New Saddle Doesn't Fit, WWYD? Happy update!

[MtyMax]

As mentioned in my Black Country vs. County thread, the saddle that I have been coveting for 6 months finally arrived. And it really doesn’t seem to fit.

On the advice of the county rep, I ordered the County Stabilizer XTR with deep gussets instead of regular. The regular seemed to fit OKAY with rear shims. The deep gussets seem to be too deep as there is some pretty major bridging under the panels. I can fit my fingers in the gap between my mare’s back and the panels. :eek:

To top it off, there are barely 2 fingers of clearance when the saddle is NOT girthed up. Once girthed with me sitting in it, there is very little room. I’m super sad about this as the XTR puts me in a GREAT position and it is so comfy.

The county rep will be out this week to take a look. While I trust her, I’m still worried that she may force this saddle to be a good fit, when in reality it isn’t. She thinks that reflocking may help. Has anyone had experience with reflocking a saddle that bridges this badly?

My regular (not associated with County) fitter will be out this weekend to give me a second opinion. While I really want this saddle to work, I have too much money wrapped up in it for it to be anything other than perfect and I’m seriously contemplating returning it.

And that means I’m back to square one.

My questions are:

Has anyone succesfully reflocked a saddle that is bridging (and appears too wide!)?

What saddles have a similar balance to either the old Stubben Seigfrieds or the Stabilizer XTR?

Thanks!

[Jleegriffith]

Relax and take a deep breathe. New saddles (especially the wool flocked saddles) can fit a bit funky. I own a bunch of county saddles and several were purchased new. It normally does take the rep adjusting the flocking at first and they you need to ride it and let the wool settle.

I did order a saddle that arrived and wasn’t quite right for my horse due to the panel configuration and my rep immediately recognized that and sent the saddle back for me and had new panels put on and gave me a loaner saddle in the mean time. She no longer reps for county but she still does my saddle fitting.

[MorganJumper848]

Im interested in finding out what your rep does. So I am going to lurk until you post saddle fitters opinions. When the saddle comes in new, the saddle is flocked to the max. Therefore, I don’t think there is any hope for more clearance. Sorry.

[Appsolute]

I had a new, wool flocked saddle that bridged - and was fixed with a flocking adjustment - BUT - it wasn’t too wide, had mega wither clearence (which reduced when the flock was adjusted).

Bridging and no wither clearence sound like a bad combo

[TheJenners]

@Appsolute;6589047

Bridging and no wither clearence sound like a bad combo

My thought too…

[Ibex]

Fair warning - I found out after the fact that County likes their saddles to fit “low” to the withers. I had to get rid of mine because baby mare popped a significant one at age 6…

[faybe]

I wouldn’t panic until the rep has looked at it and made suggestions. If it truly doesn’t fit, I would be surprised if they don’t send it back and get you one that will- I’ve always had excellent customer service from County and think they really stand behind their product. It sucks that this happened, but hopefully they will make it right!

[levremontf]

XTR fit

I had the exact same issue with the XTR I had custom ordered and fitted to me ISH a few years ago…It got reflocked and reflocked (by the county fitter/rep) and I got sold expensive shims (great for a custom saddle …was delighted). I was never so happy as when I traded it in on a used Antares which fit my horse perfectly. (Rep tried to tell me my horse had changed shape…really , as an 8 yr old not changing his job or anything?)
Don’t assume they are going to make it fit…I was just throwing good money after bad.

[MorganJumper848]

[QUOTE=levremontf;6589668]
I had the exact same issue with the XTR I had custom ordered and fitted to me ISH a few years ago…It got reflocked and reflocked (by the county fitter/rep) and I got sold expensive shims (great for a custom saddle …was delighted). I was never so happy as when I traded it in on a used Antares which fit my horse perfectly. (Rep tried to tell me my horse had changed shape…really , as an 8 yr old not changing his job or anything?)
Don’t assume they are going to make it fit…I was just throwing good money after bad.[/QUOTE]

HAHA. I had the same experience with my innovation? Where are you located? I used the IL rep.

[trafalgar]

I would simply tell the County Rep that everyone on Coth wrote in that County would make it right but to keep them informed.

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=trafalgar;6590122]
I would simply tell the County Rep that everyone on Coth wrote in that County would make it right but to keep them informed.[/QUOTE]

Not a bad idea.

[MtyMax]

Update: The rep came out and was able to reflock enough to help with the bridging and give a little more wither clearance.

