Running out of money and ideas for saddles (high withers, flat back)

[Bristol_Bay]

I am in crisis. I had a saddle that caused no harm to my horse, but it wasn’t a great fit for me, not uncomfortable at all, but wasn’t helping my position. I bought a new, stickier one and after having the fit checked by a pro, sold the original saddle. Six months later and the new saddle was causing my horse to be sore.

I consulted a new saddle fitter, who showed me what was wrong. Also, the dressage saddle that is so comfy for me, is also not doing the horse any favors.

I have tried to have a pile of saddles for him to look at when he comes, but between me and my sore hips, and the horse, almost nothing fits both of us. I have had him out to look at a saddle, he said he could make it work but the saddle itself was wearing holes in the flaps and not worth the price. So I found that same saddle, same size on eBay and bought it. It’s way too wide.
(County N SR)

So I am back to square one, no saddle and I’ve spent $500 on shipping and consultations. :eek:

Any ideas how I can find a narrow twist, narrow tree, for high and long withers? 3K is my budget.

If it helps, the one dressage saddle I tried that was a good fit for him was an Albion SLK High head.

[mvp]

Sorry to hear that. I might have an old but lovely Giacomini/Lauriche saddle that might work.

But to be OT for you, OP, the PITA is that you’ll need to list the saddles that have failed and why so that no one tries to re-suggest one of those too you.

And let’s see the monster’s back. Just how weird is it?

I feel you on the PITA of the saddle search. IME, it’s either time/effort or money… of both if you don’t have a great fitter and want to have a saddle made for you. And I, too, have spent $500 on shipping during the hunt for one saddle. That sounds excessive to many. But it can take that much if you don’t want to just have CWD or someone make a saddle for you (and spend well more than your Three Grand.)

[Grasshopper]

Where are you located roughly?

Two thoughts: (1) you may be able to have the tree adjusted on the County that you bought; or (2) if 3k is your budget, I’d be on the phone with Patty Merli to get a slightly used Black Country.

[Belmont]

Have you looked at the Albion jump saddles? They can usually be found used under your budget. I just snagged an older one for $600 on English Tack Trader. I’m darn lucky it fit, because it was an impulse buy. If the Dressage Albion worked, why not try the jump.

Have you tried talking to an Albion fitter or a local fitter that carries the brand? I adore my Albion, and when I get a horse (and budget) that needs it, I will get a custom one. IIRC, custom Albion’s are only a little above your price range.

[mvp]

I agree that a well-fitted Black Country would be the next guess-- if you like the geometry of the top side of the saddle. Use someone like Trumbull Mountain Saddlery that sells as lot of these, knows their trees and panel configurations well and has lots of experience doing fitting at a distance.

If I really knew what I was doing, I’d have Heritage saddles in the UK build me one.

[Beam_Me_Up]

My horse that did dressage in the SLK HH jumped in an Albion Kontact lite. This being the HJ board, you might not be looking for a monoflap, but I believe there is a dual flap version, and the Kontrol line might (?) fit similarly.

[Maya01]

If you’re a jumper and okay with the ‘nontraditional’ look, try looking into a Devoucoux Chiberta. They are made for the eventer-type (high withers, narrow) and have excellent wither clearance while still being balanced. They might be a bit above your budget, but try looking in Canada where the dollar is cheap and you may snag yourself a good deal.

[mfglickman]

County is having a demo sale right now. They are out of my budget even in demo prices but people I know who have them, love them. I also second Black Country - we have one on trial right now that doesn’t work for our wide, flat backed pony but it is a very cool saddle with serged panels, something I had not seen before but looks pretty comfy for a horse.

[kcmel]

Stubben? It can be hard to find them used with the gusseted panels, which you would need for the flatter back.

[mvp]

[QUOTE=kcmel;8524090]
Stubben? It can be hard to find them used with the gusseted panels, which you would need for the flatter back.[/QUOTE]

I don’t have great luck with Stubben dressage saddles for very flat backs, even with gussets. But, OP, these are great, well-made, well-priced saddles. If you can find a way to try one and haven’t considered it yet (as most CC-shopping people haven’t), I’d give one a try. Stubben knows how to build a good tree… even if it’s for a slightly curved back. I find Stubben trees to be horse-friendly in their shape and flexibility, and for sitting they are very rider friendly. I think a great deal of the performance of their trees, where it’s a feature I wasn’t taught to consider that.

