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Saddle fit on an extra uphill horse

My new baby needs a new saddle. We’re getting rubs from the back my current Antares and it’s putting me in the chair seat as the balance is so far back. He is KWPN but I wonder if he has some DHH as he is sooo upright. Has anyone had a horse with this confirmation and found a brand that has been successful? His shoulder is quite a bit higher than his hind end. I’ve tried a couple Antares, a couple CWDs, and a Devacoux that have the correct width and seem to fit the shoulder and wither nicely that all seem to have the same balance. I’m hoping to order one or two likely hood matches before the saddle fitter comes out. She’s very good but only has a few in her inventory. I’ll have to find something for her to fit.

Have you tried shimming the back on the saddle on the saddles that appear to fit but then seem to sit back too far? My two older horses (one’s a WB, one is a very sterotypical OTTB) are very uphill and I have always ridden both in a rear riser or a set of back shims in every saddle…multiple Counties, my CWDs, and my Meyers. I did get one County custom made for my gelding that had a gusset in the back (or something, can’t recall offhand what it was) that lifted the back of the saddle a bit. It would obviously be more ideal to find a saddle that fit without a riser, but I never did find one that I liked on my guy as much as the saddles I already liked with the riser pad.

Pictures always help. A horse so sloped like that really isn’t very common.

Be wary of randomly shimming the backward-leaning saddle, as most of the time, it tips back because it’s actually too narrow, and you just compound the issues if you shim.

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I have tried a rider pad, it fits me better but I’m not sure if it improves his life. I’ll certainly have the saddle fitter take a look at that option.

I have a very similar horse - KWPN but very uphill, withers sat higher than the high end (I also always wondered about DHH). We ultimately went with a Beval BZ Natural wool flocked and fitted specifically to his conformation. This was after jettisoning Butets, Devoucoux, County. This was at least 10 years ago, so not sure if those are still an option. The key was that the Natural had a more upswept cantle and we could flock the back panel and tweak the front so that it truly sat level on him without pinching down at the withers like a back riser pad would have done.

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I have an EQ saddle science for my KWPN-NA. Jump seat. There is a recent thread on them.

I have a KWPN who sounds a bit similar. Prominent wither, uphill build. He also has a massive shoulder and is young, so a bit in his growing and gangly stage. I had a CWD which was the wrong shape for his back and ended up with an Antares (medium wide tree). I have a pro-lite pad and started with thicker rear shims and thin front shims, and as he’s grown and filled out we’re in thin shims all around.

Is it a brand issue, or is it the specific saddle that isn’t working?

It’s hard to say for sure, as I’m waiting on the fitter. She’s out of the country for a week and I’m pretty partial to her. We’ve tried a few on him and I haven’t loved any. My current saddle is the Signature by Antares, it’s a bit flat and short for him, my last horse was a very short backed TB. I think if the panels were wider they would distribute the weight over his broader back better than my petite saddle. I also think it’s too flat and as a result kinda perches on the shoulder and back. It doesn’t feel like it’s bridging but it must. The Antares rep is coming this week also but I’m so suspicious of saddle reps. I will verify with the independent saddle fitter before.