My Draft X has a wide but short back. A real pain to buy a dressage saddle for.
On the advice of our well reputationed saddle fitter I went with a used L’apogee. Perfect fit and economical.
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It’s above your price point but I bought an Ansur saddle about a year ago for my mare. She has wid-ish whithers - like she isn’t wide backed, just her withers are just set wider than average for her size. The saddle she had wasn’t to narrow but it hit her wrong and caused pain.
I didn’t want to keep buying saddles as her back changed and my friend has some older Ansur saddles we used on her drafty horses. What she has is like the classic (not exactly since hers is 20+ years old). I used hers but the whither clearance wasn’t enough. The Ansur saddle does not have a rigid tree so it flexes better with your horse and my horse moves so well in it. Much better than she has in any previous saddle.
The saddle was more than I originally planned to spend but it was worth saving up for, in my opinion.
I ended up with the Encore - I was torn between the Encor and Excel and decided maximum whither clearance since I was going to have to ship back if it wasn’t good enough - there weren’t any reps in my area and I didn’t want to keep sending saddles back.
Anyway…I know new is not in your budget but you may be able to find some used ones closer to you - the company is out of Washington state so hopeful there is more for you to find. If you reach out, they don’t look at emails much so give a phone call.
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I personally would be cautious with a Duett just because I could not feel a thing through my Duett saddle. I ended up with a Stuebben something or other for my Halloween pumpkin with legs, and it worked really well. I could feel all the muscles in his back, and feel him loose but with a lifted back under me. Whole other conversation, vs. the Duett. And every time I got on and sat down, it felt like coming home. But, that’s just one experience, and that was about 10 years ago; I know saddles and manufacturers change over time.
I could indeed have put a table setting on his back. I certainly used to park extra grooming things on his back while I was grooming him. Very comfortable bareback, too. He was the handsomest boy.
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Another vote for Black Country. My Morgan is a similar shape as to your PRE. Last time I checked, there were a few Eloquence X’s on EBay in the USA for reasonable prices (for the model and brand, ~$2k). You can find an older BC for less, but those I’ve found are few and far between. I love the Eloquence X, and my fitter says many people are fans of the more open seat and less rolls here and there and everywhere to put you in one place.
Lovatt & Ricketts, Loxley, and also the budget option GFS are other options recommended to me. I went with an Eloquence X, 18" seat, and serge panels. The saddle miraculously is also not too long for me mare.
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I have an older Black Country Eloquence 18W (not the hoop tree) that I used on my late QH with a similar build. It’s been gathering dust but I would be willing to part with it. I’m in NoCal.
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