Saddle Fit For Two Very Different Horses

[Mcl1]

I am and always have been a huge Butet fan - unfortunately I have found myself in a situation where my Butet does not fit either of my horses. I have two horses that are polar opposite builds, so I am looking for saddles for each of them which makes my budget fairly small. I live in a rural area so the cost to have a saddle fitter travel here is pretty high for just two horses. If someone has a virtual saddle fitter suggestion I would be happy to hear them - I have no interest in buying a new or custom saddle so it would need to be an independent fitter.

My first priority is finding a saddle for my TB. I have posted in some saddle fit pages on FB and Stubbens get recommended a lot - but I think a good number of Stubben reps are on those pages so not sure how objective those suggestions are. ‘Fine line tack’ has Stubben Ascends in multiple tree sizes used at $2k, but I would love to stay under $1500 if possible.

Any other brand suggestions for a TB with a typical high wither build? Needs to be traditional looking enough for hunters but other than that I am open to any brand. Or - anyone with good (or bad) experiences with Stubbens?

Pictures of him and with my Butet:

My other horse is a wide, round, no withered Mustang. I would really, really like to avoid spending much on his saddle at this point in time. It does not need to be “show quality”, really just need something to get him started under saddle. I have been riding him bareback but he is way too bouncy for me to keep doing that . I was thinking about a used Wintec with an adjustable gullet. Any thoughts?

[HeartsDesireEventing]

I rode my QH and TBs in a Stubben for years - was quite happy with it, and felt like it fit a good variety of horses reasonably well (I was also riding several horses at various barns at the time). I did eventually upgrade to a County, which was a bit more secure as we started jumping bigger fences, but the Stubben was definitely a useful saddle.

[luvmyhackney]

For your wide mustang I’d buy a used Kent and Masters/Thorowgood with the cob (more u shaped) tree.

Your TB looks like a stubben fit or try an Albion SLK. Those are both popular with folks at my barn with TBs.

[spurofthemoment]

Just to maybe quell your suspicions about Stubben, they’re often recommended for OTTBs/high-withered horses because the tree points are (on their standard/non-custom ordered) typically long and able to span the trapezius.

That’s not to say that there are not folks with OTTBs who chose Stubben and had a bad experience, because that does exist. But Stubben’s bread and butter are their long tree point and fitting the tree first as their primary philosophy (German school of thought).

On the other side of the coin, you’ll see County recommended quite a bit by TB folks - County takes a different fitting approach (shorter points with built up panels). That brand’s fitting philosophy is more akin to the English school of thought regarding saddle fitting.

I am not a saddle fitter - I just enjoy learning and reading. Check out Saddle Fitting Questions and Answers on Facebook - two of the most knowledgeable admins were admittedly Stubben reps but have since moved on to be independent to allow them to fit multiple brands.

Any brand that will build a saddle tree with long tree points will usually be appropriate for a high-withered horses. Given your budget, I think Stubben is a great starting point. You might have more like buying from individuals on Facebook and working out a trial deal, or reaching out to the saddle selling organization and asking if the price is negotiable - they may reach out to the saddle owner to ask if they’re willing to haggle the price.

[Posting_Trot]

I’m not a saddle fitter. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that the fit of that Butet doesn’t look bad on your TB. What about it do you (or your horse) not like? Do you usually ride with a pad? It might be useful to see the horse saddled up with the pad you usually use.

There have been a couple of horror stories about “custom” Stubbens on these forums, and you might want to look at them if you’re considering a custom. But if you’re buying used, they might work well for the TB.

[Mcl1]

Thank you! I saw those brands recommended a few times for TBs but I didn’t know they make a cob style, I’ll definitely look into that!

[Mcl1]

Yes I usually ride with a shimmable half pad. The thing that concerns me is the lack of clearance around his withers. I can maybe get 2 fingers in there. Now, I will say, I can reach down at any point when riding and it’s never actually sitting on or rubbing his withers, but I would imagine a saddle with more clearance in the withers/shoulder might be more comfortable for him.

I have seen some…rough looking custom Stubbens - seems like there are a lot of horror stories about custom saddles out there in general and it is definitely not a road I want to go down especially given the limited fitter options in my area. Luckily, I don’t think my TB has a crazy unique build that would make it a necessity.

[albytb]

@Posting_Trot

I’m not a saddle fitter. But I’ll go out on a limb and say that the fit of that Butet doesn’t look bad on your TB.

Are we looking at the same picture?? There’s almost no wither clearance and that’s without a riders weight in the saddle…

[Posting_Trot]

If she’s riding with a pad (as she says she is), that’s going to bring increase the wither clearance. What I liked about the saddle, in particular (and again, I’m not a saddle fitter) is how it conforms to the horse’s back as seen from the side.

[albytb]

In my experience, a pad would not be enough if it’s already sitting this low. I’m very pro halfpad when it comes to saddle fit but the saddle does still need to have acceptable clearance without a halfpad to be an appropriate fit.