I was recently re-evaluating how my saddle fits my tb, because the marks after a ride were more front and back than even so I thought the saddle might be bridging. When he stands in the cross ties, the saddle looks fabulous on him (and it was fitted to him, and reflocked about 3 months ago), so I couldn’t figure out the front/back sweat patches. Then he was standing in his stall with his head down eating hay and I noticed how different the shape of his back looked, when the muscles on the sides of his withers popped up he didn’t have the “big withered tb” look that he had when he was standing in the cross ties. I put the saddle on him while he was eating and it looked so different! So I pulled out my wintec gullet kit to measure the difference in the size/shape behind the shoulder blade where the front of the saddle sits. When he’s standing with “bad posture” he easily fits the narrowest gullet. When he’s flexing those muscles, even the medium-narrow very distinctly pokes into him and is too narrow, the medium is a better fit. Has anyone else noticed this difference? Do saddle fitters factor this in when they fit a saddle on a horse standing so that it still fits when the horse is moving and using his back correctly (beyond fitting the saddle in the cross ties then going for a ride to “test” the fit)?
[QUOTE=alto;6793196]
Have you read this entry on Kitt’s blog (there is a lot of great information on her blog :yes:)[/QUOTE]
That makes SO much sense, and I think it explains some of the troubles I’ve been having lately. Thanks!!
[QUOTE=GallantGesture;6793253]
I was recently re-evaluating how my saddle fits my tb, because the marks after a ride were more front and back than even so I thought the saddle might be bridging. When he stands in the cross ties, the saddle looks fabulous on him (and it was fitted to him, and reflocked about 3 months ago), so I couldn’t figure out the front/back sweat patches.
Do saddle fitters factor this in when they fit a saddle on a horse standing so that it still fits when the horse is moving and using his back correctly (beyond fitting the saddle in the cross ties then going for a ride to “test” the fit)?[/QUOTE]
No saddle fitter I’ve had out has ever worked with the horse in cross ties - horse is assessed moving & relaxed, if horse remains tense, this forms part of the discussion, as does conformation, movement, asymmetries etc … then comes the rider aspect 
The fitter I chose is outstanding at noticing fit for the horse in motion (another client horse at the barn absolutely cannot be fit standing), she’s equally good at rider fit :yes:
Even though your saddle was adjusted/flocked only 3 months ago, I’d call the fitter out to discuss what’s happening.
[QUOTE=alto;6793196]
There is a contradiction in these statements - a Passier medium does not fit that narrow …
Have you read this entry on Kitt’s blog (there is a lot of great information on her blog :yes:)
I’m still dubious that a single ride created so much soreness - I do readily believe that he already had some sensitivity & this last saddle just pushed everything to the breaking point
BUT you should be able to have the expectation that your trainer & leaser will NOT use a badly fitting saddle - from your description, it seems very obvious that the saddle was not a good fit. I suspect you will just need to state in writing that no saddles you (& your saddle fitter) have not previously approved, may be used - NO exceptions.
Like others, I encourage you to give the horse a couple of saddle-free weeks to get the inflammation down & then have the fitter out to assess the Pessoa & the Kieffer.
I’d likely have both a vet & Equine Therapist out to assess the horse - unfortunately neither all vets nor ET’s are created equally 
(if he has turn out, it’s also possible that he did something there & this is just coincidental to the saddle trial)[/QUOTE]
All I can say is that all saddles are different, and medium is a relative term. The medium Passier fit him well. The Lemke was a #3 tree. The saddle in between was a medium, and the Pessoa started out in a narrow gullet plate, but now he takes a medium. I also tried a medium Frank Baines that sat right on his withers. He is just a narrow horse, on the delicate side, and very refined.
I honestly don’t know if that one ride made him so sore, and the saddle fitter was doubtful, too. All I know is one day he was fine and the next he was not, and in between he was ridden in that funky saddle.
The Kieffer was adjusted quite a bit, and it is still on the wide side and needs shims in the pad, but it fits fine now and he didn’t think the channel width would be an issue at all. The Pessoa is a great fit as well.
