Dressage saddle for connemara

i have a 14.1 traditional thick build connemara. he has a flat short-ish back with a bit of withers. the freedom (hoop) BC fits him well. what other brands have hoop trees? or what other saddles could i look into?

Most of the British companies with have their verison of a hoop tree.

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Jeremy Rudge ( British)

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Frank Baines makes some saddles that should work. I had an older used model (Capriole) on trial recently that I tested to confirm the tree type for my horse, but the seat was too big. The saddle ended up being a great fit for a Connemara at the barn so the owner bought it.

A Frank Baines representative should be able to tell from tracing which of their models has the best tree configuration for you horse and which width in that model. Then you can look for used or buy new (thought the build time for new saddles is 3-4 months right now).

As several others have said, most of the UK saddle companies make saddles with features that are suited to horses built like yours. :slight_smile:

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Having owned, bred and trained welsh cobs for over 25 years, I’ve only owned one hoop tree saddle. It was a British made saddle, Cardanel which I loved. This was for a very round, no wither mare of mine. I have found BC and Albion to work without having to go to the hoop tree for most of my others. My current competition mount, a 7 year old welsh cob gelding is very round, with some wither and a slightly curvy back that welsh cobs can have yet still flat in terms of side to side. He’s 14.2 with just under 15 inches of real estate for a saddle to sit. I ended up having a prestige D2 made for him with the short pony panels. It has been the answer to my saddle nightmare for this guy.

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I use a Lovett and Ricketts Eclipse on my flat-backed, massive-shouldered, scant-withered round horse. Fits him like a glove, no rolling side to side, no bouncing up and down. Velcro thigh blocks, one for dressage, one for all-purpose. I also jump him (2’ and under) in it, in addition to gallops across the country side. Very versatile saddle, incredibly comfortable for me as well.

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Hi-

I just got a Custom Saddlery Constanze in an XW tree. This is their shortest panel besides a pony panel. Purchased for 14.1/14.2 mutton wither arabian with short back. Fits like a glove!

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I ended up with a custom Dresch. I did have a Kent and Masters for a while but it was a tab long on my Connemara and was meant to be temporary.

LetItBe

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