Looking for recommendations for saddles that will fit a long wither. Mare is a 5 year old OTTB, 15.1h, short backed, wider through the shoulders. According the saddle fitter, she needs something with a balance point that places the rider behind the wither instead of on top of it.
An Equipe Performance Special fit her well and the horse clearly liked the fit/tree, but the price ($4400) is not feasible at the moment.
pic in post #6
Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!
Without pictures you will only get guesses! I would lean toward Harry Dabbs - the upswept panels are good for short backs and they have quite a few different trees and panel configurations to accommodate the withers.
My good friend has that exact description with a long withered mare, although sharkfin as well. She found Equipe was the best fit out of all the saddles she tried.,
[QUOTE=no.stirrups;8758497]
Without pictures you will only get guesses! I would lean toward Harry Dabbs - the upswept panels are good for short backs and they have quite a few different trees and panel configurations to accommodate the withers.[/QUOTE]
Thank you, I will look into the Dabbs saddles as I’m not familiar with them!
Yes, posting photos are helpful and typically, this type needs a K panel and possibly wither or full front gussets. You can do a shorter panel relative to the seat size on some UK saddles and they are in the mid 3000 range or less, new.
[QUOTE=jaybird660;8759338]
Yes, posting photos are helpful and typically, this type needs a K panel and possibly wither or full front gussets. You can do a shorter panel relative to the seat size on some UK saddles and they are in the mid 3000 range or less, new.[/QUOTE]
Thank you–link to pic below–not a great pic and all I have at the moment, but gives an idea on the length and height of wither relative to her shoulder.
http://s208.photobucket.com/user/lilyfilly1/media/IMG_5047_zpsxkzonyuv.jpg.html
My guy has a long sloping wither and a moderate back (weight bearing area is actually shorter than it looks) that goes fabulously in a Stubben Zaria.
I do think a K panel type saddle would work well for this horse.
[QUOTE=jaybird660;8766457]
I do think a K panel type saddle would work well for this horse.[/QUOTE]
I have a new horse who’s very similar to the OP’s horse… what brands/styles of saddles have K panels?
My TB gelding had monstrous long withers and a very short back, I ran out of options after months of searching. I ended up purchasing a Heritage saddle custom fitted to him, and I was very pleased with the end result. Matt Marlow is the contact person there.
I wasn’t always pleased with our email communication, it was kind of disjointed. I had a lot of questions and I was very insecure about conducting the transaction but in the end it all worked out well. The horse is happy in the saddle and I’m happy with the quality and price point. One bit of advice: I would use the instructions for creating tracings from Trumbull Mountain that measures 3 curves of the back, I think it provides more helpful information than just one measurement.
Thankfully the withers slope down a lot even though they are long. The worst ones are the ones that are long and drop of steeply at the end. I would think a saddle with enough support in the front like a dropped panel with a full front gusset should work pretty well with a deeper panel over all.
Many saddle companies offer that option or a dropped or skidrow panel. I like the K more for that type but depth is the most important thing. Black Country, and County come to mind but Baines tends to have more depth than most in some of their saddles. Some of the Thorowgood, Kent and Masters also have a “hi-wither” model. Some saddles have full front gussets or wither gussets but not the panel depth. I think your horse would need the depth but may also benefit from the front gussets as well.
 goes well in a Fairfax Jump. The saddle fitter was stunned it fit him so well off the rack. He is also in an Albion Ultima SLK Genesis for dressage.
I’m not the OP and this is a bit of a tangent, but can anyone explain panel depth? I know what the panels are, but if I am looking at a saddle, how do I distinguish between a deep panel and a shallow panel?
[QUOTE=jaybird660;8767559]
Many saddle companies offer that option or a dropped or skidrow panel. I like the K more for that type but depth is the most important thing. Black Country, and County come to mind but Baines tends to have more depth than most in some of their saddles. Some of the Thorowgood, Kent and Masters also have a “hi-wither” model. Some saddles have full front gussets or wither gussets but not the panel depth. I think your horse would need the depth but may also benefit from the front gussets as well.[/QUOTE]
jaybird and sheltona, thank you both so much as this at least gives me somewhere to start. I am pretty familiar with Baines having owned 2 in the past, so will look into those as well as the other brands. Thank you again!
Hi Groom&Taxi, a lot of it is just visual. You can also measure the panel in the back under the for depth.
Examples
Shallow panel: https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/passier-gg-extra-dressage-saddle-4890
Deep panels: https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/thorowgood-t8-high-wither-dressage-saddle--12089
The deeper panels are to balance the saddle when you are lifting the front for high withers.
Thanks, sheltona1! That makes sense - I think I was trying to visualize depth as being related to the width of the panels (from gullet edge to outer edge), but I see now that it’s really more about the panels from top to bottom. Got it (I think).
Yes, more depth is the vertical depth and coverage area. More depth allows for more flocking in that area. It is useful for long withers but also downhill horses, horses with a curve and horses that are narrow in front relative to the mid and rear, depending on how deep the panel is.
I just want to say, Sheltona01 and Jaybird660, I hope you two never stop contributing your posts on this forum… I always rush to see what you two write when I see a thread with your post[s] in it – thank you very much for the valuable knowledge you two provide!
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