Can anyone give me a rundown on Stubben close contact saddles? Specifically the Eidelweiss. Curious to know how they run size wise (big? small?) as well as tree shape. I know a lot of these brands have multiple trees they can build on and I can read some stamps (CWD, Antares, and Voltaire) but I’m not familiar with what the numbers mean on the Stubben.
I’m (still) looking for a new jumping saddle for a funky TB and am drowning in saddle specs so any help would be amazing!
I bought an old one this spring. Don’t know that I can help you with your question… but mine is a Sigfried II. It’s the close contact version of a regular Sigfried. I’ve been riding in it recently, I figure it’s a medium width. Fits my horse who has fit other medium width saddles. Haven’t noticed any stamps of numbers on it, maybe I just haven’t looked closely enough?
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Stubbens have a u-shaped headplate/pommel that is the same size on every saddle, and then the 27, 28, 29, 30 numbers are the measurement between the tree points: https://stubbennorthamerica.com/tidbit-tree-width/
I basically think of 28 as extra narrow, 29 as narrow, 30 as medium, 31 as medium wide, 32 as wide. I believe some models now have an XW, too. The tree shape doesn’t work for all horses, but does work for a fair amount of TBs. And they are known for being a good option for horses with high withers thanks to the headplate.
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Awesome! Thanks for the link! Horse needs borderline hoop/U head plate and flatter rails. And wide. Hoping the 32 on this one is wide enough. And that the saddle runs flat enough!
Okay after looking around at the info I’m gonna take the saddle on trial. It’s marked as a 17 1/2 and the current owner says it has upswept panels. I’m not sure if this is actually an option or just the way the saddles are shaped but it’s also on my “need” list as pony is short backed and I have legs for days.
Edit: spelling
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Those saddles fit many backs, really and seems like it would your short backed pony.
Had an Edelweiss myself and it really fit most horses and humans fine.
Stubbens are nice riding school saddles because of that.
I have a now 50 year old Rex still in use and a newer Roxane.
Both have yet to find a horse they didn’t fit, from lanky TB colts to chunky older quarter horses.
I have a Crosby Lexington SS Ted Coffin that rides very well, but takes a more precise fit for horses to be comfortable under it.
Best way to see if a saddle fits is to try it, as you are doing, but I would say, Stubbens have a better chance of fitting more horses than others may, at least the older ones have been like that.
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I have about a 10 year old Edleweiss semi custom. I had tried a lot of different saddles but this one fit both my horses well. It is wool flocked and I have it checked every 3-4 years and it is still in great shape. I have never regretted buying this saddle
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I had a stubborn edelweiss NT for my last horse. It fit him great but was really only good for riders with short legs. (Which is me) Everyone of my friends who tried it with longer legs hated it.
So the Stubben fit me great and the 32 cm tree looked spot on, upswept panels were plenty short for his short back. Even contact, no obvious pinching, good balance and clearance, all that jazz. Didn’t budge going up and down our massive hills, even with a rather loose girth.
Problem is, the channel narrowed to 2 - 2.5” RIGHT under the stirrup bars. Front and rear of channel were acceptably wide (horse could really use as much space as possible due to a really wide spine) but am I right in thinking this is a problem? Seems like it would pinch and cause him to hollow, even though it’s not sitting on TOP of his spine at all. He definitely wasn’t moving out as loose and forward as I know he can, but it’s a new barn and he’s out of shape.
Do the other models have wider channels, or maybe the newer models? It seems they don’t make the Eidelweiss anymore. There’s another Stubben in the same tree size I could try, but I’d like to save the shipping if they all do the narrowing thing. Saddle shopping is the worst when you don’t want to spend tons, and even then!
Hmmm…my old Camelot doesn’t narrow at the stirrup bars. I mean the whole thing gets slightly narrower but not that narrow.
How wide is your gullet? Mine is a 31cm but a 6 inch gullet.
5.5” or 6” dot to dot it looks like. Channel starts out at a solid 4 fingers wide, narrows to a really snug 3 fingers (realistically a loose 2) and then widens back out to a snug 4. It’s narrower right under where all the weight of the rider would be.
Maybe that’s how they put a narrow twist on? By narrowing the whole thing, despite the rather open head and wide gullet at the front of the saddle?
Weird… do you know how old it is? I have a Portos that’s maybe 6 years old now and the channel/gullet defnitely doesn’t narrow like that.
Dutchess Bridle & Saddle has decent photos of the panels from below, my saddle looks like this: https://www.dutchessbridlesaddle.com/product/stubben-18-29cm-genesis-deluxe-vsd-0937/
And here’s an Edelweiss that maybe looks more like what you are describing? https://www.dutchessbridlesaddle.com/product/stubben-edelweiss-nt-deluxe-jumping-saddle-0531/
Yep that Edelweiss looks almost identical. No idea on the age of the saddle I had (I returned it) but it definitely narrowed. They have a Portos Elite in the same tree size I’m thinking of trialing, but it’s a fair bit more expensive for an “interim” saddle, which is what this would be. Might be worth the $75 to try it though, especially if your Portos doesn’t seem to do the same thing!
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