Saddle reflocking: what are your expectations regarding the way your saddles fit?

[SnicklefritzG]

I have a new saddle fitter who did a great job on my dressage saddle, but who has worked on my jump saddle twice and it still doesn’t fit quite right. I’d be interested in peoples’ opinions on what I’ve noticed.

The dressage saddle only needs a plain quilted pad or a thin non-slip pad like an Eco Gold. The jump saddle doesn’t feel right unless it has a thick pad in. No shims just a very thick pad. If I use a plain pad, the saddle looks level but sits very low with almost no clearance. I talked to the fitter and they put more flocking in. This time it still looks level and without a rider in, the clearance appears to be ok. After sitting in the saddle, the clearance decreases to barely one finger width. It doesn;'t touch my horse’s spine on top, but the sides of the pommel do contact it if I lean the least little bit. I know something is bothering my horse because he moves in a restricted fashion which doesn;t happen when I get off and put the dressage saddle on. I tried switching pads from a plain quilted pad to a thick sheepskin pad and it raises the saddle up enough that the clearance appears to be ok both on the top and sides of the pommel.

do people have expectations that the saddle fitter should be able to fix something without the rider having to resort to using really thick pads? the panels look well stuffed, so I don’t understand why there seems to be a problem with what this fitter is doing. I know it’s not the saddle itself because I never had a problem with the original fitter was working on it. It’s not my weight either because I’ve lost weight since I bought the saddle.

Interestingly, this fitter will look at the horse, but does the fitting work at their shop, not at the barn. So any adjustment means going back to the shop and leaving the saddle there for a short period of time.

Should I go back a 3rd time? Or suck it up and just use a thick pad?

[jaybird660]

It really depends on if the saddle is the right fit or has the right panel options in the first place. Different trees will fit differently and asymmetry can play a role. I do prefer to flock on site when doing barn calls because I might have to tweak it a little here and there and often have the rider get on at least once more to double check fit. As a fitter, I would rather know if my customer has fit concerns and discusses them with me. I would prefer to resolve if possible but all fitters can make a mistake.

[SnicklefritzG]

It’s definitely not the saddle. The original fitter had no trouble getting it right. its only when using the new fitter that I had problems with it

[Bogie]

It sounds as if the saddle is slightly too wide for your horse. Panels can be reflocked only up to a point – after that you would need to add a thicker pad. That said, my fitter reflocks on site because I think it’s important to evaluate fit and make adjustments as necessary. Is it possible that your horse’s shape has changed since the saddle was originally fitted? I had that happen with one of my saddles. Sadly it was one with foam panels. His back changed just enough so that it never fit him quite right after about a year.

My horses have very similar shaped backs but are different widths. I can use my mare’s saddle (wide) on my gelding (MW) if I use a thicker pad.

[Scribbler]

I agree that it sounds like the tree is a bit too wide for just adding flocking to be totally effective.

My dressage saddle was a hair too wide for several years and I just used a sheepskin pad. Then over the past year I found I could remove it and just use a thin cloth pad.

However at this point mare also outgrew her jump saddle which had been a better fit originally.

On the other hand if you don’t like the job the new fitter is doing then why not go back to the first one?

[asterix]

Both fitters I have used watch you ride in the saddle before and after any adjustments - it’s not uncommon at all for something to become apparent only when the horse is in motion and/or you are in the saddle.
even if the fitter does the work off site, s/he needs to see the saddle in use.

[SonnysMom]

My saddler puts the saddle on without pads in the barn both with and without a girth. She then watches me ride, adds/takes out flocking, ride again and maybe another adjustment. For basic flocking changes I would expect it to be done on site.
For totally taking out old compressed flocking and putting in new flocking I would expect her to take it to her shop, bring it back and watch me ride in it, make any minor adjustments and then come back a few weeks later once the wool has settled for another adjustment.
If the saddle is too wide for my horse I would expect her to communicate that to me and we discuss getting a new saddle, using a thicker pad , shim options or having the tree adjusted smaller if that is a possibility. My saddler has the machine for doing tree adjustments on saddles that don’t have interchangeable gullets.

[jaybird660]

I agree with others that active and static fit are important even if she takes it off site. Why don’t you go back to the original fitter that you said you had done a good job with the fit?