There isn’t even a thread on this magnificent saddle yet! :eek: What is the consensus? Anyone have one, ride in one, own one, etc?
I just bought one through a very serendipitous stroke of good fortune. Ridden in it twice. My horse loves it, I still feel out of place in it… but I’ve been riding in a dressage saddle for the last 2 years.
It looks beautiful! I started riding in a monoflap CC saddle last year after a few years of riding just in a dressage saddle, and after I got over the initial “wtf” I am in love.
[QUOTE=kashmere;8734936]
It looks beautiful! I started riding in a monoflap CC saddle last year after a few years of riding just in a dressage saddle, and after I got over the initial “wtf” I am in love.[/QUOTE]
Just sayin’, it is gorgeous. It came to me wrapped in plastic and then a saddle cover - unveiling it, I imagine, was like how a groom feels to lift off the veil of his bride – I knew it was “the one”. :winkgrin:
Theatrics aside, the saddle fitter loved how it fit on my gelding and when I rode him in it almost all of his little idiosyncrasies were gone (occasional slip behind, difficulty staying straight going right @ canter, wanting to pick up left lead only). He was seen last week by chiro, vet and then the saddle fitter and all think the previous saddle (which was also fitted to him!) was the source of his problems. He better flipping like it, considering it cost 4x more than his purchase price!
I loved the demo I tried, then could not get any of the 3 saddles I purchased subsequent to that to feel the same for me. The demo was the wrong size for my horse so I didn’t have the choice to buy it.
I ended up buying a Prestige for less money.
They are all my trainer rides in and she seems to love them. Sadly out of my price range but I definitely like Stubbens in general.
:lol:
Great that your gelding is going so well in it. I’m totally in the same boat for price of horse vs price of equipment. I often tack up my $600 mare and chuckle as I slap on her 1.5k saddle, $150 half pad, $200 worth of boots, $200 bridle… etc.
Mr. PM has one now, loves it, horse going much better and he is better able maintain a good position. The 1K horse with the 4K saddle.
I loved mine, I really did. I felt very secure and it fit my horse pretty well until it settled and became too wide. Unfortunately it wasn’t a good fit for me. I made it work, but the flap wasn’t forward enough and I need an 18" seat.
I sold mine fairly quickly, but am kicking myself for pricing it too low. 
Just saw this a few minutes ago if anyone is interested!
https://www.facebook.com/TealwoodTackCompany/photos/?tab=album&album_id=286782375006097
They are so pretty. I love, love the way they look.
I can’t seem to make the XC style saddles fit my leg or balance point. They are all too high forward for me and make me feel like I’m in a chair seat. Maybe I just haven’t found the right one for me yet. I have super long legs, ride short and am very hard to fit. So I still ride in my old fashioned flatter style saddles.
I feel the same way tacking up my TB in my Tad Coffin, though, Beowulf. He better like it or I might sell him and buy a horse to fit my beloved saddle! :lol:
[QUOTE=kashmere;8735329]
:lol:
Great that your gelding is going so well in it. I’m totally in the same boat for price of horse vs price of equipment. I often tack up my $600 mare and chuckle as I slap on her 1.5k saddle, $150 half pad, $200 worth of boots, $200 bridle… etc.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I’m with you there… My boyfriend calls Holden the $800 horse with $6000+ worth of tack in the trailer…
Fordtraktor I would kill for a TC saddle… sadly none ever meet the specs I need and almost exclusively seem to be in 18+ seat size or narrow… They hardly ever show up used around here because of how much people must love them. A TC would have been my first choice if they had a monoflap edition.
See, when my boyfriend asks about the cost of my tack I generally have very unfortunate coughing fits. And when I come up for air I just tell him it was “a really great deal”
I feel your pain, Beowulf. it took me years of Internet stalking to find a somewhat reasonable used one in my dimensions because I needed an Xforward Xlong flap. Now that I have it, not letting it go even if it has to sit out a horse or two. I kept a wool flocked Smith Worthington I can fit to anything it doesn’t work for I also really like, but the TC I LOVE.
