New Antares arrived- what to do?

[RW06]

Long, so please bear with me: After many months of waiting, I received my lovely new Antares Contact. Size-wise, it fits me great (18", 4A flap). Of course, as is required by universal you-can’t-make-this-up law, horse I am leasing has strained a suspensory and is out for an indeterminate amount of time. For the few rides I got in on him, the saddle seemed to fit well- balanced, if anything maybe 2% tipped forward but - this is just with a baby pad as lease horse is a fairly round guy. Sent several pictures to the Antares rep who thought it looked perfect but mentioned I could try a thin rear shim pad if I wanted.

I bought this saddle with the idea that it would fit lease horse well enough, but knowing that my foreseeable future will likely be leases so not committing to any one horse for the long haul (note: I am 5’11" and lease guy is 16.1+ so I’m a little tall for him).

Since lease horse is laid up for a bit, I’ve been riding a few other horses in the barn. One is a meatball, and unsurprisingly the saddle sits a bit pommel high on him and puts me in a tipped-forwarded feeling seat to accommodate. The other, a more average warmblood type, still leaves me feeling a little tipped forward but not bad. Now when I think about the rides on lease horse, I wonder was I getting used to the saddle? Was I actually tipping forward? Trainer says I look good. I am also a chronic overthinker. I had also spent the last four months riding in a borrowed saddle that was a 17.5 with fairly standard length, not-forward flaps so was also used to feeling pretty crammed into the tack.

TL;DR- I spent a boatload on this saddle, which I adore. It’s beautiful. But it almost seems like i need the rear panels to be built up a little more? The seat a little deeper? Pommel to sit lower? I’m honestly not sure. Trainer says it puts me in a great position on lease horse but a little pommel high on the other two. I also just purchased a BOT Thinline pad and shims but I worry that the saddle is almost too narrow to begin with? It’s a medium wide tree (stamp is AO1, M10, T1, EVO3). Pictures attached of it on lease horse. Does this look like a standard enough fit that I can feel comfortable knowing I can shim it on future horses? Or should I consider sending back for something… different?

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[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Although it’s great to always fit your horse that you’re riding, if you don’t own it or intend to own it, then my rule of thumb has always been that my comfort is paramount, as I’m going to be transitioning between mounts and can usually pad up or down accordingly.
I get the feeling you’re not loving it that much either. If that’s the case, get out of it now. It sucks to have to sell them later on and you never recoup the full amount, so worth it to find something that fits you like a glove. Just my $.02.

[LSBC]

I know there are people on this board who have much more experience with saddle fitting than myself, but I’ll comment on the overthinking. I just (about a month ago) got a new (to me) Devoucoux sent up from Florida. I LOVED my old Devoucoux, but the flaps were a tad short and it was getting older. I can tell you I asked multiple trainers in my barn about 1 MILLION times if the new saddle looked good/fit and if I should keep it. It is SO easy to overthink a new purchase like this, especially when you aren’t used to it. It took me a while to finally admit to myself that I am NOT sending it back because it DOES fit - I just wasn’t used to it. I still stare into the mirror every time I ride to make sure that it looks fine. My old saddle was like an old friend and molded to me perfectly, and I suppose I just wasn’t used to the “newness” of my new one. Every ride it has been getting better.

Ultimately, I would listen to your trainer. If trainer says it looks good on the horse you ride primarily: it works. But if you’re considering riding other horses even after the lease horse is sound again, maybe discuss that with your trainer, especially if you don’t feel comfortable in it. Personally, I bought an Ogilvy pad to put under mine and it felt a LOT better to me.

[Tha_Ridge]

@LSBC

Personally, I bought an Ogilvy pad to put under mine and it felt a LOT better to me.

And to just show you that no one solution is one size fits all—I just sold my Ogilvy because I was experiencing back pain (which is not typical for me) in my new CWD. Got rid of the half pad, no more back pain.

Looking at the photo of you in the saddle, I feel like maybe you do need a deeper seat? Or maybe 1/2" bigger seat?

[LSBC]

How weird that I was the opposite - my back was bothering me a ton while I was riding - added an Ogilvy and boom, back pain gone!

[Against_All_Odds2]

Whats the rigging like? 2 billet or 3?

