I love my ancient hand me down Amerigo, but it’s literally falling apart. The billet ripped last ride and the bottom of the saddle is completely disintegrating, as in leather missing/falling off, not just cracked. It’s from the early 90’s. I love the substantial thigh blocks on the Amerigo. I never felt the need to try to shift my leg back underneath me. It was always perfect. I want something like that, but it didn’t fit my 17 hand thoroughbred at all. She’s large shouldered, with prominent withers, but is pretty lean and narrow in the back. I’d say she feels like a medium, but man none of those saddles are standardized. She fit a wide in one bizarre brand so, yeah….Ok so what am I looking for. I like monoflaps, with narrow twists and deep seats. I want to feel my horse, as close to bareback as possible, but something that keeps my leg where it’s supposed to be like the Amerigo does. One’s that balance point is slightly further back than centered (otherwise it crushes my pubic bone at sitting trot and walk). I’m legitimately 6’ so something with long panels and longer thigh blocks or they end ridiculously high on me and dig in uncomfortably (I’m looking at you PDS Carl Hester). Help! I’m on my own min farm so I can’t just ask a bunch of buddies at my non-existent boarding barn to try theirs. Oh and where to find these magical saddles, used preferably, but I’m willing to shell out the cash for a new one if necessary.
All the higher priced semi custom come by definition with custom flaps and block placement. So you can either order one to your specs or you can search for your preferred brand and model in that configuration.
Balance point and depth of seat are more dependent on the actual tree. Most brands use the same tree in all their models or at most have a couple of trees options.
As far as fitting the horse all these saddles have been stuffed and tweaked to fit a particular horse then likely altered again if they have been sold secondhand. So you need to look at the saddle in front of you.
The saddle that will work depends on whether or not it will work for your horse. Why not a newer Amerigo? They have a tree for every topline shape there is, and when you have a saddle that fits your horse properly, your preferred seat and leg balance should be easier to find.
I have a horse with unusual back conformation - and I am 5’7 with long femurs. We had a very hard time finding an “off the rack” saddle we both liked. If he liked it, it usually didn’t fit me well (talking knee over the flap). What I liked usually didn’t come in a tree configuration that would work for him. He is uphill, with a sharkfin wither AND a short back (TB/Holstein cross). Most saddles sat out of balance on him, if they even fit at all, and he is very opinionated. I went through a fitting with a semi-custom French brand, but after a lot of money and headache, it still didn’t fit him well and the pommel did not suit me, so I ended up selling it.
The eventual solution was a saddle from Stackhouse. It wasn’t cheap, but equivalent in price to the French brand I had tried. David and Leslie came to my barn and tried dozens of different trees (the bare, naked tree) on my horse until we found one that actually fit him. Then they traced my leg to figure out the proper flap shape/block placement for my anatomy. The end result - a saddle we both LOVE. I would buy another in a heartbeat. It was pricy but you get what you pay for - and it was totally custom. They do pop up used occasionally - you can contact David and he is kind enough to help you figure out if it will fit your horse. Highly recommend!
it’s really a daunting thing isn’t it? So many saddlemakers, with so many different models… Where does one even begin!
I’m not ready to buy a custom saddle for my mare because she’s still developing … my coach and i are watching her body transform before our very eyes. I’d certainly buy a used one that fit her if i could find one flat enough for me. The knee rolls i’d probably cut out, so it doesn’t matter where they are. But i don’t want a high cantle. And that flat style is long gone… Dressage saddles are looking quite baroque nowdays.
I have an older Passier Baum saddle. Flat as a pancake. Brown, long billets. They are inexpensive when you find them for sale.