I do think those Zarias are totally gorgeous though, you will be very happy with yours! I have a Stubben dressage saddle, one of the older models, and like it a lot.
It was too banana-y for my horse, and felt like far too much saddle for me (high pommel, too deep, etc.), had that floating above the horse not with the horse feel, but it was a very lovely saddle. The tree points are fairly far back IIRC,which made the horse very happy. I prefer a closer contact & a saddle I can sink into, but saddle fit for the horse and human is so subject, if this one can give you that feeling, it is very very nice.
I felt the same as goodmorning, felt really high above the horse and although I liked the leather, just didn’t work for me
I purchased a Smith Worthington Zephyr Monoflap in 18.5 (only come in 1/2 sizes)…So far I’m in love…It’s settling a bit, which is normal, so I have a fleece works 1/2 pad coming tomorrow…will ride until I think it’s settled then can have it stuffed up or ride with 1/2 pad…Saddle is lovely, great price and people SOOOO nice to work with…
[QUOTE=elizabeth Callahan;8737543]
I felt the same as goodmorning, felt really high above the horse and although I liked the leather, just didn’t work for me[/QUOTE]
This was my first thought as well, but then I rode in it a few more rides… I actually just did our first real cross country school with the two green beans today and I have to say it definitely put me in a great position and kept me feeling very secure. Both horses were absolutely fabulous. I don’t notice feeling high off of his withers anymore, but I do notice that the flap wants to ‘shape’ my leg in a more close, secure position – I definitely don’t feel that in my Ainsley XC at all – in fact, I feel too wiggly/loose in the Ainsley!
It’s interesting that some people say the seat is too deep - it seems very flat to me. I ride in a Kieffer Wein normally, which is a moderately deep seat and the Zaria feels quite flat.
And this is why saddle fit is so individual - I have a Keiffer Wein for dressage & I love it’s close contact not deep feeling :lol:
For jumping I have a BC Solare, love, and I’ve ridden in Butets, Tad Coffin, Voltaire Palm Beach flat that give me that close feel as well. I did feel very secure in the Stubben, but too secure, not something I’d want to do a real drop in, or felt comfortable galloping in.
Glad you are enjoying it :yes: Saddle searches are the worst!
[QUOTE=goodmorning;8739998]
And this is why saddle fit is so individual - I have a Keiffer Wein for dressage & I love it’s close contact not deep feeling :lol:
For jumping I have a BC Solare, love, and I’ve ridden in Butets, Tad Coffin, Voltaire Palm Beach flat that give me that close feel as well. I did feel very secure in the Stubben, but too secure, not something I’d want to do a real drop in, or felt comfortable galloping in.
Glad you are enjoying it :yes: Saddle searches are the worst![/QUOTE]
It is! I love my Wein too – it’s my go -to for those looong trail rides.
I’m coming back and resurrecting this thread (hey, it’s my thread, so it’s ok, right?) to ask you about this… how much did you sell it for and where did you list it?
So, when I got this saddle I had it checked by a very well respected saddle-fitter before I plunged and purchased it (I had it on trial). She said it fit him great structurally and it needs to be ridden in/broken in so the wool settles before she could reflock it to him.
I didn’t get to ride in it much at all since the horse in question had an extended winter vacation… but I pulled it back out last month because a family member is using my dressage saddle, and I decided to have a Stubben rep come and look at it and reflock it for him since he is back in work again.
The Stubben rep says it is much too wide for him (and this is a wide horse) and he needs a 28… If anything, he is wider than he was when the original saddle fitter said it fit him… The good thing is, she put her money where her mouth was and let me try her personal saddle, which is the same exact saddle, just in a 28 tree… I definitely felt an immediate difference in my balance and seat. Holden seemed to go about the same as he did in the other Zaria.
I am not going to lie, I am very, very disappointed. I bought it brand new and it hardly has any rides in it, and I wasn’t planning on ever getting another saddle for this horse again. The other frustrating thing is that the tack retailer that sold me this saddle brand new said it was a Medium tree… but according to the Stubben rep, it’s not.
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