Ovation saddles ?

[hb90]

Does anyone have an ovation saddle ? I’ve been stuck in the saddle hunting mode for an eternity now. I have a five year old who isn’t done growing at all , so I don’t want to sink money into anything very expensive or custom until he’s done filling out .

We’ve tried a Toulouse Bridgette ? Awful fit .

Tried a prestige Roma , pinches in the shoulders but fit everywhere else .

Its my first time buying a saddle, everyone has very strong opinions favoring their own brand when I inquire on suggestions around the barn, and suggest brands that are sadly out of my price range for the time being . I was looking at a few of the ovation models (San Diego , Tierra , Lugano ) , and a Pessoa model gen X 2.

All the reviews I’ve read everyone seems to like their ovation, but I’ve never seen one in person. Sadly there’s not a saddle fitter in our area.

[jen-s]

There are some reviews of them if you search.

But I’d recommend you link to some photos (untacked) of your horse. There are a number of amateur and professional saddle fitters here who can off you better quality advice based on seeing your horse’s shape.

[Laurie_E]

I have a ovation Palermo with the forward flap and gullet exchange system it fit all my needs. My TB is quite opinionated about saddle fit and he was content with this saddle and so was I. It is comfortable and has held up well for the year and half I have owned it. My saddle fitter was quite happy with it for us and for the quality for the price

[inca]

I have an Ovation that I got from Dover as slightly used. Great saddle for the price I paid!

[Melissa.Van_Doren]

If the Prestige fit everywhere but the shoulder, did you try going bigger on the tree size? They go up to 37cm (XXW).

[Soaponarope]

We actually bought an Ovation jump saddle designed for quarter horses for our large pony some years ago. The pony was a very, very broad backed and chunky quarter pony. The saddle worked great for him and was recommended by a saddle fitter. It was very affordable and oiled up very nice. When DD moved up to a horse we sold it almost for what I paid for it. All around good experience. I often wish I’d kept it.

[IndyEquestrian]

Where are you located? If there really is no fitter around, you can do distance fittings with tracings and pics. I just finished fitting a TB whose Ovation San Diego was pinching terribly, that being said, it fits the other TB the owner has perfectly. They aren’t super fancy, but seem rather sturdy, if a hair narrow. You may need a wider tree than you anticipate.

[222orchids]

I had an Ovation that I loved, for the price. I got it from Trumbull Mountain which was nice enough to send me a regular tree and a wide tree and let me choose the one I liked and send the other back. No, it’s not a Devoucoux or CWD, and it’s not buffalo or calf, but is also 25% of the price of those. But it felt just as secure as the Pessoas that others in my barn were riding in at the same time, for about half that money. Mine was the “Showjump” model. Personally I would run away from a Toulouse but that’s just my bias. Might work for someone else.

[BabyGotJump]

I have an Ovation Show Jumping model saddle that I bought for the same reason, my warmblood was 4 and still had lots of growing to do. He is 7 now and it just fits okay, but he is is big and a little funky so we are going new and custom now.
Overall it is a pretty nice saddle, especially for the price point, and did the job great for what I needed it for.

[hb90]

I have not, it was my friends so I didn’t have access to a wider model, . Ill certainly try it though !

[QUOTE=Melissa.Van Doren;8372629]
If the Prestige fit everywhere but the shoulder, did you try going bigger on the tree size? They go up to 37cm (XXW).[/QUOTE]

[hb90]

As su![](gested i have posted some untacked photos, he has changed a bit since it seems like he looks conpletely different each week but perhaps these help with the general shape.
[IMG]http://i66.tinypic.com/zu5eet.jpg)
[IMG]http://i64.tinypic.com/n3rers.jpg)
[IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/2s9davd.jpg)
[IMG]http://i63.tinypic.com/x1yetj.jpg)