Update: TB Saddle Recommendations - Saddle fit input (for rider)

[Mcl1]

Update- Returned the Stubben, on the search for the next saddle to try and looking for any recommendations for a typical TB back. Budget is $2k or under but would really like to stay lower than that as I just had to buy my other very different horse his own saddle.

Highline tack sent a few suggestions but all at the top of my budget and brands I wouldn’t typically associate with being good horse fit wise (CWD, Devoucoux) and a gorgeous Prestige which I have heard good things about but it’s a 16”.

And/or, Anyone have positive Stubben experiences with a different model? I did like the fit on him.

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Original post:
Hoping to get some additional sets of eyes and input on a saddle I have on trial. My current saddle is a 17” Butet with a long and forward flap. I have always been a Butet person but it doesn’t fit my horse well (6 yr old TB) (although he doesn’t show signs of discomfort or go any differently in the trial saddle). Additionally, my old beloved Butet was a 1999 16.5” that I sold a few years ago, and I have never fully LOVED my ‘new’ one.

I have 16.5” Stubben Ascend on trial with a long and straight flap. The Stubben certainly fits my horse way better and is more comfortable for me. However - when I watch videos back, it looks like it is putting me in a chair seat (doesn’t really feel like it when I am on though). It’s not a cheap saddle and I want to be fully happy with it if I buy it, but I am not sure where to go from here in terms of what to look for in a different saddle that will fit my guy (other than a 17” seat - only reason I took a 16.5” out is because I couldn’t find a 17”).

Hoping for some input based on these videos, I have some in the Stubben and some in the Butet for comparison:

Stubben at the trot:

IMG_1541

Stubben jumping:

IMG_1544

IMG_0838

Butet:

IMG_1373

IMG_0039

[sheltona01]

As a saddle fitter, I wouldn’t be happy with either fit for you. However the Stubben is worst .

[Mcl1]

@sheltona01 Thanks for the input! Kind of confirmed what I have been thinking, I have never really liked this Butet - I just needed a saddle and didn’t know where else to start.

I’m sure it’s nearly impossible to tell from videos/pictures, but any idea of what I should look for in a different saddle? Unfortunately I am in a rural area with no English tack shops anywhere around, and my horses are at home so no option to try other people’s saddles out, which leaves me with having to blindly pay for trials from online shops.

[sheltona01]

Where are you located?

[Bluey]

Best I can see, not too good that, the Butet seems to give your leg less support, lower leg seems looser on it?

[dmveventer]

Some of the major consignment shops will do virtual fittings. I know Equitack and Equestrian Imports offer it, I think Highline/Fineline does too. There have been a few threads on virtual saddle fit you can check for recommendations. You still have to pay for trials but at least you wouldn’t be doing it blind, and the big stores tend to have pretty substantial stock to work with.

Neither of the flaps seem to fit your leg correctly, do you have room to put your stirrups up a hole or two without your knees falling off the edge? The Stubben does put you in a chair seat but your position looks more solid overall than the Butet. A 17/17.5 seat and/or a forward flap might solve your problem, but it’s hard to know exactly how changing one will impact the other without sitting in it.

[steelerino]

No saddle for advice but your horse is adorable!

[Mcl1]

@dmveventer This is from Fineline so I will ask about that! I definitely feel more locked in with the Stubben, I just wish I was locked in to a better position. I can go up a hole or two in both, but more room in the Stubben. I guess atleast I know a Stubben tree size that works for him now, it just feels like it will be impossible to find something to fit both us without taking a ton of saddles out (yes, I am definitely being dramatic, I just really hate saddle shopping ). Worst part is, I need to find a whole other saddle for my other guy who is the equivalent of a 55 gallon barrel.

@steelerino Thank you! He is so much fun and I love him a whole lot.