Saddle sliding forward - saddle fitter woes

Thanks!!

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Someone Iberian saddle companies are making “dressage legal” saddles. I think DP is one of them.

My iberian horse developed that roach type muscle behind the saddle. The original saddle i bought for him worked for awhile when he was young but the panels were too long and flat in the back and he developed that roach. I looked at the Wolfgang solo when i was shopping for a replacement and the panels would not have worked for him. He needed a saddle with upswept panels in the back. Perhaps your horses back is pushing the saddle forward.

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What did you end up finding for yours?

I use an equipe elegance because we have a local equipe fitter. But there are many brands that have upswept panels.

ETA i also use a total saddle fit girth for the forward girth groove. And the saddler adjusted the front billet of my saddle to be more like a point billet.

@RedHorses I took your idea of crossing the billets and tried it out today. It seemed to be better. The saddle did move forward a bit right at the end of the ride but not drastically. I am going to see if this keeps working and maybe invest in a crescent girth. I have the Wow H girth because I bought it for my Lusitano mare who has a massively forward girth groove and every saddle ends up on her neck. For her the H girth fixed that problem. So I just have always used the Wow girth on my gelding too. The point of it is to keep the saddle in place on horses with a forward girth groove, but maybe it also depends on the shape of their belly, and maybe it’s not the right choice for him.

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My andalusian cross is downhill… but his saddle only ever slides backwards. World’s biggest shoulders. One time a saddle fitter was at my barn for another horse, watched my horse walk out of the arena, and said “That one looks like a challenge to fit.” :rofl:

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Also note that the Schlese Obrigado (and I suppose others of the brand) has a very short panel option. My Iberians need it.

They’re not exactly mutton withered. The traditional saddles are not exactly fitted the way modern saddles are so they needed cruppers. And now it’s just part of the costume.

I also have the same problem with my lusitano who has everything that makes the saddle slide forward: short backed, a bit downhill, large belly (despite some weightloss), forward girth groove and low withers. I found the county logic girth helped me a lot but then he developed what I still think is maybe melanomas or something in the girth groove. So now I’ve switched to a crescent fleece line ovation girth but I haven’t been super happy with it. At least it isn’t irritating the bumps there but it really doesn’t so much to keep the saddle in place. I miss the county logic…

To the OP, you may want to not spend too much money right now because your horse is 4 years old. They usually keep filling out for another couple of years in my experience.

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Exactly why I used a crupper on a 4 year old Arabian. He grew up and didn’t need it.

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