Schleese saddles

[eightpondfarm]

welp, the fitting was today.
Turns out she has huge shoulders and a short wide back. She needs a 16 length(whatever that means–how do i even hunt for that? Apparently it’s quite different from a human 16"…like, i can’t just find a 16 saddle and expect it to fit her, as that measurement that they use to sell saddles has to do with the human part, the upper part. The underneath, the HORSE part…what do i even ask for? Tree length ). I have the sheet with all the measurements on it which i’ll take to my coach and see if she can help me decipher.

i was not able to test ride a saddle. They just had me sit on a wooden saddle stand. I tried sitting on three saddles, the two i requested plus another on they happened to have with them in size 16 for my mare… The Infinity II was so…pointy up into my crotch and that high pommel and cantle… i couldn’t move at all in that saddle (even though they say it’s is an open seat). The ONLY other open seat they have is that GP Remonte. And it felt ok to me. For the maybe 1 minute i was on it.

They wanted me to go ahead and order the Remonte as a custom with straightened and longer flap to look dressage-y. AND they wanted me to pay 50% toward it…right then and there. LOL. (as-IF!)

all in all…it was pretty disappointing.

My current saddle is good on me, too long on her. So i’ll see if one of my endurance saddles fits and if it does, i’ll take it to my lesson and let my coach take a look.

oh mannnn. Well, good to know that current cheapo saddle is too long for her. Sad that now my hunt for a saddle commences in real time.

[Buster]

I feel for you, they are hard salesmen for sure. Did they tell you what inch saddle would be good for YOU?? 17/17.5/18"?? I’m thinking they probably meant that your mare has 16" of weight bearing surface, does that seem right? I’m very disappointed they would not let you test ride one.

[eightpondfarm]

well, i think they were trying to get me out of there. They had two show horses coming.
I am very unimpressive, and well…weird. And my horse is also unimpressive.

They measured my saddle, said it was a 17 and that i could ride in a 17.5 just fine.

I think you’re guessing right about “16” being the weight bearing area of my horse.

[Buster]

VERY disappointing, especially since you paid your $$. I’m peeved on your behalf.

[atr]

My horse is a half Arab, he also has a shorter weight bearing surface and he’s not narrow, either. Its not that uncommon and not that big a deal to fit once you know what you are after.

I ended up with a Bliss Loxley with a warmblood tree. Decent amount of seat room, panels that work well for him, and it doesn’t do a number on my lady parts. And, very importantly there is a local fitter who knows her stuff.

[sami-joe]

I’m bummed you didn’t get to try any of them out. That seems kooky to me.

Before I found this thread I had my horse fitted and bought a used saddle from the local Schleese dealers (they’re a married pair.) Maybe because I was shopping for used saddles they let me ride in three that all felt good to me and I loved the feel of the one I ended up with. They mostly finished the final fitting to my horse before they left and I rode in it again.

Although they came down with COVID in between my credit card being charged, their installing new billets, and delivery, now that it’s finally here – three weeks later, I am happy with it. More importantly, my 15 yo TB was instantly way more willing to use his back. His overall rideability improved measurably too by the second ride. His concentration even seems better. Though my other saddles were not horrible – one is an ancient Crates endurance saddle – I am really glad to have one that actually fits Joseph, regardless of the name.
Custom has all but cornered the market here for those who want a fitter and I knew finding a saddle out of that van in my price range was unlikely. Schleese is really the only other company that will visit our ranch to measure and fit.
I probably could have spent less money if I’d known exactly what I wanted. Since I needed to try a few saddles first, and I found one that seems to work, I’m feeling much better.

Best of luck. It’s definitely a freaking journey. Can’t tell you how relieved I am to be done. At 63, if I’m lucky – or really unlucky, gulp – maybe I won’t have to buy another saddle.

[sami-joe]

@eightpondfarm

unimpressive, and well…weird

Cosign.

[GreyDes]

The shorter weight bearing surface area does make it a bit harder to find saddles, but there are plenty of options. There are several UK brands that have the option of shorter panels. You’re likely looking for an upswept panel (curves up behind the saddle rather than extending further down the back). You can also open up your options if you’ll consider an all purpose with dressage tendencies (sometimes called a VSD model in the UK brands) rather than a dressage saddle.

A few to check out include:

• Thorowgood cob - this is synthetic with changeable gullet.
• Loxley/Bliss
• Black Country
• Chunky Monkey
• Smith Worthington (now out of business, but available used)

You could also look at Wintec wide, which is another synthetic with a changeable gullet.

[GreyDes]

Panther Run Saddlery has an excellent blog with info on saddle fitting. Kurt used to post on here and has a lot of experience with the short wide builds - http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/?m=1

[Mersidoats]

@eightpondfarm

Turns out she has huge shoulders and a short wide back. She needs a 16 length(whatever that means–how do i even hunt for that? Apparently it’s quite different from a human 16"…like, i can’t just find a 16 saddle and expect it to fit her, as that measurement that they use to sell saddles has to do with the human part, the upper part. The underneath, the HORSE part…what do i even ask for? Tree length ). I have the sheet with all the measurements on it which i’ll take to my coach and see if she can help me decipher.

