My Stackhouse was made 12 years ago, so perhaps they tinkered with the balance some in the new ones? I was ok in it up to Prelim but anything bigger was harder to stay centered and I felt like I had trouble really getting my leg under me. Be curious if I had the same issue with one of their newer ones.
[QUOTE=GotSpots;8077701]
My Stackhouse was made 12 years ago, so perhaps they tinkered with the balance some in the new ones? I was ok in it up to Prelim but anything bigger was harder to stay centered and I felt like I had trouble really getting my leg under me. Be curious if I had the same issue with one of their newer ones.[/QUOTE]
I’ll have to get a picture of one of my monoflap jump saddle…COMPLETELY different than the older style.
That said…I ran around Prelim in my old saddle too. But the new on is GREAT. And Jimmy W. loved it for me much more where he said I was fighting the balance on the French saddles more.
Tad Coffin Smart Ride all the way! Not only do I love it but so do all our horses. The tree allows the horse to use his back muscles completely unrestricted. Very balanced for the rider as well. Everything Tad says about it on his website is spot on with my experience. Really worth the money!
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[QUOTE=GotSpots;8077701]
My Stackhouse was made 12 years ago, so perhaps they tinkered with the balance some in the new ones? [/QUOTE]
Balance can be effected by settling flocking, or horsie’s changing muscles; don’t automatially blame the saddle because you have not maintained it. Balance is not “fitted” in saddles and would not be “tinkered with” on different models. Saddles achieve balance by fitting together 2 very different shapes which change throughout the life of the saddle. Hence the need to maintain said saddle, to achieve the correct balance.
And I’ve definately had saddles that the balance changed on different horses…where it was great on one horse and not on a different horse. But I do love my new saddles which are different from the old xc model Stackhouse I had which was more the O’Conner style. So far they are working on the horses I need them to work on.
Here are my mono flaps jump saddles. I love the thought put into these saddles. From how the billets can move so it fits my horses well too how well they fit me…and of course that they are so well made.
Yes…Jimmy gave me a hard time on the stirrups but I love them:)
Why would the balance of a saddle not change, when you put it on a differently shaped horse. And why, for goodness sake, would you expect it to remain the same ? ?
I have two. LOVE them.
[QUOTE=Equibrit;8077936]
Balance can be effected by settling flocking, or horsie’s changing muscles; don’t automatially blame the saddle because you have not maintained it.[/QUOTE] Appreciate your thoughts. For what it’s worth, I did actually maintain it quite well and had Leslie and David look at it just about every year to make sure it was still fitting my horses and adjusted as necessary. Nothing wrong with the saddle itself, I just found that over time I wanted a bit of a different fit and balance for me, particularly over anything bigger than prelim.
Though I would say, in my admittedly amateur perspective, that different saddle designs absolutely do have different balances - and I find there are some saddles where I’m really struggling to get over my leg and some where I nestle right in. What works for me may be different than what works for someone else, though. The Stackhouses are lovely saddles and I’d consider working with them again - pleased to hear the new ones are different from my prior O’Connor model and work for BFNE as we’re both similarly long legged.
One big difference for me was that in 10+ years…my riding changed. I was jumping bigger fences with a shorter stirrup. My old Stackhouse that I use for a hack saddle now doesn’t work for me jumping bigger fences mostly because I ride shorter than when I was measured for it. So it was less of an issue with it not working on my horses but more that I changed.
I had a same issue with the French saddles (Voltaire and Dev.) even with their fwd cut flaps. Then you throw in that my current horses are super short backed…and really, I had to go custom. Just the options on the other saddles wasn’t going to work for me. Then you add in the cost v. quality… What really sent me back to Stackhouse though was my fighting in the French saddles…and feeling the blocks occasionally hit me. Yeah…getting shoved out of balance even more on a Prelim drop into water because I hit one of the blocks was not helpful. I have since jumped some bigger and tougher things in the new saddles with no issue so am very happy!!! I really didn’t realize how much I was fighting with my old saddles and how much that was affecting my confidence…until I was in the new saddle. Then I willing put the fences up. Now I just need to get my horses to stay sound!!!
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8076654]
David changed the tree in my old saddle. It had been a nthink
ow and he changed it to a medium so it would fit more horses. It was pretty affordable to do (compared to a new saddle). Unfortunately it has to be the same tree shape but they can typically go up or down in width by one size.[/QUOTE]
I think I need a different tree shape with this horse, or else thats the route I would go.
How much is a new dressage saddle and what is the wait period? Do they have hinged stirrup bars? I’ve been thinking of having Stackhouse mave me a saddle but the price stopped me. The saddle I’m currently considering is over $7,000 so…
Lep, just sent you a message…
[QUOTE=Halfling;8079800]
How much is a new dressage saddle and what is the wait period? Do they have hinged stirrup bars? I’ve been thinking of having Stackhouse mave me a saddle but the price stopped me. The saddle I’m currently considering is over $7,000 so…[/QUOTE]
No idea what hinged stirrup bars are. You would need to call them on the price but mine was around 5000. I my have had a discount because I ordered multiple saddles. Wait time varies depending on the trees in stock and what they have coming but all of mine have been less than 2 months from when I ordered them—but my timing was good for all of them.
