Hi, so I recently bought a new pony, and she’s SUPER wide with absolutely NO withers. Anyways I need to get her a new saddle because the saddle that fit my quarter horse ends up with the back of the saddle 4 inches off her back. Does anyone have any recommendations for dressage saddles that might fit her?
Checking out some of the British brands would probably be best as they often are designed for flat and round more so than the French / Italian brands. I have a flat, round, somewhat wide (MW/W) mare and Ideal and Barnsby fit her well. She’s currently in an Albion Platinum Ultima.
If she’s super round and wide you may want to look into a hoop tree, I believe Duett saddles have a good reputation there but I don’t have personal experience with them.
When you say the back of the saddle is up do you mean the pommel is too low? Maybe the panels under the set are too thick? Or is the saddle just too banana shaped?
Be curious to see what you’re describing as usually popping up in back means pommel low/too wide…
If medium portly, Custom has a couple trees/panels that fit this type well. If super portly, then something like Native Saddle Company or Chunky Monkey would be better.
We have Prestige ‘Lucky’ for our 13.2 chunky fellow.
Thorowgood cob saddles fit round barrel ponies really well especially as they are changing shape and gaining muscle. Plus they are cheap enough and resell extremely well.
Be sure the panels are short enough for her back. I just had to trade out my Albion (which fit my other welsh cobs just fine) for a Prestige with extra short panels. For one of my welsh cobs that was truly shaped like a beer keg I had to go to a Cardanel (made in the UK) to find something that actually sat on her back and didn’t slip forward, back or around. Over all though I’ve had the best luck with Albions but that’s because they’ve had at least two models that always fit me as well.
After trying dozens and dozens of saddles, I ended up with a Loxley LX dressage saddles with changeable gullet bars. The bars are very hoop shaped, open at the top and go up to an xxw. My Lipizzan pony mare is Very mutton withered and short backed. This saddle fits like a glove but rides very comfortable for the rider, not a crazy wide twist.
hi, so by tipping forward the saddle that I’ve been using is a Keiffer, and it has too much wither clearance so the saddle tips forward until it comes into contact with her back, but I’ve tried other saddles on her and everything seems to slip on her.
You may need a hoop tree, which is a “U” shaped tree instead of a “V” shape. The Thorowgood Cob mentioned above is a good option to see if that’s the right shape. Do you have a local saddle fitter that you can work with? If not, you may want to do wither tracings and work with one of the stores that has a good inventory of used saddles. Pelham Saddlery is one I can think of.
I ended up using an wide Albion SLK on a 14.2 hand quarter horse that was built like a barrel - with no withers. It fit him well (cleared by our very good local saddle fitters). He was so round that getting on him off the ground would result in the saddle underneath him. To get on you would do up the girth as tight as you could, get on him off the mounting block by throwing your leg over without putting your foot in the stirrup and then have someone tighten the girth some more. He was really comfy bareback though 
I had good luck with a Kent and Masters - first saddle in a string that did.not.move forward. My guy is a barkolounger comfy bareback ride too.
1 Like
Try to get your hands on a Loxley LX or mono flap with the adjustable gullet bars or a fixed hoop tree. I have a very wide, mutton withered Lipizzan pony mare with a very short back. No lie, I probably bought or trialed 200 saddles for her. The Loxley with an xw bar and shortened panel fits her like a glove and is a dream to ride in with a narrower twist and great balanced. Rides like a professional saddle, super quality, made in Walsall England and the price point is great, running somewhere around $3k new. Note, many are on the Warmblood tree, which is different. I used Miriam at Aukennsaddle fitting, long distance and she was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. My trainer commented on how great I was riding in it and how quiet my hands were. I know Miriam did have a nice demo for sale. Don’t mess around with other saddles, give this one a trial. You’ll be glad you did. The owner of the company used to work for Black Country, left and started Bliss and improved vastly upon the BCS saddles. I also have a hoop tree BC Eloquence, I vastly prefer my Loxley, as does my horse!
