Dynamic Dressage Saddles - looking for an opinion

[Jacoba]

I have a soon to be 5yr old wb gelding which has confounded us on saddle fitting since day 1. He has a lot of back movement and most saddles the moment that you girth them up and he picks his back up physically lift under the back panels off of his back. In most cases more than an inch in extreme cases 3 inches. Then they proceed to bounce as you pick up any type of gait other than the walk. His head would shoot up his movement would flatten out and he was just plain not comfortable. We are currently in the best of our options which only lifts slightly and he goes very well in and thankfully isn’t showing back sore. He is only under saddle 11months and is starting to add some muscle and bulk and finally starting to grow a wither.

Going to add that I am in Southern Ontario Canada, nearest rep is in Alberta, so not close by. Trial for shipping will be expensive.
With all of that said; the current saddle is a 2001 Childeric DUS model. I found the Dynamic saddles by accident in seeing a reply on FB to a post looking for something for their horse. I am curious peoples experiences with them? If I am going to shell out a chunk of change for a 5yr old it will need to be able to fit him for good. I already went through saddle purgatory with my upper level horse where a brand new saddle fit him for 3yrs. He muscled right out of it. We made a change for him to the Schleese ProLite last year and his whole way of going completely changed and he is now jacked right up. That saddle does NOT work on my youngster. You are sitting totally away from him and have next to no real communication with him using your upper thigh.

So… hit me with your reviews on the Dynamic please, I look forward to your responses.

[Viranh]

I’m not familiar with Dynamic saddles, but I had a really similar problem with my young KWPN filly. I went through a bunch of really versatile saddles and they all popped up and moved behind, even when the gullet was set narrow enough to perch in front. She’s just very flat backed, so even saddles designed for a flatter back did not work. I ended up with an EQ Saddle Science for her, and it’s been fantastic so far. They have a really generous trial policy, so might be worth a try?

[sascha]

On horses with or without withers and the equivalent of a coffee table surface for a back, I have had good luck with Wintec Pro with CAIR. Bonus you can take a bit of time and adjust them yourself. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass, but it’s free (if you purchase gullet and shim sets)

There is some “feedback” from the air panels until a horse is truly carrying its back with its abs, but it’s not the horrendous feedback you get from a rocking saddle. Horses I’ve trained in them always get very positive comments on their development from vets and REMTs.

[starsandsun]

RUN. In the opposite direction.

[Jacoba]

Can you elaborate? I am looking for the goods, bads, and uglies of all of this. It is a large amount of money to spend on a newish technology that is why I am researching.

[starsandsun]

I’ll PM you.

[blob99]

I have a dynamic saddle and have had a really good experience with the saddle and the buying process.

I have two horses, but found the dynamic with my very, very sensitive gelding. I had a saddle custom made for him and then was constantly having to make micro-adjustments to keep him happy–every few months there was tiny flocking shift here or there. It was really time consuming, difficult, and expensive. I was starting to feel like I was never going to make any progress.

I also found the dynamic sort of by accident. It sounded a bit too good to be true, but ultimately I figured it was worth trying since the trial system was generous. The rep sent me a brand new saddle and if I liked it, I could keep it, if I didn’t I could send it back. I ended up keeping the saddle on trial for 2 weeks. Originally it was a one week trial, but when I called the rep with some questions after the first few days (she answered them), she also told me to go ahead and give it another week so I could be sure.

My sensitive horse did seem content in the saddle, so I bit the bullet and bought it. Having two horses I also was also able to move from 2 saddles to just one. I’ve had mine now for several years and couldn’t be happier.

But, the more than anything I can say, the real proof of the benefit of a saddle that meets the horse where they are each day can be seen in these pictures. These pictures were taken 6 weeks apart–when I first got the saddle and after 6 weeks of use. My training approach didn’t change, my riding didn’t increase or decrease or change, just the saddle. Both previously had saddles custom made and ordered for them…but there is a very obvious change in their backs in a very short period…

[MH_Dressage]

@starsandsun

RUN. In the opposite direction.

I would love to hear more about this as well. My horse is going very well in the trial saddle, but I want to know all the information before I buy

[Boomer]

Try EQ Saddle Science - I had a really hard to fit / super picky gelding and this was one of the few saddles he like. They have a super trial policy too.

[Pico_Banana]

@Boomer

Try EQ Saddle Science - I had a really hard to fit / super picky gelding and this was one of the few saddles he like. They have a super trial policy too.

I second this. And they are really great to work with.

[Boomer]

And I got lucky that my new mare fits in my EQ Saddle!

[Pico_Banana]

You are lucky! I have two horses and there is not a chance in H*** that the same saddle will work for both of them. Mare is super wide and only fits in their saddle for the big 'uns, and gelding has a pretty narrow wither and is super picky. I was able to buy basically an off the shelf model for my mare and I’m still working with EQ to find one that suits both my gelding and me. We’ve tried two so far … he loves one of them and I hate it, I love the other and he hates it. Hoping our next one will give us the goldilocks moment - just waiting for it to arrive from the UK.

Horses!

[Jacoba]

Thank you everyone. Thankfully I got very lucky and found his unicorn saddle. There are not many yet in Canada as they are a newer brand. I have a feeling they will be around a long time. I got an Aviar Sparrow. He loves it. It is super close but provides a wide channel for his muscles to come up and move freely without lifting off his back. Loas of wither clearance. I can feel everything is is thinking with how it sits. He is highly sensitive and a huge mover so we struggled with the fitters saying it fit while dry and standing, but the moment his back lifted the panels would always lift right up, so you would get the bouncing effect. Thankfully, this saddle is amazing. I would suggest for anyone to try them out. Aviar is the company. I will say though, it is a harder saddle. Not the cushy style. But it also means you are very close to your animal. And, you can fully change the panels out if they change shape.