Maybe I will never know what caused it, but I now have a dressage saddle that fits him and suits me, so no more experiments!
Still haven’t seen the vet, though.
ETA vet checked and my horse is sore across his withers from that #*$%-ing saddle. Another week off and he should be fine. Lesson learned.
The acid test of saddle fit is active fit, since the back changes when the horse starts working. The saddle that looks great during static fit (when the horse is standing in the stall or ties) can be totally unsuitable when the rider’s up and the horse is moving. OTOH, the saddle that’s “meh” in the ties can turn out to be wonderful during active fit. Your fitter should watch you really work your horse before saying “yea” or “nay” to a saddle, and you should have an opportunity to ride in a saddle several times before you commit to buying it.
And alto, thanks for the kind words on my blog!
Saddle fitters! So much information on this thread! I am completely baffled by narrow channels but more so now because they are in some brand new saddles and not just the older ones? I have a warmblood dressage horse with big round shoulders, wide at the base of her withers and broad flat back. An independant saddle fitter was out and put trees from different saddle companys on her and we found a saddle that is quite amazing and puts you in such close contact. These saddles are high end, very expensive custom saddles and shockingly ( having always had schleese saddles) they go from very wide to very narrow at the end of the channel. I want to order this saddle but I am so worried about this being a taboo. I can see older saddles having this but this saddle company is relatively new. I cannot see them doing this if it is not good for the horse’s back? Saddle is made by Bliss of London, and the Paramour dressage is what I have tried and loved. I have carefully measured her spine and it is 4 fingers, about 3 inches or 7 cm from edge to edge of the processes on either side. The schleese rep told me I needed 5-6 finger width for her spine. The schleese adapt- a- tree saddles do not not fit my horse at all. The saddles sit on top of her with alot of movement where as the Paramour wrapped around her like a glove. The channel is huge but narrows to probably 2 inches at the back. This is narrower than her 3 inch spine. Why wouldnt I worry? These saddles are only custom so I could request wider width at the back but they said they cannot guarantee it will not change/comprimise the fit. As mentioned it is alot of money, if it does not work, yikes, but if I go with the template, narrower than 3 inches, this saddle may be difficult to ever sell. I know I have been made to believe the wider the better.
The answer to this question will depend on the panel shape.
If the saddle has short, upswept panels then the smaller width may be a problem. If it has larger gusseted panels, where the panels attach to the tree won’t have a huge relationship to what the width of the panel on the horses back is.
My advice to you, having been down the custom road, is to buy exactly what your horse liked. The same exact saddle you tried if at all possible.
If you are concerned about resale I would look at the prices for some used Bliss saddles. They are beautiful but extremely difficult to sell for a good price due to brand recognition.
The fitter should ideally watch you work your horse in at least two different saddles. The fitter doesn’t know your horse, but that can be an advantage in spotting the difference in the horse when ridden in different saddles.
We need to do our bit as well, especially if we only have one saddle to try. When I got my dressage saddle for my older horse I ran him through his paces as the fitter watched. She was happy with how he went, but I knew he wanted the saddle wider. Once she had (reluctantly) widened the tree by a small amount, she could see the difference in his lengthened trot.
His jumping saddle was bought after a head to head comparison ride in two saddles. One appeared to be custom fit standing still, while the other was pretty good, but in action the “custom fit” was a problem and he was very happy in the “pretty good” saddle.
My younger horse’s saddle was a one saddle, lame horse, trial ride. Okay, there were two saddles that got girthed up, but I rejected one after a brief longe; I didn’t even sit in that one. I really had to do my bit on the one I did ride in. I bought it because after a few minutes of walking around my horse very suddenly relaxed, lifted his back, and lengthened his stride - it was the coolest thing. The fitter did her bit by giving me a full week trial. Happily it worked out that my horse was sound the next day and he was happy in the saddle.
My personal saddle fit trainer was a horse I had who would develop white hairs in less than a month of three 20 minute rides per week. I learned to read his hidden feelings about the saddle so that we didn’t get to white hairs. I got him as a 3yr old and went through a lot of used saddles as he grew up. :lol:
