Saddle for horse without withers?

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Saddle for horse without withers?; Boarder needs new saddle
Topic Started: Oct 20 2009, 05:57 AM (73 Views)
Trialbyfire	Oct 20 2009, 05:57 AM Post #1
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure! Posts: 2,186 Group: Members Member #250 Joined: January 8, 2007	My boarder has a VERY fat haflinger x QH and has been riding him in a borrowed Crosby Prix de Nations Wide Tree. When she first rode in that saddle, I actually told her I thought the tree was bent or twisted because it wasn't straight while she was riding. She had it checked by a trainer and pronounced ok, and has used it on him, albeit not often. She hasn't been able to ride him much lately so I hopped on him a few times this week in her saddle and it just slides around! Not a bent tree but just will NOT stay put. If you put too much weight in one stirrup you are off to the side instantly. It feels like you are riding a 50 gallon drum. Not only is this (IMO) dangerous for the rider, but has to be uncomfortable for the poor horse! She will ultimately need to buy a new saddle for him, but doesn't have $2K to spend (which is about 4x as much as the horse is worth anyway!) Is there anything that would fit a horse like this (regardless of price?) Would you just switch to a bareback pad or something? [At least until he slims down, which HAS to make for a better saddle fit, no matter what.]



jn4jenny	Oct 20 2009, 06:25 AM Post #2
Magical Leopluridon Posts: 873 Group: Members Member #893 Joined: March 18, 2007	Yes, there are several brands that specialize in making that type of saddle. If the slippage problem is that severe, it's a case of wrong tree/wrong panel size. And some brands specialize in fixing that for the Equine Sausage/50 Gallon Drum variety. Most of the applicable brands are $2000+, but not all of them. Duett saddles retail for as little as $900 depending on what model you choose, and the woman who imports them from Germany has Haflingers so she knows what she's talking about. She sometimes has discontinued or scratch-and-dent models for $600 or less. Other potential options in the sub-$1000 price range: Wintec Wide all-purpose saddle. Goes 3 gullets wider than the standard Wintec XW. An old, used Passier in super industrial-strength wide. I have seen this work really well for certain wide horses, but they're tough to find and often need a total reflock when you do find them (think old like 20+ years old). So budget for a reflock if you try to go this route. Thornhill, Smith Worthington, and Lovatt and Ricketts all make saddles in super-wide sizes. Lovatt and Ricketts is affiliated with Arabian Saddle Company and knows this wide build well; with Thornhill and Smith Worthington it's more touch and go, it'll be more like a "regular" treed saddle that's been widened. In the short term, she should buy one of these. For her own safety. http://www.nunnfiner.com/Nunn-Finer-No-Slip-Pad-p/71e.htm



Trialbyfire	Oct 20 2009, 07:51 AM Post #3
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure! Posts: 2,186 Group: Members Member #250 Joined: January 8, 2007	Wow, you're the bomb!! I had heard of Duett but couldn't remember the name, and I thought they were hugely expensive so it's good to know that it might be possible to find something reasonably priced. And the Wintec; definitely another good place to start looking. Sounds like a no-slip pad would be a good xmas gift to her. He is so round that riding him bareback is challenging, not to mention that because he's one of those permagreen "trail" types he's sort of wiggly and doesn't hold a consistent pace....very easy to end up on his neck or sliding off to the side! Thanks for the tips and I'll pass them on to her! In the meantime, hopefully we can get a hundred pounds off him this winter.... That will help immensely to fit a saddle properly next spring (when he gets his grazing muzzle.)



FlashGordon	Oct 20 2009, 12:24 PM Post #4
Is the meadow on fire? Posts: 1,955 Group: Members Member #2,251 Joined: December 3, 2007	J had some great suggestions. The only one I would add is an Ainsley Leceister-- I had one for years and it fit every wide, no withered horse I sat it on, including my friend's haffie. Wish I still had it, I'd ship it to you guys. I sold it this spring and bought a black country for Win. They are not easy to find but they seem to have a low resale value and I see them floating around for $300-500. Here's one for $350, and if I'm not mistaken, the pic at the bottom may be that exact saddle. http://westslope.craigslist.org/grd/1385744808.html



Trialbyfire	Oct 20 2009, 04:02 PM Post #5
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure! Posts: 2,186 Group: Members Member #250 Joined: January 8, 2007	Thanks Flash. I will pass these on to her. The girl who owns the wide saddle she's been borrowing has said she needs to sell for $$ [she's in college and poor] and no longer has a horse anyway. But I want to make sure my boarder has some other thoughts about saddles so she doesn't just buy this one because it's "better than nothing" or because she doesn't think she could afford one that fit better. She mentioned that she didn't know if she'd ever really find a saddle to fit a horse like him, no matter what....so I told her I'd do some digging. I do admire her ability to ride him without the saddle slipping as much as it seems to do for me (definitely a skill to keep even weight in the stirrups)....however...if you use stirrups you need to know that you can depend on them and they don't make your situation even more dangerous in the case of an "incident." ETA; thanks for the link but she needs at least a 17, probably a 17.5. She rode in my 16.5 saddle once (just to hop on my mare for a few minutes) and put the leathers down 8 holes from where I had them. So I'm a midget or she's got long legs...probably both. Edited by Trialbyfire, Oct 20 2009, 04:06 PM.



jn4jenny	Oct 21 2009, 05:53 AM Post #6
Magical Leopluridon Posts: 873 Group: Members Member #893 Joined: March 18, 2007	TBF, I thought of one more this morning. The Thorowgood GP Cob and GP Cob Plus are both designed for wide loads. It's a British brand that makes synthetic saddles with changeable gullets, very comparable to Wintec in quality and build. Dover has the US distribution contract for Thorowgood. The GP Cob is similar but not identical to this saddle: http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=X1-15759&ids=734224235 This is the Cob GP. You could call Dover and ask if they can get it for you: http://www.thorowgood.com/uk/t4/t4_cob_gp.htm



Witchy	Oct 22 2009, 02:42 PM Post #7
Is the meadow on fire? Posts: 1,674 Group: Members Member #547 Joined: January 22, 2007	My guy Bubba is very wide and has a very deep shoulder which complicates things further. I tried the Duetts on him and liked them. I don't remember the model names, but I tried both of their hunter type saddles. They are nicely made for the price. I needed a 42cm and they would have had to order it from Germany and it would have taken months, so I wound up passing. Otherwise, I would have bought one. I bought a Smith Worthington S Bar W in an XX Wide tree and I love it. I have no problems with it slipping. Everything else, including the Duett in a 38cm tree sat up to high and slipped around off his back on the turns. I had a Bates Caprilli and I took the tree shaper things out completely to get it as wide as possible, and I rode in that for a while while I was shopping. It was scarry. Good thing he's not ever spooky. One spin and I would have been underneath, even with the sticky pad.



Trialbyfire	Oct 22 2009, 04:37 PM Post #8
It'll be an adventure! We're going on an adventure! Posts: 2,186 Group: Members Member #250 Joined: January 8, 2007	Thanks for all the tips everyone! I told her about the list and she was excited to saddle shop....she will probably wait a few months to buy until he loses a few pounds now that the grass is really finished (I hope!)....but probably good to start looking just to get an idea of what is out there. I think for Xmas I will be buying her equipment necessary for long-lining. He is just so perfectly built for pulling a cart and she would love to train him but it's an expensive hobby. [We dream of training him to pull a little cart and load it with manure from the pasture when we poo-pick since he's such a nosy busy-body and has to walk along with you anyway. ) But he could certainly learn to long-line and that would be fun to think about during the "off" months (e.g. no indoor arena!)



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