K**** from Nottinghamshire rang us on her way back from a show. Her coloured horse is “all shoulder” and very flat backed and her new saddle which had been fitted and made for her (not by us) had slipped back so badly and rolled about so much that she fell off. She was amazed her horse hadn’t bronked. Someone at the show suggested she call us (thank you, whoever it was!).

With big shoulders and a flat back, the fit of the saddle needs to be precise. Not only must the front arch of the saddle be the right width, it must be the right shape.  Once that is established, the saddle must be the right shape underneath so the gullet is wide and the panels are flocked to the shape of the horse. Given the type and shape of horse, the panels will need to be flat and soft. Many saddles are too rounded and thus will move about. Stability will be further helped with point and balance straps.

Poor K**** was now faced with buying a second saddle and with this in mind, Ian suggested she consider one of his own made to order Minster GP saddles which are unbeatable value at £695. I am about to add this saddle to our web site too! Do take a look under GP saddles!

Lauren from Worcestershire is thinking about an Ideal Gazelle for her six year old, 16.1 hh Warmblood. The saddle is purely for show jumping. They compete atm at around 1.05 but are hoping to move up through the classes over the summer. She needs bigger knee/thigh blocks than on her current saddle for a more secure seat as her horse is very spooky. Her other problem is the saddle sliding forward.

The Gazelle is an excellent choice for rider security when a horse is “enjoying” himself!  It has big blocks and the stitching on the knee pads goes around the blocks allowing the knee pads to fold. Ideal describe this as “it has ghost pad lines to enable fold in the soft knee pads to ensure comfort and security”. It is pretty forward cut and quite a generous saddle. Lauren didn’t want to loose the close contact she currently has and though neither the Gazelle nor Lauren’s current saddle are strictly close contact, Ian thought Lauren would feel closer in a Gazelle.

For the “going forward” problem, we suggest incorporating a point strap in the girthing and combine this with a softer consistency in the flocking. This should solve the problem.

Our topic for today is inspired by an enquiry from Mandy from Lancashire, England who is “desperately searching” for the right dressage saddle for her very wide Irish Draught Mare. “Everything seems to shoot up her neck or lift at the back”.  She was thinking of an Ideal Jessica on a hooped tree, given that the vsd she has at the moment on Ideal’s hooped tree is the best saddle she has so far tried on her mare. She asked if this can be done.

Yes, it certainly can and we suggested the only other thing she might like to consider is having a Suzannah on that tree. The Suzannah flaps and blocks give you a bit more saddle.  Ian had just done a saddle for a similarly very wide Irish Draft cross. That saddle was a Suzannah on a Jessica tree!

Katherine from Australia  enquired about saddles for sturdy Welsh Section C ponies and Connemara types, plenty of substance, very broad and sturdy, about 13-14 hh. However, being quite small, short in the leg and medium to heavy build, Katherine prefers a narrower twist as she needs to get as much of her leg down the side of the ponies as possible.

We initially confined our response to dressage and general purpose saddles as a GP saddle might suit her for jumping too, although we would need to explore this further.

We suggested a Suzannah dressage saddle but on a Jessica tree, (see above) which works well on the wider types being a bit flatter. It also has a slightly narrower twist than the Suzannah and a bit more room in the seat. There is also a GP version.  We said we would be a bit concerned recommending a saddle with a narrower twist than this eg the Roella, given the type of pony it is to be used on. Point and balance strap type girthing arrangement is standard on the dressage version and can be incorporated in to the GP version. This will help the stability of the saddle, often a problem on sturdy, broader types of pony. In this respect we suggested she might like to consider GP style (ie short) girth straps on the dressage saddle so that she can use a GP girth and get more purchase than you would with a dressage style girth. She could also then adjust the girth herself while mounted!

The latest on this is that we have all gone back to the drawing board! Katherine feels that the bigger, chunkier saddles are too much saddle on these ponies and she herself prefers a more discreet type of saddle. We suggested she take a look at the Stuttgart Junior and the Rebecca (in the Ideal range but not illustrated on our web site) , both of which are neater, smaller saddles with flatter seats, less block and a narrower twist. The saddle can be “Designed to Order” to fit her as needed: a deeper/flatter seat, shorter flaps and the tree can be adjusted to narrow the twist, although this will be a compromise between what is comfortable for her and what will work for the ponies. We would work with Ideal and Katherine to achieve this balance.

We will soon be starting a series of articles on saddle fitting, to include one on the problems, solutions and principles of fitting the very wide. Please send us a message if you would like to receive a copy. 

Heidi is a 17 year old Thoroughbred and is a dressage schoolmaster or should I say mistress, for her new owner, Heather in Victoria, Australia.  A Suzannah Dressage saddle is on order for Heidi. The key issue fitting this saddle for Heather & Heidi is Heidi’s sway back.  A sway back is when a horse’s back dips excessively in the top line and often causes the saddle to bridge thereby putting the rider’s weight on the front and/or the back of the saddle and causing uneven pressure points and soreness for the horse. This was what was happening to Heidi.

Once the right width of the tree is established, the saddle needs to be flocked to the shape of Heidi’s back. Any dressage tree has more shape to it than other disciplines with its deeper seat and the Suzannah with its big broad panels makes it easier to change the profile of the flocking and get more flocking in to the waist of the saddle which is where it is needed for a sway backed horse. It is not easy to get right, takes skill and involves dropping the panels out, not something many fitters do. It is our view that you have to drop the panels out to get the right result and the best flocking material is pure, soft lamb’s wool.   It involves a lot more work but its worth it!