I am very skeptical of CWD’s ability to “make it right.”
See if you can ride in the Voltaire several times before committing to going that route. The first ride (in any new/different saddle) can often be amazing, because the new saddle is not causing discomfort in the same place. It may take a few rides to determine whether it is truly a good fit (and that’s why the horse is happy) or whether it’s just that it was different.
@pattnic I agree with you completely. Ultimately, if I go a different route, I am wanting to buy something that I actually can sit in and ride and KNOW my horse likes it!
Doubtful. Boy, they will say just about anything to make a sale though 
why not just tell her it’s majik unicorn foam?? 
Look, if you want a saddle that really fits, actually fits, you probably need someone who knows what they’re doing. Very very unlikely that any of these sales reps truly do. For example, ask them if they have ever had ANY TRAINING of ANY SORT on saddle fit or horse physiology provided by someone OTHER than a saddle company. Go ahead and ask. Any training by someone who was not going to pay them commissions. Unlikely.
And even if you get a rep who knows what to do, your options with these foam saddles are limited. They are not “custom,” they are “customized” and there are limitations. They can put one of a number of tree types/sizes on the saddle. One of a number of flap sizes and configurations. One of a number of panel fills/depths. And that’s it. If that fits, super. If not, so bad so sad.
Many horses do ok with off the shelf type foam saddles but a horse with major back issues and some asymmetry that is telling you clearly he is in pain-- this might not be a horse that can do with an out of the box type foam saddle. Many of them are lovely items but your issue is FIT and it is quite likely that they are NOT necessarily a good choice to get a custom FIT. For that, if you can find a wool saddle that can be truly adjusted, and tweaked as your horse improves, that might be a much better option. If you must have trendy, there is County. Though, honestly, for half the price you can get something as nice if you look at other brands. But if you must have ego fluffing etc. there is a wool option in County.
I’ve just seen SO MUCH bad “fitting” in the French brands and so many people trying brand after brand. If you need a basic saddle to put on multiple horses and you’re thinking more about rider comfort-- sure. But someone who comes to the board and says “my horse has back pain and a diagnosed back problem…” to think the solution is just try a different French saddle… that really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
I am sorry that the CWD didn’t work out and that the rep is little help. Not a new story by any means.
Also don’t be so sure the Voltaire is magic. You have been riding in a saddle that hurts. You took it off and put something different on. It is sitting differently. The horse is probably relieved. Doesn’t mean the Voltaire fits or doesn’t fit or that after a week of riding in the Voltaire the horse won’t be sore in different spots. If you take of painful high heels and put on too-small sneakers you probably feel better. But after a week in those too small sneakers you’re going to hurt again.
This made me laugh out loud. :lol: :lol: :lol:
It reminded me of way way back in my IHSA days… going to another school and drawing a horse with a saddle that was just like that.
One of the best ways to try lots of saddles is if there is a large tack shop near you that has a good consignment area with used saddles that you can take to try and return (some require a deposit, but you get it back as long as you return it in the same shape). Larger cities may even have a dedicated consignment store. Try as many as you can find in the appropriate size for you and your horse. You never know what gem you may find this way. No, it won’t have that “new car smell”, but if your horse is happy and you are comfortable, that is what is most important.
@Off Course I agree with you. I tried to go custom and now my budget won’t allow the mistake again. I wonder what I can get my hands on and what he is going to like!
OP can you get an independent fitter in? Here, re paneling a CWD in wool from a super excellent fitter is around $800 CAD. All might not be lost if the tree shape is good. Just a suggestion to try and not make it as $$$
I never even thought about getting my current saddle reflocked with foam! Thank you @Against all Odds !
Has anyone on here ever do that? The sucky part is the fact that I spent so much money for them to get it right and I part of me feels like I need to let them try… but if he hates it, he might hate it no matter what they do.
@raisethebar a friend with a very sensitive paint did it to her antares. They really wanted what the barn brand was so bought it knowing they’d have the panels changed. They had them changed to wool and when the horse retired, put the original ones (foam) back on and sold it as stock/off the shelf. Brilliant!
@AgainstAllOdds Very interesting!!! Thank you for that information. I wonder if that might be the key for me. I personally love the saddle, love the shape of the flap and how it fits me/puts my leg and position. Wondering if this could be an option for me.
If the whole shape is wrong, switching to wool probably won’t help
I’m sorry to hear about your horse’s sore back. Has your vet suggested shockwave? I dealt with a sore back for an unknown reason and two rounds of shockwave, combined with stretching in the middle of each ride, did the trick.