I like the fit of it un-girthed. I am wondering if you girth it with the last two (closest to tail) billets if it will sit better. Your horse seems to have a forward girth groove. I’d be tempted to try moving your girth back to the last 2 billets or trying an anatomical girth.

[RW06]

The angle is a little funky and makes the seat look smaller than it is… but I do wonder about the deeper seat!

[Moneypitt]

Is that the flat seat? Or semi deep? The half deep is deeper then semi then the deep seat is the deepest. They named the saddle styles based upon seat depth and that still confuses me. Apparently, the neutral flap N is the old forward flap A in the semi or half deep. Sort of surprised the Antares rep didn’t set you up with the B in your flap design which adds fullness down towards the knee. Such as NB or AB…

What is the twist? E, L, XL?

Your pelvis appears to be slightly tilted back on your seat bones rather than neutral or hips tilted slightly forward. Does this happen on the horse the saddle was made for? Or? Maybe adding a half pad or a little more foam inside the back seat panels might correct that?

The way it looks now puts you in a driving seat a bit behind the motion.

[RW06]

Twist is L, not sure about the seat- is there an indication in the stamping? I will say, I have several barnmates that also ride in a Contact and my seat seems shallower than theirs. Interesting about the B- didn’t even discuss that as an option with her. The panels are pretty thin, not a lot of fill and I’m wondering if that might be part of the challenge. I’m going to try it tomorrow with a Thinline shimmed in the back!

[Bogie]

Shimming the saddle behind is only going to put more pressure over the withers. In the photos you attached it just fits the horse. It looks a hair pommel high on him, so I can only imagine that on a wider horse, it would be a problem. To my eye, the saddle looks best in the ungirthed photo so I agree that the horse may have a very forward girth groove which is changing the fit. I’m not sure that shimming the back will help with the fit. It might look more level to you, but I think you will actually be accentuating the pressure over the withers. Shimming behind might be okay for the occasional ride, but not a solution for a horse you ride daily.

In terms of fitting you, I think you look slightly in a chair seat. The flap is long enough, but your pelvis is tilted forward and your toes are in front of your knees. I have very long femurs and have often fought against this in a saddle. I ride in a saddle where the stirrup bars are placed further under my body for that reason. However, you can adjust that slightly by putting some rubber tubing on the bar which positions the leathers a bit further back. If the saddle is pommel high, you will always feel slightly behind the motion and it also means that your weight will be heavier at the cantle, which can cause your horse to be sore over the loins.

Should you go with what your trainer recommends? It depends. I’ve ridden with some trainers who are very astute at saddle fitting and others who gave me terrible advice! I’ve always used an independent fitter, too so have no experience with the brand reps. It will all come down to how YOU feel on the horses you are riding.

[Moneypitt]

The L twist is the Antares regular.

In the original jump saddles the 1/2 deep seat was denoted as SC. I think C was deep, P was flat and SP was between flat and 1/2 deep.

A wide tree is AO and extra wide AO2. This actual measurement seems to vary. Custom French… wine with lunch. Lol.

The amount of foam flocking was denoted as a number 10, 15, 20.

The jump saddle should fit the horse with the cantle being level or better yet; slightly higher than the pommel. Your saddle appears a little bit pommel high maybe level? Pommel higher makes the center of the seat lilt slightly backwards.

Here is a link to the saddles. Hard to tell the seat depths from a couple of these style pics.

https://www.antares-sellier.com/en/the-saddles-2/antares-sellier/jumping/

[Jealoushe]

The fit to the horse effects the fit to the rider. So if the saddle doesn’t fit the horse ideally, it won’t put you in the correct position. This is why there aren’t really saddles that work on every horse despite what people might think.

If you are fighting the saddle or it throws you in a strange position that tells me it doesn’t fit the horse and you as a combination.

[Jealoushe]

@LSBC

Personally, I bought an Ogilvy pad to put under mine and it felt a LOT better to me

Thinline are also known for helping back pain.

[sheltona01]

There is something funky going on and I can not put my fingers on it. Your hips are tilted funny and your legs to far forward which is probably why you are hunching your shoulders. It is maybe the balance or how the seat profile interacts with your hips. Need more pictures or preferably a video to really see what is going on.