Arm & a Leg
I considered buying a Jeffries Flyover and asked my saddle fitter about the cost for reflocking. My recollection was about $250. I’ve heard of people getting estimates that were $400 +. That, in my opinion, is an arm and a leg!
My horse and I love my Stübben Scout. Those panels really distribute weight nicely, and it is soft and cushy (yet supportive) for me.
I ordered mine from Calevo and it was considerably cheaper.
imissvixen:
I was at Horse Country this weekend and I knew they recommend the Flyover for fox hunting so I asked about it. They told me that for a heavier rider they recommend increasing the saddle size to help distribute weight. So if you normally ride in an 18", they’d put you in a 19". Were you given that advice when you bought yours?
No one told me that and to be honest the saddle is already big for me. I tend to slide forward in it.
Then I’d guess it’s not that it’s too big, it’s that it’s unbalanced, or the flaps don’t fit you. Properly fitted and balanced you should end up in the “sweet spot” and not finding yourself sliding anywhere.
I forgot to add that they said the one type of horse that the saddle doesn’t work with is one with a big drop from high withers to the back and then a sharp rise back up to the croup.
My hunt horse does have high withers. But really the saddle just doesn’t fit him right. He got a lot of white hairs behind his withers right where the panels sit and when we hunted my pad was constantly working backward which is not a good sign.
The panels have a bit of a bulge where they sit near his withers. As you know, the panels stop right there and don’t continue down the flap of the saddle like a general purpose or close contact saddle would.
I am buying an old Crosby – extremely broken in – to tide me over until I figure out what works in the long run. I am also going to keep the Flyover because I love the monoflap. My hunt horse has well sprung ribs and in that saddle he fills up your leg really nicely. I may try to get in touch with Jeffries and get their opinion.
Btw, some of the less progressive people I hunt with would hassle me about riding in a monoflap saddle. THey didn’t approve of my riding in a saddle in which I couldn’t tighten the girth at a gallop – as if… That said, it is a bit more of a production tightening the girth on a monoflap.
Would it be inappropriate to use a black saddle? I am very new at this and am getting ready to buy a saddle but the one I love is black and I wanted to check before I made my decision.
[QUOTE=imissvixen;2360929]
Btw, some of the less progressive people I hunt with would hassle me about riding in a monoflap saddle. THey didn’t approve of my riding in a saddle in which I couldn’t tighten the girth at a gallop – as if… That said, it is a bit more of a production tightening the girth on a monoflap.[/QUOTE]
Hmmm. But the advantage of long billets is that you can get the girth quite tight before mounting. Having ridden for many years in a dressage saddle, I rarely have to do much tightening after I mount. And certainly not at a gallop :lol:
But I did wonder where the leather keepers are on a Flyover and what you did with the front straps of a saddle pad.
saddle stuff
What about Schleese saddles? They are fitted to your specific horse’s back and have Adaptable trees. I had a hard to fit QH/TB and never could get the County rep in NC to get one to fit my horse, and that was after buying two new saddles from him. Arghhhh!
There are so many Schleese to chose from, and the fit depends on the skills of the fitter as much as the quality of the saddle itself (which is great, but no better or worse than most quality saddles out there).
Courbette Optima All Purpose
I too am a larger than average rider and my Courbette Optima is perfect. Nice deep seat, extra long panels (for my very long legs). It comes in large seat sizes up to 20" and many tree widths up to 33 cm. I trail ride in it for up to 6 hours per ride and I use a mattes saddlepad that is lined with sheepskin for my longer rides. The saddle itself is very generously flocked both as to depth and width. Also, the twist seems to fit me better. I actually went out to by a Steuben, but after sitting on both, choose the Optima. I think it was around $1200.
Do you have the Jeffries flyover?
I would like to know if you want to sell the Jeffries flyover? Dorothy rockview2@verizon.net
County Eventer
I hunt in this and absolutely love it. Most comfortable saddle I’ve ever ridden in, and it has never caused any problem on my horse, a Thoroughbred with moderately high withers.
This site is really good to figure out if your saddle panels are the right size to carry your weight. http://http://lorienstable.com/articles/z-fitting/weight/
[QUOTE=SteeleRdr;2295206]
Have you looked at a Berney’s Bros? they aren’t too deep seated, but are quite nice and the panels are quite wide. There is one on consignment at Middleburg Tack Exchange, but they also have many other styles (see their website). And Berney’s website has many models. The lady i ride for has the same style that is at the tack exchange and it works pretty well on most of our horses.[/QUOTE]
I second this! they are nice comfy saddles.
Flyovers are awesome saddles…
I was at Horse Country this weekend and I knew they recommend the Flyover for fox hunting so I asked about it. They told me that for a heavier rider they recommend increasing the saddle size to help distribute weight. So if you normally ride in an 18", they’d put you in a 19". Were you given that advice when you bought yours?
Sounds like they gave you some bad advice. Saddle size is related primarily to thigh length, not weight or “butt size”. If they put you up a size, it also changes the position of the stirrup bar in relation to your center of balance. You would be fighting your balance to stay centered over the horse. In general, the larger seat size would put the stirrup bar (and thus the stirrup placement) too far ahead of you, causing you to drop back a bit harder than normal into the back of the saddle a la chair seat. And when that happens, what do you think the effect is on the horse’s back? How about a sore back? 
Flyovers will fit a horse with more curvature to it’s back better than a table-top horse with mutton withers and a flat back. It was designed to fit TB’s and most of them have a good set of withers on them.
As with any horse and rider though, there is no saddle out there that will fit every horse and every rider (in spite of what a manufacturer’s marketing department would like you to believe.) Saddle fitting is a two way street. Not only must you find saddles that fit you and allow you to remain comfortably balanced in the “sweet spot”, they must also fit your horse.
I did find that I needed to go up a size in the Flyover. It just rode small.
[QUOTE=Taza;2358280]
I forgot to add that they said the one type of horse that the saddle doesn’t work with is one with a big drop from high withers to the back and then a sharp rise back up to the croup.[/QUOTE]
Uh,… Is that not commonly called a sway back ?
“That’s interesting. I was under the impression that the panels for foam were different than for wool (thicker? thinner?). I had asked about converting an Ashland Saut d’Or but was told it couldn’t be done for some reason or other. Of course that doesn’t mean I was asking the right person, either.”
I guess it depends if you are talking to a “cowboy” who would stuff by poking wads of wool through a hole; or conversely somebody who does it correctly by dropping the panel and laying the wool in.
