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I love my arab, but I need to rant a little

4K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  QOS 
#1 ·
My little egyptian arab is such a mischievous sweetheart and I love him to pieces, but I'm so sick of having to spend hours liking for tack that will fit him. He has such a typey head/face that I can't find a caveson to fit him correctly. Bits are very difficult and saddles are almost impossible. The only tack that I've been able to easily purchase was his show halter because they're made to got refined heads. Ugh! Am I the only one with this problem?

Rant over. Thanks.
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#2 ·
My 16.2 anglo arab has to wear PONY tack bridle saddle boots etc its quite annoying as you have to sort through pink flowery stuff to get what you want! on the plus its alot cheaper :D
 
#3 ·
Nope, my first and second horses were Arabians I had the same problem!

I don't think either one of my poor boys ever had a really good fitting saddle, although I did try. :-(

In English tack, "cob" size seemed to fit them. But I rode western, so other than a couple of English bridles that I liked to play around with, that info. didn't help me much.

Western tack drove me nuts! All the headstalls had to have extra holes punched in them, and then the browbands were too big. Western saddle blankets went over the points of their hips and western breast collars always had to have tons of extra holes punched in the tug straps, if they even could be made to fit at all.

And my Arabians weren't even that small as far as Arabians go!

So I know exactly what you mean. :lol:
 
#4 ·
My anglo arab doesnt have a problem with saddles. he has a full sized bridle which i have managed to fit to him well, with a few extra holes punches here and there. he has cob sized boots and pony over-reach! And cob or full sized numnahs! He is a little all over the place! And I think i am going to have to get him pony open front boots because his cob ones are a little big :P
Head collars are a main problem- always baggy round the nose and tight round his head. cob's fot him ok although pushing it around his throat.


and yes he is also very mischievous :D
 
#5 ·
Agreed. Strongly agreed. That is why I'm using an Australian style saddle now instead of a western one - the only western saddles I can find that fit are Arabian trees, and "Arabian" saddles aren't designed for men who want to spend some time in the saddle! Heck, most aren't designed for ANYONE who wants to ride.

I'm using an ear loop bridle because I can't find any others that fit - and Mia, as you can see in the picture below, doesn't have a very small noggin! (Bitless there)



I'd have thought there were enough Arabians in the world to justify tack that fits them. And it is even tougher for my Appy/Arab mix. The western saddle my daughter rides him in is 26.5 inches long (Circle Y Arabian), and it works because she only weighs 85 lbs. But it really is too long for his back. Barrel racing saddles are shorter, but they also aren't designed for men - the steep rise most of them have going forward...well, I'm old, but not so old I want to lose...well, I won't ride them.

I like Wade tree saddles, but I'd have to buy a different horse to use one...:-(

< / rant >
 
#6 ·
i guess i am lucky in terms of tack, as i ride endurance and basically ALL the tack is made for arabs.

for those of you pleasure riding, you may want to look into beta/biothane bridles and breastcollars on distance-riding sites to fit your arabs (and they even come in leather-lookalike colors/textures for those traditionalists who don't want to ride in blaze orange :lol:).



the 2 bridles pictured are both beta bridles hand-made by a friend of mind (her website). she literally has you measure all parts of your horse so that each piece fits perfectly. if you aren't looking for custom tack, sites like The Distance Depot and RUNNING BEAR have a variety of arab-sized tack.


as for saddles, there are a lot of "endurance" saddles that are actually very english or western based that might appeal to you for pleasure riding (though i don't suspect they would work in the show ring). nothing is more frustrating than saddle fitting.. i can't imagine starting with a saddle made for a stock horse!
 
#8 ·
Here's a website that also caters toward the arabian horse! When we were at U.S. Nationals last year, my sister bought a halter from them and a pair of reins. Our arabian has a tough to fit head as well, and we are going to purchase a cavesson from this site shortly. The stuff isn't made of leather, but it's really durable and flexible and we haven't had a problem with them. So here's the site: Faulkner's Saddlery | Online Catalog
 
#9 ·
Our arabian has a tough to fit head as well, and we are going to purchase a cavesson from this site shortly. The stuff isn't made of leather, but it's really durable and flexible and we haven't had a problem with them. http://faulknerssaddlery.com/category/online-catalog
i went to the website to see what the material was, but they don't actually say! while i am guessing it's beta biothane, did they actually tell you or does the tag say anywhere? always on the lookout for new tack options!
 
#11 ·
Schneider Saddlery

My morgan mare is a hard fit. I bought a training bridle from here meant for an Arab, she is on the last hole of the nose band, (and the nose band is moved up just so it hits her at a wider part of her nose) and second to last hole of everything else (as in I could make this bridle MUCH bigger if I needed to). Their training stuff is superb, good quality leather, and I got it cheaper than I would elsewhere. I can't guarantee their show stuff tho. They have changed the website since I shopped here, they used to have a section just for Arabs. Just such "Arab" or "Arabian" and a lot of stuff will come up that is built/meant for arabs.
 
#13 ·
I also have an extremely hard to fit Arabian. Cob bridles are a bit big on her head, she's got a short but wide back, and small shoulders so fitting a saddle is a problem. I know several people who have bought things from Schneiders, and love the company. My chiropractor said that Arabians are some of the hardest horses to fit for saddles, and I thought I had it hard when I had a high withered Thoroughbred lol. At least I've found stuff that works relatively well, and am still on the lookout for something better if it happens to come along. Love my horse, but would definitely like to have tack that fits perfectly magically appear lol. Would make my life easier.
 
#15 ·
My chiropractor actually recommended that if I can't afford a custom made saddle, that the next best thing, is getting a wool flocked saddle that fits tree wise, and have a saddle fitter come out and stuff it to fit your horse as best as possible. For my mare, she did recommend getting a mattes correction half pad as well, so I can put shims around her shoulders to help the saddle fit better with her narrow shoulders. If I had the money for a custom made saddle I'd buy one, but don't have the money.
 
#16 ·
saddle fitting can make the saints cry. :cry:

I stable at an Arabian barn and they are Egyptian Arabians. They are not very tall but most have broad backs and little dish faces that are so cute. I am not sure where the tack came from but it all fits them so well. The owner of the barn used to show all over the country.

The barn manager had some saddle fitters/saddle repair folks out to the barn last week. They are from Scotland and they visit Texas working on saddles I think 2 times a year. They are coming back in October. They took apart some saddles that weren't working for LeeAnn's Arabian, Legato. They restuffed and moved stuffing around and Lee Anne was more than pleased with the results. LOL I got to help sew one back up - that was a hoot.

They are the Stirlingshire Saddle Fitters
 
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