I second looking at UK brands. Many UK saddlers make specialty saddles for the native ponies that tend to be short and wide on the back. My coach has a WB mare that has about 11 inches from where the tree point should sit behind the shoulder to the 18th rib (Franziskus baby - short short back). The only saddle that fits her is one made with a tree that was designed for Native pony breeds.

[eightpondfarm]

Well, oddly enough i did not know she had such a short back until yesterday. I knew she had big, laidback shoulders and mutton withers, but not the short back. Good news is that a few of my others also have quite short, wide backs. I’ll follow up on your suggestion Mersidoats, thanks

[DawnJL]

Kitt has been my fitter since 2008 when she was part of a well respected saddle fitting team working for a prominent tack shop. (that tack shop is now under different ownership and no longer has the same caliber of fitters). She still does fitting work (including some remote fitting) under Panther Run Saddlery

A few years ago she helped me get a saddle for my super wide (XW hoop tree) super short backed (14 inches of weight bearing area) 14.1 H Arab mare. I need a 17/17.5 seat so we needed a solution that minimized the panel length while maximizing the seat size. I ended up with a BCS Kur which has an open (flatter seat/low cantle) which allows for a bit shorter panel relative to the seat size. We added upswept panels to shave a bit more off the panel length. Kitt wasn’t a representative for BCS so she did the measurements and referred me to a BCS sales rep in another part of the country to place the order.

Kitt is also happy to help people find a reputable fitter in their area if she knows of any.

(FWIW, she is NOT a fan of the Schleese company. She’s seen too many horses with atrophy behind the withers due to too long tree points for the shape of their backs from supposed well fitting Schleese custom saddles is one of many reasons she’s not a fan.)

[eightpondfarm]

Is that the Panthr Run Saddlery person? If so, i have already reached out to her and have her consulting fees and am considering pushing ahead with her. Though she said she only has one used saddle, but for 100 will gather together my horses pertinent aspects and for another 150 she’ll help me source a saddle. I kinda like that idea, since i’m totally clueless about horse-fit i guess…

[GreyDes]

Yes, Kitt is Panther Run Saddlery. Working with her to source a saddle sounds like a great plan and $150 is less than you’ll spend shipping two saddles that don’t work

[DawnJL]

Yes, Kitt Hazelton is Panther Run Saddlery. She really wants to help people find the right saddle for their horse. She’s no longer actively representing any saddle brands, but she has good connections for saddle reps and consignment saddle sellers who are also ethical folks. She’s helped me a TON over the past 14 years with my hard to fit horses.

BTW, for reasonable trial saddles – Pelham Saddlery has a good trial policy and affordable shipping fees. (Kitt is very familiar with them too.)

[eightpondfarm]

Thank you! I just asked Pelham if they could take the measurements done by Schleese yesterday and direct me toward any used saddles they have in stock. Just to see what’s available…

[J-Lu]

I’m so sorry that your fitter was of such little help! I’m sorry,

My horse was declared to have wide shoulders and a short back but I kind of knew that already. My fitter used chalk on my horse to show me how she was making the measurements and I do have to say they were anatomically correct.

She adjusted a demo saddle to my horse and let me ride in it. i don’t know why your fitter didn’t do the same. My fitter also measured MY body and confirmed that yes, my seat size is 17.5 and told me the ideal flap length. i got the hard sell on the demo saddle and I said “that’s not gonna happen so what are the ranges I should look for in used saddles?” She told me.

I purchased my used Obridado, made for short-backed horses with the shoulder relief option for my large-shouldered guy, on a Schleese facebook page. I send the serial number to my fitter and she said “yes, that should work for your horse”. It actually does work very well for him, better than his off-the-rack saddle which I like slightly better. But I’m pretty happy that he is freer.

Your fitters don’t seem very helpful if they didn’t let you ride in a demo saddle, and that speaks to how responsive they’ll be to you in the future. And probably their other clients.
You can’t possibly assess a saddle on a model horse.

If that is your fitter’s service for the money, I’d recommend another saddle brand. Note that if you find a compatible Schleese in the range of your horse’s back, it likely can be flocked to your horse like any other off-the-rack saddle in the narrow-medium-wide range. My Schleese was fit to my horse BUT needed to be reflocked to be balanced,

Saddle shopping is Hell. Good Luck!!

[lazaret]

Janie at Pelham is good. If she can advise you, I think you could probably have some potentials.

My advice to you would be to not be picky about seats and blocks and cutting things up.

I just got a new adjustable in from Ideal that I would say meets your “low cantle” requirement and the blocks are Velcro so you can take them off.

[eightpondfarm]

that sounds like good advice. They (Pelham) have given me instructions, and i’ll do as they say and see where things lead.

i am quite jealous of your ideal Ideal saddle!

[sheltoneb]

I have never had one, but a lot of folks have them at my barn and I have seen them being fitted multiple times. I think it is common for reps to tell folks thier horse has a short back. I have heard it stated multiple times on horses who I don’t think have a short back.

My sister is an SMS fitter and does continuing education and tries to keep up with all the research. How to measure the back length varies depending on where the fitter was trained. She uses the last rib as a marker for the saddle length and tries to not go past it.