Saddle fitting woes

[onlyTBmares]

Ok y’all. After spending $4k on a slightly used Antares that was verified by an independent saddle fitter, I am on the hunt for a new saddle. Some suggestions from this forum confirm some obvious signs of pain. He has a high and very long wither, and a very short back that’s pretty curved. If you measure from 2 fingers behind the shoulder to the last rib on the back it’s only 18” (although he’s about 17hh). I’m petite and am ok in a 16.5-17”. His shoulder is kinda wider on top but then drops off straight down, if that makes sense.
I could not get rid of the shadow on with withers but you’ll have to trust that he pretty symmetric from that angle (visually)

I have tried on every saddle in the barn. The Antares don’t fit the shape of the should and seem to press at the base of the wither. The CWDs bridge like crazy. The Devacoux’s were closest but wrong shape. There is of course Voltaire and others but it seems pretty obvious that his back won’t work with a French foam saddle and I want to find a wool flocked something. I am meeting with another local independent fitter Friday.

I’m looking for suggestions in any for
. I wouldn’t mind buying a couple used online with trials for said meeting Friday. Brands, used saddles, routes. I am considering a new custom stubben but I’m so skeptical of saddle reps and you don’t get to get in looked at until it comes back half a year later. I have also looked into getting a county or Black Country both of which would take me hauling my horse 3.5hrs away to meet with the fitter. And I don’t have a trailer so that ads another $1000 to whatever cost.

I sent an inquiry to Highline tack but I don’t love any of the options. At this point, there is probably not a limit to what I would put on a credit card but I would like to stay under $3k unless a shop would do a trade in on current saddle.

I do have photos of his Antares on him too which doesn’t fit but could be helpful in looking at his shape?

[Against_All_Odds2]

have you reached out to Amerigo?

[BraveSC]

Patty Merli in Aiken is a fitter and rep for Black Country. She has a remote fitting option that has been very successful!
I had a high withered TB that went realllly well in the Black Country Ricochet so might be worth a try.

[onlyTBmares]

I have not reached out to Amerigo. I’m looking on their site right now and the photo of the back on the Octave P looks very similar to mines back. It calls their panels something weird (I lost it now….) but do you know if it’s wool and changeable?

[onlyTBmares]

I’ve really had my eye on the black country, I’m thinking about ordering a used one with trial period and having the fitter look to see if we can reflock to fit. I’m trying to avoid buying custom new because I don’t want to wait for 6 months to find out it needs to be adjusted and then show season is over but I might get stuck with this.

[Ponyplusaninch]

Absolutely reach out to Amerigo. They’ve also got a special feature for even more additional wither clearance. My TB’s back is different than yours (flatter; more standard) but has that same sharp wither. Also, looks like yours is more developed through that left should than the right shoulder. Getting that saddle fit right plus some temporary shimming, and you should see better muscle development.

[Posting_Trot]

You might look at Pelham Saddlery’s site. They have a large number of used saddles and they’ll work remotely with tracings to make suggestions about saddles in their inventory that might work. They provide trials for their saddles as well:

https://www.pelhamsaddlery.net/tack/jumpingsaddle.html

[Against_All_Odds2]

Its a wool felt and is removable/fittable etc

[Festivity]

Take a look at the EQ Saddle Science jumping saddle. Carmi is really good at doing remote fitting and once you get comfortable with how the saddle works you can make adjustments yourself as his muscling changes. I have one of their dressage saddles for my super wide Friesian and I absolutely love it and the whole trail and ordering process with the owner Carmi.

[IPEsq]

I would try Amerigo. They have a long tree points option which your guy might need for the withers. Their panels I think are a mixed flocking (not pure wool), but they are adjustable. I also found that they tend to fit this topline profile decently well. I tried one and my horse hated it in the back because his back is flatter under the saddle area (and rises behind the saddle), versus yours that starts rising right after the base of the withers. It’s not a true curvy tree (like Antares or Devoucoux), but I would expect CWD and Voltaire types to also bridge as you are experiencing.

Depending on how wide he is at the base of the withers, another one to consider for better fit in front is the Equipe Allegra. It’s been a game changer for my horse who is sensitive in the scapula area, but it doesn’t tend to fit one that’s super wide fit in that lower trapezius muscle. The panels are foam but there are several tree sizes. They are made in the same factory as Amerigo.

World Equestrian Brands is the main distributor for both brands now in the US if you don’t have a local rep.

[onlyTBmares]

@IPEsq do you know anything about deciphering the code on an amerigo? They have a photo on the website for one of their new saddles with a horse with a back that looks just like his.

I found a beautiful one on Redwood Tack and they do a trial if I could figure out what the stamp means

[IPEsq]

Yes somewhat. That is a 17 inch normal length flap, not forward DJ model. (JDJ = jump DJ)

For the tree, -0.5 tree so MN tree (M or a “1” tree is medium, -0.5 would be a half centimeter narrow). The panel volume is either 2 or 4 on jump models. This one is a 4 which seems very common.

The AP position usually has to do with the leather options, sometimes the block. The 1019 at the end of the serial means the month and year.

If you see DJPAP then that’s the pro model with 4 billets. DJLAP is the largo (wider at the withers). If you see LHI that’s long head iron or long tree points.

[IPEsq]

Flaps are K, N or L (short, normal or long). In the model codes, if you see SW then that means forward flap, with the length whatever the top letter is.

[Gardenhorse]

I think IPEsq covered it all, but this might still be useful.

https://www.worldequestrianbrands.com/how-to-read-your-amerigo-saddles-serial-number/

[onlyTBmares]

Thanks, that’s the tree built for the flatter back and withers so won’t work for me. I’ll keep looking and see if I find a different used one. The photo of the horses ba on the CC saddles on their sight has an almost identical shape to mine.

[IPEsq]

The DJ really isn’t that flat. The CC is for higher withers usually more shark fin TB type. You might want to look for a HC also (high croup) though.

[IPEsq]

And to clarify, while your horse’s withers are high, they are long. You may need the long head iron option on one of the models that are a little more open than the CC.

[onlyTBmares]

I just found an HC! It also says “NME” do you know what that means? I am going to try to find the LHI, would love to have one by the time the fitter shows up to at least look at and talk about

[IPEsq]

Can you show the whole stamp? The HC is a relatively newer model. You can also call World Equestrian Brands and see if they have any demos they’d suggest for you to try.

[Stylestable]

Hi! Do you happen to have a contact for an Amerigo rep?