Schleese saddles

[trakehners]

Popping in here to add my own experience—I had a Schleese fitter out in the fall to look at my (non-Schleese) saddle and was almost immediately told that the panels were too long (I need an 18” and my horse is short-coupled). They tried very hard to sell me on a Schleese, but after riding in a couple demo saddles, I couldn’t stand the twist in them (and was not financially or emotionally in the position to drop $7k on a new saddle after being told that the $7k new saddle that I’d bought used for $4500 wasn’t a good fit) so I just made my excuses and popped over to our local independent tack store that weekend.

They found me a saddle for $800 that fit me well enough and that my horse seems happy in (after I took a few on trial to see which ones he expressed his disdain for—apparently he hates foam panels) and I figured that would tide me over til I could figure out what to do with my supposedly poorly-fitting monoflap. Fast forward to recent weeks and both my trainer and I have been feeling a bit skeptical about what I was told, so today I marked where the panels end on my horse’s back for both my monoflap and the cheap saddle, and in a shocking turn of events, they end in the exact same place

I’m going to have my trainer’s fitter look at my monoflap the next time she’s out to see if she can tweak the flocking for my horse or if more substantial modifications are required, but I am so beyond frustrated with this whole affair. My consolation is that I didn’t get convinced to buy one a Schleese and the one that I did buy in the interim will be a good backup if I ever get a project horse or am riding other people’s horses in my own tack. Ugh.

[lorilu]

About the twist… schleese’s new “proLite” system changes the feel of the saddles. The twist is still narrow, but they are wider BELOW the twist. I bought an Obrigado with that system after riding in it for a short while (maybe 10 minutes?) I knew I wanted an Obrigado as I’d had them before, and had one whose panels too long for the horse. It tood a few weeks, but I finally figured out that my hip hurt because the saddle was pressing my femurs apart below my hip joint.
I was annoyed when the fitter said - Didnt you notice when you tried it? Well, no, not in 10 minutes!!
They sold it on consignment (I took a big loss ) and sent the other older schleese in to have the panels replaced. Love it.
I have since ordered another Obrigado for a different horse and I am pleased; I DISLIKE the fact they expect ONLY their reps to work on it (or warranty is void).
A good friend and ocassionally my trainer has also decided the ProLite system is not for her.
You have to ask for the “classic” style…

[sami-joe]

My Schleese fitter/dealers basically washed their hands of me, telling me to go directly to Schleese customer service.

While apologizing profusely, the offered me a free fitting, valued at $300-plus, and a $700 fix for the ca. 2005 saddle I paid $1800 (including a fitting) for seven months ago. The rep tells me the repaired saddle will be worth $1600 when finished. I simply don’t have the money to spend that kind of money on a saddle I just bought.

My next move is to ask for a $1000 refund. I’ll send them the saddle to fix and resell.

[candyappy]

@sami-joe

My next move is to ask for a $1000 refund. I’ll send them the saddle to fix and resell.

I hope they do it for you, especially since they sold you the saddle!

[hut-ho78]

I had great service from the first fitters and the main office. I hope you get the same from the main office.

[Leigh2022]

Tacking on another question to this thread (Sorry to highjack!) but does anyone know what the difference is between the numbers stamped?

I get the tree style difference between the W, E, H, and S, but what do the other number/letter combos indicate?

[crthunder]

I grabbed a picture I had on my phone (not
My saddle but a friends)

I’m not sure for first four numbers if it is anything more than a serial number. The middle S is the schleese adapt-a-tree. 0809 is when it was made, so august 2009. SR means shoulder relief panel. There is also RE which is rear wedge. 4-18 means panel size 4 and seat size 18.

Hope that helps!

[Buster]

I’ve had the same experience in a “fleece-ya” saddle.

[Fiesta01]

I had both a JES Elite and an Infinity. They worked great for my horses, but my follow-up appointments were basically fine-tuning the flocking as opposed to tree adjustments. I’m so disappointed to hear of the problems others are having.

[akrogirl]

I have had with great luck with my Schleese saddles until this past year - no one has been out to our area to do saddle fittings in over 18 months. My experience with Custom was a total disaster - each fitting made the saddle worse, so I sold it.

