I have a rising 4 year old who is narrow but flat-withered and seems to grow/change every time I look at her. I’ve started buying custom Gravity saddles for all of my fully mature guys, but I’m not really interested in having a new saddle made for her every 6 months for the next 4 years 
I was knocking around something adjustable and air flocked like the Bates Victrix, but my vet nixed that idea so I’m back to the drawing board. What does everyone do for their dynamic growers? I’m willing to spend good money, I just need to know that it’s recoverable so I can make the next purchase!
Good luck! We just ordered our third expensive saddle for my daughters young horse 
I’m hoping people will chime in. I have one even younger that definitely has growing to do. I have an old wintec that’s adjustable but I’d like to get a dressage saddle for a slightly deeper, safer, seat for any extra exuberance we might encounter. Unlike you, I don’t want to break the bank until the critter is done growing. I may pick up a cheap, used wintec dressage saddle. A trainer friend of mine tends to use the Bates adjustable saddles with the Mattes shimmable sheepskin half pad. They’re $368 but she thinks its worth it. She tends to have a large variety of horses and ages at any given time. Either way, this topic has been stressing me out big time. I’ve got to figure something out eventually though.
Try an EQ (https://www.eqsaddlescience.com/). They are pretty adjustable. I’m considering one for my 4yo. I had a client horse in one and she really liked it for a while but then one day wasn’t a fan anymore. She’s notoriously picky though.
I would second looking at EQ Saddle Science. They’re pretty easy to work with and adjustable without sacrificing fit. I have a 6 year old mare who we’re working on fitting knowing that she’s likely to grow a bit with the added complication of also needing to fit my 9 year old daughter who is also growing like a weed. We’re going with a little bit wider tree that matches the mare’s angles so that we have room to wiggle and adjust as she grows.
Any recommendations that are not thousands of dollars?
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My strategy for this particular problem is to pick up something used and wool flocked in the $500-600 range. Something that I’m pretty sure I can break even on if/when the horse changes shape or outgrows it. It doesn’t need to be pretty or fancy, just in decent shape and relatively adjustable through flocking. I’m not a huge fan of the synthetics or adjustable gullets, but everyone has their own preference.
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You get what you pay for. Wool flocked is a non negotiable for me, and the adjustable gullet saddles only change the saddle at the front. Only my aged mare has earned her own custom fit county saddle - everyone else gets something used because 1) it’s cheaper, 2) when I (or a client) need to inevitably sell it because the horse grows/changes shape, I’ll get back the money I put into it because I take very good care of my tack, 3) I can get a saddle that fits very well/perfectly that I “swap out” as the horse grows instead of compromising on fit so that I can keep the same saddle for years.
I’ve got one client that’s on her third saddle in a year because the horse was out of work and young when she came to me so she’s changed a lot.
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I found a Fairfax GP with the right panel angles for my horse. I had the fitter out every 3 months and it had to be reflocked and fitted with a new gullet head every single time. My horse was a total shapeshifter between 4 and 5.5. Fortunately, it has slowed down a bit. The fitter took it as a trade in, and there was a bit of value left in it, at least.
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I used a Kent and Masters jump saddle. It’s super grippy and worked well so far.
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There’s not enough info to know what saddle might fit, so I’d highly recommend an independent saddle fitter.
But generically, find a saddle that fits the overall shape of the horse - flat back vs curved, for example (that’s just part, and unlikely to change with age) - and then get that saddle 1-2 sizes too big. No bigger. That size disparity is simple to make fit with an extra or thicker pad and/or shims
Then as the horse widens with age, and develops more muscle, pads can be reduced and/or thinned, and shims reduced and/or thinned. You’re likely to get quite a few years out of that saddle before the horse settles into their adult shape, and typical muscling
Honestly the last time I owned a horse this young I just kept going to the local saddlery and trying and buying different cheap saddles. When one stopped fitting I’d sell it and get the next one. Whatever fits the horse well. Now the horse is 12 and goes in a nice prestige saddle that she’s had for 4 years.
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It depends on the horse as to which saddles to recommend but I started my young horse in a wool flocked Bates. It was a less than $1000 saddle and it did its job. I think that you could have any Bates flocked with wool if you can find a saddle fitter willing to do it. Probably costs a couple hundred dollars though. So if a saddle is otherwise good, but the air/CAIR panels are a no go, maybe consider that?
Otherwise Kent and Masters are decent adjustable saddles, as are Fairfax, but they’re the “pricier” option out of the 2.
Alternatively you just buy a good quality used saddle that fits the horses general shape in one size wider. Then use a half pad (with or without shims, depending).
I will say that not all horses “widen” with work, and some actually change by “popping” a decent withers. I’ve had some young horses start somewhat flat or low in the withers area, but then they’ve developed a higher (and healthy, no atrophy) front end and withers. So that’s changed the saddle I’ve needed before, and it wasn’t necessarily strictly width related in that the horse “only” widened.
I hate saddle fitting. 
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I own two Wintecs (both with cair) and a Kent and Masters (wool).
I’ve been really happy with all three saddles. I bought all three for well under $1000 each; one Wintec I bought new, one used, and the K&M was also used.
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I have a used Antares Evolution saddle for my rising 5 year old. He’s narrow, but he has a big shoulder and wither, so the cut back tree accommodates that. I want to get a custom eventually, but I’m going to wait a couple more years.
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I have a Tech 1 saddle (it’s the more cost-effective line of Erreplus). It’s wool flocked, and the tree is adjustable if your fitter has the right press. For where I am, they are cheap saddles, and it saved me having to buy a whole new saddle when my guy required a wider tree.
That’s interesting! I have an Erreplus dressage saddle in a 34 cm tree and I absolutely LOVE it! Very flexible size too, it fits pretty well on a wide variety of vaguely WB shaped horses besides the horse it was purchased for.
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I’ve really enjoyed my Ikonic saddle that I bought when my horse was 5, he’s now 9. I have the Ikonic Elite Jumping saddle, interchangeable gullet, wool flocked for the panels and foam towards the back of the saddle. My guy has a wide back.
It’s helpful to have a “library” of saddles you can use, but I have had good luck with an adjustable gullet Pessoa GenX as a spare saddle plus a few various half pads. It can go wide without getting too scoopy and it also works great in the narrower setting. I know that some saddles among the more expensive brands are “technically” adjustable, but anything that requires a rep to adjust is going to be a PITA to deal with.
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A library of saddles 
I thought saddle pad addiction took up enough space! I officially have two saddles now, dressage and jumping. The problem is, he’s starting to look darn cute with the trainers western saddle. I’m thinking I need a western saddle and an Australian stock saddle! What other saddles can I accrue, hmmm… Bareback pad doesn’t count. Maybe a side seat saddle 
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