I have Arabian cross and I am looking for a dressage saddle to fit. I have tried Albion with no luck. She has more of a bananna shape to her back that makes it difficult to fit (i.e. with withers fitted correctly the cantle does not sit correctly on her back and the saddle rocks). A riser helps but pushes me forward. Are there brands that are known to fit this back shape?
Duett
Duett. I had an Albion that fit my arab “ok”, but I didn’t like it when I bought my fjordX. I sold the Albion and bought a Duett Largo. Love it. Had it 5 years now and it has been reflocked once, but it has held up beautifully. It also fit my daughter’s wide arab that we never could get a saddle to fit properly.
Great trial policy, too. I went directly through Duett Saddlery, but Trumbull Saddlery carries them, too. Trumbull also carries Black Country saddles, which are spendier.
My Arab cross is wearing my old Smith-Worthington, refitted to him at a cost of about $400. Sigh. Still cheaper than a new saddle! Of course, he is 16.2 and still growing at 4 years old and the other half is mom - an over 17 hand Appaloosa, so I don’t know how valid that fitting is for the “average” Arab cross.
FWIW, I have found that, in general, Passiers tend to fit “round bodied” horses like Morgans and Arabs.
My Arab goes well in a Neidersuess (actually a total of 3 of them have).
I’ve also ridden various of my own in a Wintec and my old minimalist Martin-Kinlet (like the old Crosby PDN jumping saddles, it fits everything!).
Arabian Saddle Company
i looked at KPN, Albion, Steubben, Passier and County before deciding on an albion for my arabian mare. Then after she developed more the Albion no longer worked. I now have a Euroriding Titan II saddle that is perfect. Check them out. Centaur bodyworks sells them. www.cuatx.com
I have a Flextra that I use on my witherless cob. Also have a Mike Corcoran saddle that fit my other wider cob than the one I am riding now.
Also the Schumacher Profi fit wide backed horses, too.
It depends on the shape of your Arabian. But in general, some that may be worth trying are Arabian Saddle Co., Schlesse, Albion, Duett, Neidersuess – any of the wider saddles. That said, I have an older Moritz dressage saddle (not very well-known in general) that fits my 14.3h Arabian gelding just fine.
Lovatt and Rickets.
Mine wears a Frank Baines Elegance. A WIDEEEE one.
My Arabians are only well fitted in a hoop tree (upside down “U” shaped) in wide or x-wide with upswept (not gusseted) panels. Regular shaped (upside down “V” shaped) trees slip no matter if the width is correct. I also have a treeless (Ansur). The Duetts fit my horses, but my butt really preferred the Black Country so I have a BC Eloquence X. Which is at the barn with my stallion. At home I am still riding in the Ansur (I’ve had it since the unsuccessful saddle quest of 1998). The horses love the Ansur, but it tilts my pelvis putting me a little out of ideal alignment. So now I am trying to figure out a way to get another Black Country (perhaps a modified Equinox II 'cuz I like the monoflap.)
fits good but…
[QUOTE=gloriginger;3264803]
Arabian Saddle Company[/QUOTE]
My friend has one of these that she got for her Morgan Stallion. Fits the horse, but the leather, after only 2 years, is really not in great shape at all. And it is the one that has water buffalo leather. Maybe this is a fluke, but really for the amount of money, I don’t think it is worth it. Maybe others have had better experiences with the quality of the leather?
I have an Arab/Trak and just had her fitted for an Albion. I found one that I got on trial that almost fit, but not quite, so I decided to go the custom route. Her saddle is going to have a hoop tree and if she goes as well in it as she did the Albion I tried that didn’t quite fit I’ll be very pleased. I was lucky in that I have an Albion rep nearby (she does George Williams’s horses too) and she was very helpful in getting my girl fitted.
I tried a Duett on her and wasn’t impressed with the leather at all. Granted, it was a used saddle, so maybe it was a cheaper model/leather, but I wouldn’t have wanted that saddle for the long term. I know Albion has different “classes” of leather, so maybe it’s the same as Albion, I didn’t look into it that closely since my mare was proving to be so hard to fit and I didn’t want to waste any more time on looking for saddles.
I sometimes ride an Arabian stallion (curvy-ish back but wide - cmk/El Capitan breeding) who goes in an extra-wide county competitor. The owner originally chose the saddle model with the help of a county rep, and eventually purchased a used saddle that was flocked by the rep to fit her horse (new was too expensive). It fits him very nicely. 
I’m getting a Frank Baines Elegance for my part bred arab/wb. She’s round and not a lot of wither. Albion, KN, Bates Wintecs all didn’t fit at all. Might pay to try one and also the Reflex model would be worth a look.
[QUOTE=TeddyRocks;3265751]
My friend has one of these that she got for her Morgan Stallion. Fits the horse, but the leather, after only 2 years, is really not in great shape at all. And it is the one that has water buffalo leather. Maybe this is a fluke, but really for the amount of money, I don’t think it is worth it. Maybe others have had better experiences with the quality of the leather?[/QUOTE]
Well I have one and a saddle maker told me it was beautiful quality, as nice as a custom saddle. I do not have the buffalo.
I have the AP Arabian Saddle Company saddle (Sylvan) in buffalo and haven’t had issues with the leather. It was nice feeling from the start and has held up well, so maybe that was a fluke.
The Arabian Saddle Company dressage saddles really are Lovatt and Ricketts brand. I have one of those (Ellipse) as well but the twist is too wide for me (wider than the AP, go figure?).
My Arab got fitted with a County Connection with a half-panel option (they don’t mention this as an option on their website). The half-panel really helps with the shape of his back. The saddle looks more banana shaped than his back, but it works.
[QUOTE=SerenaGinger;3266412]
The Arabian Saddle Company dressage saddles really are Lovatt and Ricketts brand. I have one of those (Ellipse) as well but the twist is too wide for me (wider than the AP, go figure?).[/QUOTE]
they all are- they are made by lovett and Rickets
Interesting. I had an Arabian Saddle Co. saddle that fit my 15’3" arab very well, but not my young Shagya/Trak cross. However, I was NOT sad to sell it and move on since it was always too wide for me. I now have a County Connection that fits both the boys and me. You can’t go wrong with the quality of a County.
I never had any issues with the leather holding up in the Arabian Saddle, though.
Robin
Passier. I have an older PS Balm in great shape and love it on my mare. The tree shape is perfect (supposedly adjustable), the bars have lots of clearance (by way of flocking) and the saddle has a nice close fit that doesn’t overwhelm her petite frame. 
