Love our Loxley our QH large pony. We have the AP with the wide gullet.
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here, i’ll walk you through it…
i was telling her maybe she should try one of the stateline synthetic saddles, and told her the story of how not only does the cantle not rock on either one i had on my horses a couple days earlier, but that it (saddle) sit so snugly that i had to completely unhook the girth and lift the entire saddle up to get a cantle riser underneath. I told her how cheap they were and they can be returned for full refund.
Then Op said to me
And then i said"
and what i intended to convey is that it is not just one horse that is well fitted in the cheap saddle, but between three of them i can saddle all of my riding horses, and the riding mule. What can it hurt to try? Surely not much money…
(because OP said: “The hard part is proving to be finding something in the configuration of width and seat size we need without spending 5k”)
Further up i provided a pic too. Because, as i recall from some of her other posts, how she described her horse’s back is similar to my guy who fits into the cheap saddle. Because OP said: ""He’s on the “cusp” per a few fitters. Broad back but withers. "
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Thank you.
Good to hear
I would be pretty alarmed if you could fit a riser pad under a saddle when it was girthed up.
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o well, i don’t tighten girths really snug on anyone except that greenbean Standardbred. Not loose enough to slide around but i can slip my hand between the girth and her belly. When i dropped it a couple of holes further it still couldn’t accept the riser, so i had to completely undo.
by the way, i was trying out a new saddle pad that i really think is good…
OP - Have you had this issue on other saddles with this horse? I can’t help with whether this saddle fits, but when I had a wide-backed Arab who was also right between a very wide tree and a true hoop tree depending on the saddle brand/style one thing that made a difference was billet placement.
A Vee billet in the back really helped with lateral stability when everything else fit. He also needed a point billet in front. It might be worth a discussion with your fitter to see if billet placement might need to be a consideration for your horse.
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Yes he has been tricky to fit. Since his girth groove is relatively far forward, a point billet and a rear Y/V/Swing billet are preferred. This particular saddle has a rear Y billet and the front billet is fairly far forward but I’m not sure it’s technically a point billet, maybe “slightly behind point”. I use an anatomical shoulder relief girth. To this saddle’s credit, the line made by billets / girth is probably the straightest of any of the saddles I’ve tried so far.
I would dearly love to try a saddle that has the front point billet that drops from the bottom of the knee block.
the point remains that if a saddle is fitting that snuggly down in the back, a riser is not what should be used.
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Update. The plan is to trial a third configuration of tree type, tree width, seat size from this brand.
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You should not be able to fit a riser or new pad or anything else under a saddle if it is appropriately girthed up. You risk losing your riser out the back end, or losing yourself if the saddle rolls over.
Also, have you check with your fitter if a riser pad is the right answer for your saddle fit issues?
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Upon my coach’s suggestion i got it. Only use it on one horse because she’s downhill. When the saddle is level i’m able to keep my weight where i want it naturally (not having to think about it and work) and therefore use my body better.
This cantle observation came about because there was an issue last lesson. with all the novelty of my spiffy new saddle pad i forgot to put it on before the saddle. That’s how i discovered that i couldn’t just lift the cantle and push it under, that i had to undo the girth and lift the saddle up and place it properly. And, when i checked out the other horse’s cantle it was the same snug. And then there was this timely post.
Oh…here’s an interesting tidbit… When i was having my mule’s saddle made, the saddle maker had something like 40 trees. She put one than another and it was perhaps the fourth or fifth that she said was just right. She had me walk him on lead with the tree, just the bare wooden tree, on his back. (totally blew me away that it didn’t fall off, btw don’t ask me why, i have no idea! Could just have been a sales gimmick) But she got a different one and we tried it. And that’s the one we built his mule saddle upon.
Western saddle?
There are indeed artisan Western saddle makers that start from the tree up in this way. It’s very cool. But most of the English saddles are made in England or Europe, and are at best semi custom. Often with only one tree available, or at most 2 or 3. And the actual maker does not see the horse.
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Eightpondfarm, perhaps you should start your own thread on saddle fitting as well?
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Another option would be for anyone uninterested in what i have to say could just scroll on by. That’s what i do with some posters unilaterally, and some threads completely, and some posts after i’ve read a line or two.
Great idea! A thread about using corrective pads!
Update 2: fitter has generously offered to flock the next trial saddle per tracings / pictures prior to sending it to me. I think that’s super swell of them.
I know a remote flocking adjustment isn’t as good as an in person one, but I legit live an area where an in person fitting is very hard and very limited. I’m pretty excited to try a saddle with the flocking adjusted even a bit to accommodate my horse! Fingers crossed 
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I have no idea why you’re offended, it was an honest suggestion. You have a lot to say about your particular saddle system that could be it’s own thread while we continue to help the OP with her own saddle fitting question.
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Have they given you instructions on making a tracing of your horse’s back? Measuring their shoulder point and last rib?
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Oh yes. I’ve made several sets of tracings now. I kept redoing them until I was confident I was accurate. This fitter wanted behind the scapula, the lowest part of back, T18 and top line from first to last tracing. Trumbull Mountain wanted the same type of tracing. Hastilow wanted slightly different.
One other thought that may be worth discussing with your saddle fitter…. Have you tried different panel configurations? An upswept panel made a big difference for two of mine.
I did my fittings remotely too, so I get the challenge you’re dealing with!
For what it’s worth, I had success with Smith Worthington (sadly no longer in business) and Black Country (Patty Merli, recommended by several folks here).
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