However, in order to give a good amount of wither clearance, the saddle has to be placed SO FAR BACK that the girth pulls it forward. This is not a conformation issue with the mare, as none of the other saddles I have tried have had this issue.

The rep is sending me one of their County Logic girths but I am not convinced that will help. The mare has also been lame, so I can’t tell what she REALLY thinks of the saddle. When I am posting at the drop, I can get one finger between her withers and the saddle…and it is rather painful. I just can’t imagine jumping in this saddle and it coming down on her withers. And the more the flocking compresses, the more it will squish down

I have asked to return the saddle, and the rep is coming out tomorrow to look again and try to address my concerns.

MorganJumper - did you happen to talk to Natasha at County or just the rep?

[TheJenners]

Uh yeah, that’s still not acceptable.

[levremontf]

girth

oh yeah I forgot…they sold me the girth too when mine did the exact same thing. Got rid of the saddle but I do love the girth lol

[MorganJumper848]

[QUOTE=MtyMax;6612423]
Update: The rep came out and was able to reflock enough to help with the bridging and give a little more wither clearance.

However, in order to give a good amount of wither clearance, the saddle has to be placed SO FAR BACK that the girth pulls it forward. This is not a conformation issue with the mare, as none of the other saddles I have tried have had this issue.

The rep is sending me one of their County Logic girths but I am not convinced that will help. The mare has also been lame, so I can’t tell what she REALLY thinks of the saddle. When I am posting at the drop, I can get one finger between her withers and the saddle…and it is rather painful. I just can’t imagine jumping in this saddle and it coming down on her withers. And the more the flocking compresses, the more it will squish down

I have asked to return the saddle, and the rep is coming out tomorrow to look again and try to address my concerns.

MorganJumper - did you happen to talk to Natasha at County or just the rep?[/QUOTE]

I talked to Natasha and she didn’t want to help me much. I would demand a refund. It doesn’t fit your horse so they need to return it. 1 finger isn’t acceptable!

[trafalgar]

My goodness this is a no brainer…they need to give you a new saddle!!!Why would anyone order a custom saddle if they did not believe that the company would make it right…mistakes happen but they need to make you a new saddle!!!

[MorganJumper848]

[QUOTE=trafalgar;6612786]
My goodness this is a no brainer…they need to give you a new saddle!!!Why would anyone order a custom saddle if they did not believe that the company would make it right…mistakes happen but they need to make you a new saddle!!![/QUOTE]

The rep obviously thinks the saddle fits fine which means the company won’t take responsibility. They don’t care about the customer satisfaction anymore.
You could try taking them to small claims court.

[hequestrian]

I have had nothing but a pleasant experience with my County rep so it really sucks to hear that others have had such negative experiences. What I can say is that I find that my saddle sits a bit farther back but I think that there is a good possibility that I actually was putting it too far forward.

After you spend that much money on a custom saddle and there is a guarantee that it will fit or they will fix it/ get you a new saddle (that is what I was told anyways) they should definitely be doing something for you.

My rep specifically wanted to make sure that I had enough wither clearance and never acted as though she was doing anything to cut corners to finish the deal. I think she also knew that I would raise holy hell if after almost 5k I didn’t have a saddle that was absolutely perfect for my horse. - with or without their expensive girth. I would have been really pissed if I had been told my saddle would only fit right with the $200+ girth? I didn’t buy one and I haven’t had any fit issues.

Stick to your guns. I have found that the people at HQ’ers are really helpful. I hope this works out for you and your horse - keep us posted

[vxf111]

[QUOTE=MorganJumper848;6613474]
The rep obviously thinks the saddle fits fine which means the company won’t take responsibility. They don’t care about the customer satisfaction anymore.
You could try taking them to small claims court.[/QUOTE]

You might have to

Some of the reps are great. But some are AWFUL. And County makes sure you’re stuck with whoever is “your” rep.

[I_ride_Gibson]

I am also interested in the outcome of this situation as I just went through almost the same exact mess with Stubben.

I would have disputed the charge with my credit card, but Stubben requires saddle orders to be placed through a third party tack shop. I really hated the idea of the tack shop getting stuck in the middle of a dispute in which they had no fight.

I did file a complaint with the BBB, but Stubben’s response was that they were only the manufacturer, and that if I had a complaint, I should take it up with either the saddle fitter (who they still maintain is an independent consultant) or the tack shop.