[Larbear]

Have you looked at any Passier saddles? While my horse doesn’t have huge withers, his back is rather flat and I found most saddles tended to rock on him. The Passier saddles fitted him best.

[vxf111]

County trees can be pressed… how MUCH too wide was the one you got?

Black County is a good suggestion. I will throw out 2 other wool-flocked, adjustible budget conscious ideas-- Kent and Masters and Thorowgood.

[Bogie]

@vxf111;8524166

County trees can be pressed… how MUCH too wide was the one you got?

That was my thought. You need to use someone who knows how to use their saddle press so that the tree is evenly narrowed . . . if it’s really too wide, it may have been widened since it was stamped.

[Mia_Sorella]

Does this have to be a show saddle?

You could try one of the Thorowgood Hi-Wither saddles (they are adjustable and synthetic) until you can save up money for a custom saddle. His muscling may change with a good fitting saddle…you might be in this position again in 6-12 months.

[BostonHJ]

Also, how compressed is the flocking on the County you have? If it needs to be strip flocked, it could make a big difference.

[nelson]

It sounds like your horse may be built at least somewhat like mine.

I ended up with an Amerigo Pinerolo CC for him, and it is working out very well so far. The CC model has a “banana” tree that accommodates his high withers. And, it is very comfortable and secure for me. So, a win, win. I think that a new one might be over your price range. But, I was able to get a used one in very good condition on EBay for much less.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[flexion]

My horse fits that description - flat backed and high withers. First saddle was a Beval Stamford which was an amazing fit and very versatile with other horses because of the wither clearance. Foam panels though. When we grew out of that tree we moved to the newish Pessoas with AMS flocked panels and the XCH gullet system, which fit this type of horse as well. I prefer riding in the Pessoas and have found the GenX Elite to fit more riders than the AO and Heritage lines. You can try the Pessoas through Dover and the Stamford through Beval.

[SonnysMom]

Okay I too almost own that horse. He is high long withers, short flat back but he is wide in the shoulders.
I have just placed an order for a fully custom Patrick Saddlery. One of the options we discussed was a narrow twist. Patrick told me I cannot do a narrow twist because of how flat his back is. It would pinch. Therefore you may not be able to fit this particular horse with a narrow twist.
If I were you I would see if the County can be reflocked and narrowed to fit your horse.
I will admit that their are horses out there that really use a narrow tree. However from talking to my independent fitter and the Master Saddler they have both said that narrow horses are fairly rare. What does happen way too often is that a narrow saddle is fit to a horse with high withers so that it doesn’t sit down on the withers. However the horse likely need KPanels or drop panels or shoulder gussets but a M, MW or W tree. The too narrow tree points then pinch the horse. Just food for thought.
You could post pictures of your horses back here. There are a few good saddle fitters that post here that may be able to help you decide if the County has a chance of fitting your horse and if he is truly a narrow.
It is hard when you don’t have access to a great saddle fitter.

[vxf111]

FYI in certain County saddles (for example, the Innovation) what County calls a “narrow” virtually every other saddle company would call a “medium.” As in a “narrow” innovation is 4.75 or 5 inches dot to dot. No one else would call that “narrow.” I am not sure why they vanity-sized certain of their saddles, but I never assume anything about a County until I hear the dot to dot measurement.

I agree that a trap or k panel is likely going to be a useful element for this horse. County calls that a skid row panel, and it sounds like the County the OP has that is too wide is a skid row. So not only can the tree be pressed and the whole thing be flocked up, the trap area can be extra flocked in. So she may be holding a very GOOD saddle for her horse that just needs some attention. If I were her I would have a good sigh County or independent British saddle type fitter check out that saddle first.

[SendenHorse]

Kent and Masters have a lot of options- leather version of thorowgood.