[HorseBuff]

I bought bought a new Prolite. My mares back is happy (has been checked multiple times by vets, chiro and body worker), she seems happy (she’s a mare, are they ever happy?) and my back is happy. I tried the obrigado and she hated it which is interesting because the prolite is the obrigado but with the new psi panels. She also likes the Let’s Dance but I didn’t like the seat. Also has the psi panels. There’s something to be said for those.

The twist is different. It drops strait down which is a good thing, just not what I’m used to. I’m used to a lot more “saddle” which turns my knees out, is more comfortable but not the best position. I can actually put my legs where they are supposed to be and I’m nicely over her center of gravity. I can feel my seat bones. I had none of those with my supposedly fitted Stubben.

My previous saddle was super comfy but I was fighting it all the time. The fitter never saw an issue.

I’m not pro brand fitters or pro independent fitters, I’ve had good and bad experiences with both.

As for Schleese being the only ones who can adjust your saddle or you void the warranty, Stubben is the same. I’m sure other brands are, too.

[eightpondfarm]

i just picked up an elderly schleese saddle to try. it’s a 1995 model!!!

An H style tree… so, theoretically adjustable, but at it’s age, i’d be afraid to even try. So either it fits or it doesn’t. I do have a question about the tree points, they say the “H” points used in the past are longer… Does that impact shoulder movement a lot? I won’t be trying it out til tomorrow at lesson…

[Unfforgettable]

H stands for Hennig…a saddle company in Germany. Schleese used those trees back in the day before they had their own trees.

[eightpondfarm]

Thanks for responding!
I read that the H stood for hennig. Also read that the H tree was replaced and their current trees have shorter points. So, what i am wondering is if the longer points on the H cuts into their shoulder movement. Oh well, my coach will tell me i guess.

A saddle fitter will take a look in a couple of weeks. She’ll be able to get a good guess as to the tree’s condition…at least if it is broken or not.

[sami-joe]

Good news update.
To keep the saga short-ish and prevent scrolling half the thread, I had high hopes of finding a used Scheese. In Maine, where I rode for decades, it was one of the go-to dressage saddles for TBs. I found a fitter who would travel to not-very-Southern Southern California and bought a used saddle that decompensated after seven months.

After three months of riding bareback or in my ancient Crates endurance saddle (fits my horse and is indestructible), the fitters found me a JES Elite a couple of months ago. I’d never heard of them, so I was happy to see @Fiesta01’s good experience with them.

I freaking love this saddle. Barring catastrophe, it will outlive my riding life and probably my 16 yo TB. The leather is beefy, old enough to have come from cows allowed to age like cows, not speed-grown w/ hormones and antibiotics. And it fits my horse and me.

The Schleese people did an even trade, though they charged me for fitting when they basically did a remote fitting (they had all his measurements and photos). I was vaguely annoyed until I put it on my horse, and he took a big deep breath and licked his chops.

While it probably needs a bit of re-flocking already, I love this saddle so much, I’m more than glad to pay them to come stuff some wool into the rear panels.

[Pehsness]

So this is a total aside, but this thread is cracking me up because Sabine Schleese commented on an article about Eric Lamaze - echoing how sleezy he is and such a bad person because he had Schleese design a saddle, he took the design and got it made elsewhere.

And now to read this and hear Schleese is just as sleezy Pot, kettle et al.

[Scribbler]

@Pehsness

So this is a total aside, but this thread is cracking me up because Sabine Schleese commented on an article about Eric Lamaze - echoing how sleezy he is and such a bad person because he had Schleese design a saddle, he took the design and got it made elsewhere.

And now to read this and hear Schleese is just as sleezy Pot, kettle et al.

Haha. Schleese started life working for Passive, (I mean Passier) used their trees in his early saddles.

[lazaret]

Passier?

[Scribbler]

Passier. Will change.

[Scribbler]

@lazaret

Passier?

This has sent me down a rabbithole trying to imagine the “Passive Saddle.” Does it have giant thigh blocks and maybe a seat belt? Or is it a buzzword for a treeless saddle that’s supposed to be biomechanically neutral on your horse?