Going through the list of French Saddles and looking into these brand out of curiosity.
Don’t know much about them except a girl from college has a Luc Childeric and loves it, but she rides mostly TBs. A woman at my barn bought a new L’Apogee after riding in another girls at the barn who has a mare very similar sized to my gelding.
Any experiences with them?
Looking to fit my wider WB with huge shoulders.
I love my Childeric but I would say it fits more like a Butet, in that it has fit TBs best. The other Childeric at my current barn is also used on a TB. Its done ok on some A-shaped Warmbloods, but if your horse has really beastly shoulders I don’t think that’s the direction to go.
That said, mine is 10+ years old so there might be newer options, but I would be looking in a different direction.
I have a Childeric and do love it, bought it second hand and noticed a huge difference in my mare on the first ride. She’s a bit bigger in the shoulder area with a decently large trot and free canter and notice it got bigger when she had the extra room to move, I got it because she started outgrowing my other saddle…damn WB babies!
The quality is good, although the person before me didn’t take very good care of it, and I can’t remember the exact model mine is. But I would recommend and I would buy one again when I’m looking to replace.
I’ve had my Luc Childeric for 12 years and I love it! My sister and I both have one and have had a good experience with them. I couldn’t tell you what style I have but it is fairly flat and was ordered with a wide tree.
I’ve had 2 TB’s, 2 QH’s, and 3 WB’s in those years and it has fit them all well- the only sizing pad I’ve needed is a Fleeceworks half pad. If anything I would say it fit the QH’s and WB’s better than the narrow TB’s, although like Silver Charm mentioned none of the QH’s and WB’s have had particularly massive shoulders.
both can be great saddles on the right horses… horses with wide shoulders, I have found to fit better in the CWD “RT” paneling which is specifically cut away a bit in the shoulder. Tried just about every saddle out there on our warmblood with wide shoulders and the CWD with pro panels and RT was the only one that worked for him.
Wow thank you all so much - this has helped a lot!
I am a huge fan of the CWD but I found that the Luc Childeric’s price point is a littttttle (not much) more my style at the time with him.
I know finding used is definitely do-able, I am just extremely picky and when I find the panels the seat is different than what I am looking for.
I have a L’Apogee and absolutely love it! It put my balance point in a better place than my previous one. And it is super comfortable to ride in.
A friend of mine and her trainer swear by L’Apogee saddles. I rode in a few different styles and they are INCREDIBLE. I am not particularly strong but those saddles are built to keep you in perfect position without feeling like you’re strapped in. If you have the funds I highly recommend L’Apogee.
I have a Childeric and believe it fits a big shoulder well based on the horse I bought it for and a WB I had after. It does not fit big withers all that well, though.
I have a Childeric monoflap and I love it. It is full calf skin and I bought it second hand because the price point was freaking amazing and my leg is so long. I got a demo condition in full calf with a 3AAA flap for $1600.
This saddle fits me like a glove and it fits most of my horses. I have one who is an impossible fit who goes in a Butet with custom wool flocking.
I had a Childeric dual flap when I was a teen. That saddle was awesome and I loved it till I outgrew it. Ive had other saddles: CWD, Butet, Prestige, Delgrange, and Voltaire but I still like my Childeric.
My husband had a Luc Childeric and absolutely loves it. It fits the TBs and WBs in our barn with some minimal changing of saddle pads.
The problem with Childerics is that they don’t have many tree options. They tend to fit your average easy to fit horse. Regular shoulders, regular withers. This is why many pros in Ontario ride in them.
The model M is the most popular, the FM is a little narrower, and the FJ is even narrower. If your horse is too wide for the model M you’re out of luck. They also tend to have narrow gullets and smaller panels towards the pommel which cause pressure points if the fit isn’t perfect.
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I got my Luc Childeric second hand, and I’ve had it for about 9 years now. It’s is seriously the perfect saddle, and I am going to be absolutely crushed when it need to be retired.
My horse is a big WB and was awkward to fit, so we tried a lot of other saddles before the Luc Childeric, but it was by far the best fit.
When I was still riding multiple horses a day I could use my Childeric on all of them, which was a HUGE bonus as well. It’s held up incredibly well, but I treat it like a queen. I’d say if you can find one that fits both yourself and your horse, pick it up!
When I used to jump (many years ago) I had a Childeric. It fit almost everything I ever put it on, and it was one of the only saddles that I sat in that really truly fit me. I quit jumping after some non horse related accidents, and the Childeric sat in my basement for almost 8 years.
I ride dressage now, and after some saddle fit issues with my current horse, I decided to give the Childeric dressage saddle a try, and found it to be just as perfect for me as the jump saddle. The best part was that I was able to consign my jump saddle with the tack shop, and they got me almost the same price I paid for it.
I highly recommend the Childerics - treat the saddle well and it will last for years and hold its value too.
I have two Luc Childeric jumping saddles, and I love them. They fit horses well, I’ve taken the same saddle from my 17.2hh+ warmbloods to my 15hh Arabs with very few issues. Like other posters have said, if you have an average, easy to fit horse they tend to do quite well in the Childerics. I definitely don’t take that great care of mine and they’re holding up very very well after ~6 years of ownership. The one that’s in slightly rougher shape I bought used from someone who had it for 8 years themselves, so they definitely have some lasting qualities!
A lady I work part time for gave me a Luc Childeric lol. It doesn’t fit my horse but I ride a lot of horses and it fits the majority of horses I put it on very well. Super comfortable and pretty.
I have a childeric and I love it. However, I’m also a TB owner, so I’m not sure if that’ll help with your big shouldered WB
I have a l’apogee and you would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands, love it. Everyone who rides in it loves it. Very hard to find.
Does anyone know how the trees are shaped on these? I have heard that the Antares are “banana shaped”?
I have a 2003 model M Childeric and loved it so much that when my mare outgrew it, I kept it hoping it would fit my baby. Sadly, no dice.
It fits both of them okay but mare definitely jumps up better in my Antares, and baby definitely moves better in the Antares.
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