On on the saddle front, my very picky horse loves Tads even though they don’t actually fit her that great. The tree is a bit snug in her and they bounce too much in the back — she has a very flat back. I’d suggest that you consider a saddle company that does serge panels — Black Country, Adam Ellis, Frank Baines. There are likely others. But the serge is very friendly to backs.
@raisethebar, I cannot say enough good things about what Tad Coffin’s saddles do for horses. I beg you to include a call to him before you try too many other things. His latest technological advances include a saddle tree with therapeutic electromagnetic properties which promote healing on a cellular level-- completely changing the discussion of what a saddle can do-- his saddles are more than just a thing to ride on.
I have had his saddles in my barn for the last 18 years, (it was a wide, persnickety mare with back spasms that let me to find Tad in the first place) and they have consistently impressed me with their ability to work on a variety of horse shapes, if you use a studious eye with padding them.
As for other brands, I can’t speak much to them other than say my assistant came with a CWD, which was making her horse back sore and cranky. She has since sold it and is working on getting a saddle from Tad. I like that people can get an TC older saddle and get him to put a new tree in it.
He is such a knowledgeable horseman and has an impressive determination to help improve as many horses’ lives as he can. I would strongly recommend that you give him a call and see if he has a saddle you can try. If sounds like you are doing so many things right for your horse and exploring Tad’s saddle would be one more of those things. I think his saddles are what the horses want us to have for them.
@Pico Banana Thank you for your ideas! We had 2 rounds of shockwave done - both I believe helped a little bit, just not the answer. The fact that we know what his back looks like (current xrays) and the soreness continues to happen makes me believe it definitely could be coming from the saddle.
@jsf1975 thank you for your ideas as well! i have reached out to Tad but I know he is very busy and will touch base with him again.
I mean… saywhat? Any veterinary/medical EVIDENCE to support THIS claim?
that description reminded me of ads that Dover used to have about certain saddle pads and other products - specifically their therapeutic effect due to “transport of negative ions of electricity” to the horse. :lol: :lol: :lol:
’
To be fair, other than in-house brands, Dover (and to my knowledge, SP + DE) uses write-ups provided by the manufacturer for product descriptions; and in the cases they do not, the manufacturer usually provides “key words” to include in the description.
I know the products you’re talking about and rolled my eyes as well, but that was a 100% manufacturer written claim.
Not helpful to the topic but… OP, no one saddle fits all. I have seen horses react positively and negatively to TC saddles. Good luck, I’ve been following your roller coaster with your gelding and you have my sympathy.
Oh look, another point time I agree with @PNWjumper
county is usually the right answer.
I’ve ranted on probably a half dozen threads about tad coffin saddles, both as terrible for the average human woman, but also most horses.
A saddle that “fits every horse” only with the purchase of additional expensive leather pads in various shapes and thicknesses is really a saddle that fits no horse.
Boo. I rode in tc saddles six or eight hours a day for six months or so. I’m astonished I later had a child :lol: and the horses inevitably went better on the rare occasion I was allowed to use my county or albion.
I know it’s a manufacturer’s claim. Why do you have to muddy the waters by detracting from the original post? :eyeroll:
Thank you @beowulf — I think we could be finally putting the pieces together. Everything that we have done has worked and pushed us ahead, but the fact that my vet and myself agree that something isn’t still right - yet the only thing we haven’t changed is the saddle - makes me believe its the saddle.
I almost think I have figured it out what he hates about my CWD and loves about a friend’s Voltaire. The lightbulb went off recently- Day 1: amazing hack in the Voltaire, no spook, forward, and cantering with nose to ground (this was the ride I updated on recently) Day 2: Back was not sore from previous ride. Rode and lightly jumped in CWD lightly and was awful. Wouldn’t go forward from the beginning and definitely wasn’t wanting to lift up into the saddle and stretch. Was spooky at the most random time (this is his way telling me ow). Day 3: decided to do the exact same thing as the day before but with my friends Voltaire. Perfect horse again, jumping around and happy again, nose to ground.
If you turn the two saddles upside down, the difference in the channels are HUGE. Definitely more room in the Voltaire and they are cut completely differently towards the back of the saddle. The panels in the CWD are “rolled”/“round”. The Voltaire is cut at a pretty drastic angle which probably follows the angle of the horses back when it lays there. When you think about it, the rolled design definitely wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone, especially one with a back issue.
I am having the Voltaire rep out Wednesday - very interested to see how he feels with trying the different saddles.Fingers crossed that I’m on to something!
I’m going to take a wild guess and predict that the Voltaire rep is going to proclaim that your horse is much more comfortable in the Voltaire saddles and offer you a convenient payment plan.
Please, OP, get your horse an appointment with a real saddle fitter, not a saddle rep. Two different animals.
My horse is currently going the best he’s ever been in a County.
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