saddle in their inventory and they had fantastic fitting advice and refused to even send me the saddle on trial until they had gotten more information from me about my horse. That was for a saddle that wasn’t designed and marketed with their brand and a saddle they only got a commission off of. I would at least expect someone to answer my questions and not copy paste from the website.
When you are shopping endurance saddles individual sellers will advertise a saddle with “rock” or “no rock” so it seemed like another normal question to ask about the curvature of the tree.
Regardless of her opinion of my questions, beowulf answered them. Looks like the saddle isn’t worth the bother if it fits a long flat backed horse.
Lands End does not require higher education to be a retail worker. You have to take courses & classes to be a professional saddle fitter.
The average retail/customer support is not going to know the intricacies of saddle fit. To me, saddle-fit is a very, very tricky ground and I would honestly measure it on par with medical devices in humans. You would not expect the intern at an audiologist to be able to program someone’s device - I don’t see how a saddle is any different. You might as well expect a customer support agent at Smartpak or Dover to know exactly when heartbar shoes are required. or how to shoe a horse.
Now, if you were inquiring of a saddle from Trumbull Mountain, or another brick-mortar saddle-stocker/saddle-fitter, I would expect the person to know the answer, as part of their business model is saddle-fitting.
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I will update and say that the person in the chat sent me an email and explained that they misunderstood my questions, and then today a Dover employee left me a message saying the tree was curvy with an upswept rear panel. So they did answer my questions.
