Wool vs. foam panels, high end saddles, and repaneling

[spurofthemoment]

So I made a thread a little while back about how having a saddle fitting kind of opened my eyes to a whole new world. I took the advice of people who replied and others to not quite pull the trigger and I’m happy I haven’t. I’m posting this as a reply (rather than a new thread) since I find it relevant to the topic, and it might help other readers out

Since then, I’ve been trying out some other saddles with appropriately shaped and sized trees for my horse with wool flocking. I’ve come to find this: I feel more at home and more connected to my horse in a P seat Butet than any other saddle.

NOW! My question is: does the wool flocking create more of a barrier between your seat and the horse’s back? I feel like I’m perched way up high in wool flocked saddles (like I’m sitting in a booster/riser seat), and like my seat aids are non-existent. This is not the case in the foam paneled Butet. Is this normal? Is it not? Could I potentially get a wool flocked Butet and feel the same closeness to my horse’s back? That’s sort of my next endeavor if it could potentially help me feel my horse’s back again.

[dmveventer]

This is not a wool vs. foam thing, it depends on the individual saddle and rider preference. There are plenty of wool saddles that offer a close-contact feel and plenty of foam saddles that leave people feeling perched.

The best way to find out if switching to wool changes the feel for you is to sit in the wool version. If that’s not possible your rep should be able to tell you roughly what the difference in thickness would be for the panels and you might be able to extrapolate from there, but if you like how the saddle feels overall I’d be surprised if there was a huge change in feel just from swapping out the panels.

[outside_leg]

I sat in both the foam and wool versions of the P seat Butet (ultimately went with a different brand that fit my horse a little better). I didn’t notice a substantial difference between the feel of either. The wool had a bit thicker panels, but I didn’t feel perched and my horse still responded to all my seat aids. Just my personal experience.

[HJdaydream]

I will echo @outside_leg. I have recently sat in both foam and wool flocked Renaissance saddles and did not notice a difference in the feel with the horse. I did notice my horse clearly having a preference to the wool, but the saddle itself and the connection was not noticeable to me between the two.

[spurofthemoment]

Funny you mention Renaissance, because that’s the brand I’m currently demoing (again) and I feel so far from my horse’s back. My leg connection is better in the Renaissance, but I also think that the flap length is more appropriate than it is in my Butet. I’ve been working with a rep, so I’m hoping it’s just an adjustment away from being perfect.

Also, the model of Renaissance I’m demoing isn’t the flat model - I liked the F2 better when I first sat in Renaissance saddles, but I think I might try and sit in the F again just to see.

[dynamite0319]

One thing to remember with wool is that it will compact with use, this could contribute to the difference you are feeling. Foam often feels “closer” to the horse because there is no movement/change in foam (until the material itself begins to degrade). I have gotten two new wool flocked saddles this year and both feel “closer” to the horse now than they did for the first 20 or so rides.

[spurofthemoment]

It felt WAY different. Almost like it wasn’t the same saddle/model.

Any chance that Butet’s seat/trees have been modified? I absolutely love the balance in my 2004 P. My only problem is that it’s not wide enough for my seat bones. Fredric Butet designed the Renaissance saddles - are newer Butets different from older ones?

The saddle I’ve been demoing (a Prestige) is wool flocked, DEEP seat (super high cantle) but I do admit I feel like I’m close to my horse’s back (like I am in my Butet). And it doesn’t dig in on the same area as the Butet. So overall, far more comfortable. But the darn cantle is throwing me for a loop - I’m not used to having something right behind my tush.

[Posting_Trot]

With a deeper seat saddle, you typically ought to go up one size (from a 17" to a 17.5", for example) to avoid that feeling of having the cantle constantly in your way.

[spurofthemoment]

They only have full sizes and I’m riding in a 17 - not sure if my horse will be able to take an 18.

I will say, the cantle is by no means interfering with my ride. I can just tell it’s there. If anything, I ride more straight in a deep seat vs hunter princess perch/forward lean in the flat seat.