Saddle Recommendation

[Katia81]

Hi Everyone-

I am struggling to solve the ever so popular saddle fitting question! I have a 16.1h Dutch Warmblood who has a bit of a high wither. I currently have a 2021 CWD Mademoiselle with Pro panels. My chiropractor states its pinching his withers and he’s sore, my CWD rep says it fits well. Which brand would you recommend for a horse with this issue. I am not wanting to spend another $8300 on a saddle, I don’t know how to pursue CWD, because the rep says its fine, voltaire is trying to sell me another 8K saddle, which I don’t want. This whole process is frustrating. From what I have read, I may need to go with a wool flocked saddle, if that is the case, would County be everyones recommendation, and if so, what would something hunter-ish cost? I know there is more to it than this post, but I am looking for some ideas. I also am having an independent saddle fitter come and check the saddle and tell me what is needed, but wanted any additional thoughts Thank you in advance.

[steelerino]

I wouldn’t worry about what brand of saddle to buy next until you have the independent fitter out. You didn’t mention how old the horse is?

[Katia81]

Hes 10, and I am not worried about what brand, but I also want to have some idea going in, hence the crowd surfing.

[Ponyplusaninch]

If you like the fit of the French saddles for you but need more adjustability in the fit for the horse, I would look at amerigo (wool flocked) or equipe (foam).

Amerigo for sure has a special feature that gives extra either clearance. I know because that’s what I ordered for my horse LOL.

Both brands are several thousands dollars cheaper than new CWDs.

I know a lot of county lovers out there, and you would just need to ride in one to see if you like it. The balance point is a lot different IMO than the CWD.

[NaturallyHappy]

Butet offers wool flocked, as well.

[Renn_aissance]

Is the horse high in the wither or wide in the wither? Where is he getting pinched? Those are different problems.

If it’s too low on the wither and the horse has wither hollows, you need a panel that’s built up to fill that space. Wool and foam can both do this- wool can be adjusted if the hollows are due to fitness, foam will hold the saddle up off the spine if the hollows are due to conformation. In the meantime, if the rest of the tree geometry is appropriate for the horse, you can shim this with an old yoga mat and some creativity, and possibly have the CWD panels converted to wool. Again, this is if the tree is appropriate for the horse to start with.

If it’s pinching laterally because the breadth of the horse’s wither and shoulder muscle is more than what the tree points allow, then you need a different saddle (or to have this tree widened, possibly, which is not going to produce a return on your investment if you choose to sell it later.)

Either way, best to take the advice of a qualified independent fitter before making a decision. Fitter, not brand rep.

Wool-flocked brands that can feel more French: Amerigo (where I would start,) Frank Baines, possibly Harry Dabbs if you can find a US representative.

[Rel6]

I have a dutch warmblood with a high wither and huge shoulder. My CWD with pro panels didn’t fit him either - the wither clearance wasn’t horrible but the shape was wrong for his back and he was also sore. I ended up purchasing a used Antares that fits him really well (he’s growing, so I wasn’t getting something custom for him). I know Antares has a cutback tree specifically for horses with high withers. I sat in it and personally did not like the balance for me, but that could be an option.

Where are you located? I liked the rep I worked with - not pushy, straight up told someone else she did not need a brand new saddle for her horse when she was ready and willing to put down the $$, and advised me against buying new because of my horse’s age. But reps can be hit or miss and is one reason I won’t buy CWD again.

I sat in a ton at Land Rover last Spring because I knew I needed something for my horse, and after speaking to an Arion rep about my horse’s conformation I was impressed with some of what they could offer in terms of building him a saddle. If they had someone closer I would have talked to them too (the independent saddle fitter choices in my area are limited).

[Madison]

@Katia81

don’t know how to pursue CWD, because the rep says its fine,

Probably the best way to pursue it further with CWD is to ask your vet if they agree that the saddle is making your horse sore. If so, I would go back to the rep and tell them your vet says it is making the horse sore and something has to be done. If they aren’t willing to listen to your vet, start working your way up the chain, I had some success addressing an issue by going to the US corporate office. However, I will also say, in my experience CWD is not great at fixing fit issues with repaneling. They fixed one problem and created a new problem when they did mine, and I ended up having to sell it in the end anyway. Good luck, that’s a frustrating situation but if it is making your horse sore, unfortunately not optional - I liked my CWD for me, but my horse said no way! I ended up buying a Voltaire Palm Beach but we did not have a high withers issue.