[QUOTE=bornfreenowexpensive;8077225]
Just so others can see…this is my new dressage saddle. Yes…I went for dark brown (with blue accents). LOVE it.[/QUOTE]
OMG - that is GORGEOUS!!! I love the blue accents - how unique!
All of these comments are so encouraging. One quick follow-up question…I rode in a newish (1 year old) Tad Coffin jumping saddle this weekend and could not get over how hard the seat felt. I literally felt like I was riding on a rock. Do you find Stackhouse seats to be more comfortable?
I found the prestige hard like that too. I do not find my Stackhouse hard but I suppose everyone is different. I was coming off a super soft and comfy French saddle…and didn’t find the transition to the Stackhouse difficult.
Ok, great! THANK YOU…this is what I needed to hear.
Coming over here from H/J land but wanted to give my two cents. I had a Stackhouse saddle, bought it used shortly after buying my horse (now 8 years ago). The saddle is now almost 20 years old and still beautiful. It fit my horse great when I got him (young OTTB, right off the track), but over time and as he developed and muscled up, it didn’t fit any longer. Fit my second TB great. Super comfortable saddle, very durable, incredibly well made. I cannot say a single bad thing about it. I have since sold it to a girl in the barn (who leases an OTTB). It fits her and her horse great and she loves it. My trainer was thrilled that I would be willing to pass it on to another rider.
I currently have a Tad Coffin (which I bought in 2008). It’s 10 years old now. Definitely not as comfortable as the Stackhouse (although I have come to love the close-contact feel it provides). You get used to the decreased amount of padding. I will say that TC makes beautiful saddles, but they are not quite as durable (in the sense that they are very soft and in turn scratch very easily). Like I said, mine is 10 years old and I’ve frequently had people approach me and ask when I got a new saddle. I did have this happen with my Stackhouse as well though, and with the Stackhouse, I had people coming up to me at shows asking where I got it and how they could get one.
ETA: The Tad Coffin will feel really hard compared to the Stackhouse. The Stackhouse is like sitting on a nice comfortable couch while the Tad Coffin is like sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair. You do get used to it though, after a few rides I came to really prefer the closer contact feel that the Tad Coffin provided. It’s all personal preference, but the Stackhouse is definitely a very comfortable saddle.
[QUOTE=Resilient;8080925]
Coming over here from H/J land but wanted to give my two cents. I had a Stackhouse saddle, bought it used shortly after buying my horse (now 8 years ago). The saddle is now almost 20 years old and still beautiful. It fit my horse great when I got him (young OTTB, right off the track), but over time and as he developed and muscled up, it didn’t fit any longer. Fit my second TB great. Super comfortable saddle, very durable, incredibly well made. I cannot say a single bad thing about it. I have since sold it to a girl in the barn (who leases an OTTB). It fits her and her horse great and she loves it. My trainer was thrilled that I would be willing to pass it on to another rider.
I currently have a Tad Coffin (which I bought in 2008). It’s 10 years old now. Definitely not as comfortable as the Stackhouse (although I have come to love the close-contact feel it provides). You get used to the decreased amount of padding. I will say that TC makes beautiful saddles, but they are not quite as durable (in the sense that they are very soft and in turn scratch very easily). Like I said, mine is 10 years old and I’ve frequently had people approach me and ask when I got a new saddle. I did have this happen with my Stackhouse as well though, and with the Stackhouse, I had people coming up to me at shows asking where I got it and how they could get one.
ETA: The Tad Coffin will feel really hard compared to the Stackhouse. The Stackhouse is like sitting on a nice comfortable couch while the Tad Coffin is like sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair. You do get used to it though, after a few rides I came to really prefer the closer contact feel that the Tad Coffin provided. It’s all personal preference, but the Stackhouse is definitely a very comfortable saddle.[/QUOTE]
Resilient - thank you so much for sharing this! I definitely noticed that the close contact feel of the Tad Coffin. It felt like a very balanced saddle, though I could not get over the rigidity of the seat. I’m glad to hear you found your Stackhouse to be a softer seat.
I love love love my Stackhouse jump saddle - it’s the same style as BFNE’s, but Havana with pink piping (and yes, I have the pink version if those blue stirrups!). David is building my matching dressage saddle now - but it will be heading to Rolex to be on display at their booth before it comes home to me!
[QUOTE=tarheelmd07;8081919]
I love love love my Stackhouse jump saddle - it’s the same style as BFNE’s, but Havana with pink piping (and yes, I have the pink version if those blue stirrups!). David is building my matching dressage saddle now - but it will be heading to Rolex to be on display at their booth before it comes home to me![/QUOTE]
Did you get pink piping on it too??? That would look very nice.
