# Which saddle on your Warmbloods?



## PurplePickle (9 January 2009)

Does anyone else have trouble fitting saddles on thier warmbloods? My Hanno x is terrible, so far all Ive managed to get is a dressage saddle, which is a T4 high wither. 

I bought a wintec close contact over xmas but thats got to be sold as it rises at the back, any recommendations 

you can see the problem from this photo


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## fairyclare (9 January 2009)

I have made numerous posts about saddles today.
I have a terriable job finding something to fit my dutch bred mare, she is extra wide, flat straight backed with a huge shoulder.

I am yet to find anything to fit her 
	
	
		
		
	


	





Have you had a saddler out to measure your horse up? 

FC x


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## martlin (9 January 2009)

I've got Euroriding Jade on a tricky fitter - similar shape to yours.


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## Araminta (9 January 2009)

You are not going to have an easy time with saddles for a while as your boy will grow and change shape quite a bit.
You need a saddle at the moment with deeper panels than the wintec so it will sit on his back.

What has he done to his hock?


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## PurplePickle (9 January 2009)

Thanks did notice his hock in the photo, wasnt that prominent in reality, he wasnt lame, will see how it is tomorrow. 

The Thorowgood T4 high wither dressage saddle fits a treat with fish inserts etc Ive been able to adjust it as he changes 
shape its just I prefer something more comfy for hacking

Maybe I will have to go for the same but the GP style


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## Governor (9 January 2009)

I started off with a GP Kieffer. Ajustable tree and cut back at the wither, it was perfect for my (then) baby warmblood but I never liked it much to ride in.

He now has an Albion K2 Legend dressage saddle and an ancient Stubben Siegfried.

Best to get a qualified saddler out (assuming you haven't) and be prepared to pay a bit more for something that fits properly, very much worth it in the long run.


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## pootleperkin (9 January 2009)

I had a nightmare finding a saddle to fit my boy.....had a very trusted saddler fit him with a Jessica dressage saddle which looked ok....only trouble was it tipped onto his neck one day while I was in the process of riding him away (had been up top about 5 times) and I ended up on the deck. I didn't blame the saddler particularly as I have known him for years and has always been very good in the past - just the boy is a funny warmblood shape. An old stubben dressage saddle fit him, but I was reluctant to pay oodles of money for a 2nd hand saddle that he might grow out of. Eventually got lucky with a 2nd hand scottish made saddle (ivy house who make shampoos and stuff - amazed to see a saddle with theiir name on) and paid £300  - VSD -  still fits him fine, thankfully! The whole process took about 9 months!


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## PurplePickle (9 January 2009)

yep we are on month 9 , he came without a saddle , had a bad fitting saddle with his previous owner,  we had the back lady out and she sorted that but still all in all I  think hes been ridden about 6 times since coming to us


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## I love my Spanish horse (9 January 2009)

Agree on the qualified saddler, ive always been quite lucky with gem, although shes a chuncky warmblood, anthing in a medium seems to fit! 
Having said that my first saddle for her was a fairly old Stubben Siegfried MF Spezial. It not only fits her a treat, but also fits, finer, high withered tb types that ive used on in the past, when needing that extra security! I still use it all the time on her for hacking and jumping and wouldnt be without it!


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## Tiffany (10 January 2009)

I haven't got a warmblood but my friend does and she's got an Albion Ultima (which is adjustable) and a good saddle fitter and she said it's the best saddle she's ever had  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 Her mare is also moving better through her shoulder and is generally more supple. She certainly wouldn't recommend the make of her previous saddle  
	
	
		
		
	


	




I've got the Albion SLK which I am very pleased with but it can't be adjusted apart from with flocking.


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## LankyDoodle (10 January 2009)

My WB has a Bates GP.

Fits him perfectly.  It was bought for George 6 years ago. Recently found it was not right length for him, bought new horse and hey presto is right length for him (18"), so I had it refitted (from MW to M) and he looks great in it and it sits fine.


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## spotsmum (10 January 2009)

i have a farrington gp for my Oldenburg, he has huge shoulders but saddle fitter managed to make me one, cist me 800 quid tho, but he wasnt going to carry on growing at 14!!!


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## Kenzo (10 January 2009)

Have you tried the new Thorowgood T4, it has wider pannels that are a different shape to the wintec, had to explain but they seem to come out and cover a wider area and they are thicker so the saddle lays evenly on the back (well that is idea).  Wintecs will not fit my boy...not matter what fitting, they are not the right shape for his back.

