Trying to decide whether to get the T4 dressage (suede seat and knee rolls) or the T8 dressage (leather seat and knee rolls and $200 more) ? Opinions and experiences?
I think one was designed for ponies or short-backed horses and the other for long backed horses. I had one and it was awesome. My saddle fitter said it fit my 16.3 TB great! It also fit my 15.3 TB quite well. Well made saddle. It was all leather-like, as in no suede.
Both the T-4 and T-8 have models specifically designed for low wither (cob type), standard wither, and high wither. They have tracing templates and directions on how to do wither tracings on their website to help guide you as to which specific model within the line you need. I replied to OP’s thread in dressage forum that imho the T-8 is a much more comfortable saddle to ride in and for only 200 bucks more it is totally worth the upgrade. I honestly can’t tell I’m not in an all leather saddle when I ride in mine.
I’d go for the T8, simply because with all the extra grippy breeches on the market these days, the stick of the faux suede on the T4 makes it REALLY difficult to adjust your position in the saddle.
We have a handful of both in the tack room at the therapy barn my pony is at. The T4 is fine for trail riding or exclusively flat/full seat work, but even in normal faux side knee patch breeches with no extra grip, I feel TOO stuck to the grippy T4. We would actually like to eventually phase out our T4 models and replace them with T8s, except for our itty bitty saddle which we like the extra grip for the teeny tiny riders who graduate from a sheepskin pad and surcingle and into a saddle for the first time. The extra stick makes the transition a little bit easier for those riders.
Whichever route you go, do make sure you get the right profile for your horse’s back. It isn’t just a different either, they also have different panels as well. We had to get a High Wither model for a horse who doesn’t necessarily have huge withers but he does have a good curve to his topline, and the regular model we initially had him in just wasn’t working. We have a regular model on a mutton withered horse with a narrow back too, because the panels on the cob saddles were too wide/laterally flat for her back. The rest of the herd that have Thorowgoods are in cob saddles because they are flat and broad, though some have average withers.