[Katia81]

Thank you, that was some great advice. My Chiro is a vet as well, so I am trusting her… however, I am not tied to the CWD, it was not made for that horse (this is a new horse), so I get that it may not fit. My rep is a joke, so I am just kinda over it. I would rather sell it and get something that will really work for him…

[BootsAndCoffee]

County or Black Country for a high wither with hollowing to the sides.

Amerigo for high, long withers (Amerigo has a few different trees to address specific toplines).

[LazyA1]

I just went through fitting all of my 3 riding horses with saddles. I had the help of an independent fitter. They each have a different saddle now. The flat backed one has a CWD SE01. The more curvy and fairly wide withered horse has a Spooner (Antares). The medium narrow one and medium curvy has a Butet M seat.

Saddle fitting is hard! But I am a believer after having a lease horse with a mysterious lead swap, that was resolved with a better fitting saddle. Night and day difference.

To have a place to start, I did a lot of reading. I also recommend working through a reputable used saddle dealer with a good trial and return policy. I only had one that seemed interested in helping me actually fit my horse and I recommend her. goldfinchfinetack.com

I will never buy a new saddle. Why do that when you can try used saddles first and have your fitter look at them? The key is to educate yourself so you know what saddles to try. Your fitter can help you with that too. She suggested the Butet for my one horse early on, and after a few trials of others (I was working with three horses) she ended up being right. You first need to know approximate tree width and whether your horse is flat or curvy. My flat backed horse (I am talking about the actual spine area) has a white mark where you can tell his saddle from his prior owner was too curvy.

Trees are so different that I am not a complete believer in fixing with panels. I am not anti-CWD, the flat-ish SEO1 fits one of my very well and I like it for me. But CWD has different trees I think.

[Madison]

@LazyA1

I will never buy a new saddle. Why do that when you can try used saddles first and have your fitter look at them?

Ha, clearly you must ride in an easy to find configuration!! It is not a safe assumption that every person can find what they need in a used option. So, there can be very good reason why someone would buy new, when they can’t find what they need used. I certainly would have preferred used if I could have found it, but I would have been searching for an eternity!

[gertie06]

I second (third?) Black Country. I’ve always owned foam saddles, but this time I decided to go with wool-flocked for the exact reasons you mentioned. My last horse had a prominent wither that was a bit hollow on each side. Working with Patty Merli at Black Country was a dream. A brand new, fully custom saddle was about $4k. This was two years ago.
As an aside, the saddle fits my new horse well, too. We were able to adjust the flocking enough that it works nicely for him. That’s the beauty of wool (assuming the horses aren’t TOO different in shape/size).

[Renn_aissance]

I needed a real needle in a haystack and figured out what I needed, then prepared to buy a used saddle with the right human configuration and have the panels replaced to what I needed for the horse. It would have been less expensive than ordering new, and not taken as long. It did happen that I was able to find something nearly perfect used, but I sure wasn’t expecting it. If this turns out to be a paneling problem, the OP might keep that option in mind. Of course, it’s more difficult if she doesn’t know what she’s going for and doesn’t trust the local brand rep to figure it out.

[EmilyM]

@Katia81

From what I have read, I may need to go with a wool flocked saddle, if that is the case, would County be everyones recommendation, and if so, what would something hunter-ish cost?

I ride in County Saddles. I like the HJ solution for me and my horses are in an in Innovation tree. It’s nice that they are so customizable (I have one model seat on another model tree) My last saddle coat $5800 plus tax this year. They usually are a flat price and includes whatever customization you want. They have a newer model that I haven’t tried. I suspect it’s pricier. County saddles have been a game changer for my horses back health. I like them for me as well since I’m not fighting saddle fit to balance myself. I believe the HJ was created to kind of have your leg more underneath. I don’t like the chair seat feeling.