You may also find that going up a size may help (so long as its not too big)  for example I'm using a 18'' at the moment, I dont need the saddle to be an 18 to fit me or my length of leg, but it certainly fits my boy better than the 17'' that I had before.  

A saddle fitter is the only person to help you though, you boy is very similar shape to my horse (well the contour from his wither to where the saddle is) from the photo.

How big is he and what fitting are you currently using?


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## KatB (10 January 2009)

The reason why the wintec is rising at the back is because Wintecs have banana shaped trees, and your horse has a flat back. Saddles such as Albion, Ideal and Barnsby would be a better choice as they have flatter trees and small tree points, so would fit your horses profile better. Get a flocked saddle, as this will allow you to get it adjusted as your horse changes chape, better than any of these systems that just change the front fitting.


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## Hollycat (10 January 2009)

Depending on your budget I would look into a brand of saddle that:

(a) makes different fitting saddles to suit horses with different back shapes
(b) can be adjusted as he grows

Pretty hard to meet both criteia and have one that suits you too, so you may have to get one that suits his back shape and potentially change to a different size at a later date. Get the best saddle fitter you can find and get him/her to bring a selection of saddles as well as contacting specialist retailers of one particular brand that you feel you may like.

Saddles are so individual for the horse and rider combination.  At least you have a dressage that fits the horse and your happy with too, to get along with.

Currently I have an Amerigo dressage saddle for my 3 year old hannoverian.  Am considering getting an Amerigo jump before they go up in price - to almost £3k - yikes.  For the other black mare who is also hann and who is  closely related to the 3 year old (but is a totally different shape) I have a Spalding dressage which I hate but my co-owner loves and also a WOW with dressage/jump flaps though generally just used with the jump flaps.  It was bought for my last KWPN gelding (RIP Mr Tornado) who had a similar back shape to the black mare. However, it is rarely used so I think it will be sold to finance the Amerigo jump (the WOW does not fit the 3 year olds back shape).


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## frb (10 January 2009)

I strongly recommend a Total Saddle Solutions treeless saddle, is fitted to you and then to your horse, which you adjust with padding as he changes shape, you will never need buy another saddle, or use a saddle fitter again!  They come in dressage, gp and jumper and look like conventional saddles.  I have one for my hanovarian as i struggled before.  They are pricey but worth it, and can buy over a payment plan which helps.  I promise you it is worth it. PM me if you want more details.


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## Kenzo (10 January 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I strongly recommend a Total Saddle Solutions treeless saddle, is fitted to you and then to your horse, which you adjust with padding as he changes shape, you will never need buy another saddle, or use a saddle fitter again!  They come in dressage, gp and jumper and look like conventional saddles.  I have one for my hanovarian as i struggled before.  They are pricey but worth it, and can buy over a payment plan which helps.  I promise you it is worth it. PM me if you want more details. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I tried one of these saddles on my lad, it was lovely.....I just couldnt afford one  
	
	
		
		
	


	




, I didnt know they come with a payment scheme though.


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## frb (10 January 2009)

They do now kenzo!  Over one or two years, is how i did it or i would not have been able to afford it.


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## Cluny (10 January 2009)

I can sympathise, I used to have a nightmare with my old horse with saddle fitting, spent a fortune on a WOW saddle and in the end had to sell that as he ended up broncing in it.

However I have both my Danish WB and my Oldenburg in Saddle Company saddles, I have a dressage SC for my Danish lad and an Event GP and dressage models for my Oldenbug.  They both fit them well (but have a very good fitter!) and they are built on injection moulded plastic trees so the tree can be widened and narrowed to accomodate changing shape.

I bought all my saddles on Ebay, most expensive one was about £200 and it was barely used!

Thoroughly recommend them, but of couse any saddle is only as good as the fitter!

Have a look at http://www.thesaddlecompany.co.uk/


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## PurplePickle (10 January 2009)

thanks all, I don't want to go too mad on price a second hand saddle would be fine, my T4 is a 17" and really I would prefer an 18" but if I sold the T4 now I'd get bog all for it and at least it fits. 

Kenzo his T4 dressage is on a med/wide gullet with no fish inserts in at the moment, he is 17.2hh. the wintec in the pic is a 17.5


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## JoBo (10 January 2009)

Try a Fusion saddle, I dont have a WB but a very difficult to fit cob and Sue from Fusion was absolutely brilliant (plus they arent expensive, my GP was £595 new).

http://www.fusionsaddles.com/


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