Huh. Thanks! Doesn’t the Obrigado already come with short panels?
How do you like the saddle and how your horse goes in it?
I initially bought a used Schleese that fit both myself and my horse wonderfully, and I was a believer. My horse eventually grew out of that, and I ordered a brand new, custom Schleese that never fit either of us. The demo of the model felt so different from what was delivered. Jochen could not even make it work when he came to do the fitting. They are very well-made saddles, IMO, and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a used one that I sat in, on my horse, and fit us both. I would never order a custom saddle from them again, especially not for that price.
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Sent a PM.
As I understand it, any Schleese can come with any of the panel lengths (talking about the length under front to back, not down the shoulder). I like it… my position is much better than in the Custom Wolfgang Solo I had been riding in. Stirrup bars are much more under my seat rather than in front of me. Horse has better reach in his shoulder.
The extended stirrup bars are a definite selling point for me, as my femur is much longer than my tibia/fibula. I rode in the Custom Advantage and it put me in a chair seat. But that is because of my build. I’ve yet to find a saddle with extended stirrup bars. I’ve ridden my current saddle with the stirrup bar clips laying flat but I’ve had the stirrups fall off when riding. I make the clips upright now.
Yes, I misspoke about the panels. Thank you for correcting me!
Part of Schleese fitting practice is to stick the saddle in a press to open or close the tree angles as often as needed. My independent saddle fitter thinks this is something that should be done once or twice maximum in the life span of a saddle and preferably never. She doesn’t do it at all. I’ve also read that saddle presses should be used installed on a level shop floor, not in the back hatch of an SUV and worked on after dark. So this is something to be wary of with secondhand Schleeses.
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The more concerning part to me is that they believe in adjusting the tree point asymmetrically. Once that is done, it is almost impossible to get the saddle straight.
I do adjust trees on the brands that are suppose to be like Custom. I mainly refuse on other brands because there is always a chance the tree will break.
The part people miss about the tree press is that the tree has to be straight relative to the press. So I have mine marked up so that I can get the tree straight even if the press is not straight. Otherwise, you do get trees adjusted asymmetrically.
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Apparently you have to buy directly from a Schleese Rep for the warranty to be valid. You’d pay for shipping but the repairs are free.
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I have had no other problems with the saddle. I believe the saddle was 7 years old at the time.
I brought schleese custom virtual fit quantum saddle - It’s amazing…the new technology put into the design (explained on schleeses website) which improved my horses movement 3 fold, my balance and comfort. It’s the same weight as the prolight, so not heavy. I like this model in particular, as it gives me control over saddle fit as I can check shoulder measurement as my warmbloods weight fluctuates, with a shoulder tracer, make a cut out template, open the saddle up and check shoulder fits the gullet plate perfectly. The width or angle can be changed with an Allen key if need be. You can also access virtual fitting sessions or wait for a on-site fit. There’s also so much information Jochen Schleese gives in his you tube channel…the saddles expensive, but you get what you pay for and in my view it’s worth the investment…
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