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New Saddle - Awkward fit?

2K views 13 replies 11 participants last post by  luvs2ride1979 
#1 ·
I've just purchased a cheap, thorowgood griffin online. It was really *intelligent* of me seeing as my previous saddle I brought online didn't fit my horse. Well, this one doesn't seem to fit either. What I really should have done was wait, untill I had enough money for a fitter and a new saddle THEN got a new saddle - instead of buying one impulsively off the net. Waaah. Its 17" and a wide gullet. What do you think?
 

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#3 ·
I can only see the second picture (from my phone) and the panels definitely don't fit.

And, yes, if you can, it's better to save some money to have a fitter assess your horse. If you have a budget, you can find great used saddles.
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#7 ·
They say you should be able to fit fingers inbetween the horses shoulders and the saddle. It looks the shoulder area has no room at all for you to fit anything through there and thus would pinch her skin and constrict her movement. I am no expert but from what I have watched on saddle fitting videos, that is what I see.
 
#8 ·
There are not enough shots from square on the side . It is hard to see because of the shadows. It's not all that bad. What I see is that the gullet width is maybe a bit narrow. This puts the weight bearing part of the saddle a bit close to the spine itself.
As for being able to put your finger under the saddle along the front edge, this pertains to Western saddles only because they actually sit "over" the shoulder blade a bit (just the skirt part).
The saddle is just a bit narrow at the top part of the bar angle, from what I can see.
The rear part is also pretty narrow for her.
Cute horse.
Look into a used, good quality saddle, like a Passier AP.
 
#9 ·
The saddle is hopeless, I'm really upset - it slides around while I'm riding and after doing a few jumps today I was practically sitting on her poor neck! The saddle had moved forward so much it was ridiculous. I agree - the gullet channel is too narrow, there is not room for her shoulder blades. Not to mention the girth that came with it is ridiculous, it goes from thick to narrow to thick again. I have never heard of a Passier, I will have to look it up :) Thanks guys :)
 
#10 ·
Now to me it looks okay (not great) in the front, the back is a bit awkward looking, however its hard to really tell because of the shadows. Some shots from the side would be nice to see if it is sitting even on her. It does look like its sitting a bit higher in the front would could indicate that its too narrow.

If you get some shots of your horses back shape we could try and recommend some saddles for you. Have you tried a wintec? They come in a wide tree and have super wide gullets available. They are also pretty cheap, usually run around 250-350 for the older models used.
 
#12 ·
Wow! I hadn't actually seen this on Candy before, but now i think i can see that it doesn't fit (trying to get the nack of seeing incorrectly fitting saddles)

I wonder what Clare will say about it on Rafiki tomorrow! She mentioned that "Thorowgoods are good if they fit, but if not, they're just bad".
 
#13 ·
Just looking at the pictures provided it appears to me that the saddle is sitting completely crooked on your horse's back. Either the saddle is crooked itself or your horse is a bit asymmetrical. In the case of the latter, this is easy enough to correct by using specific types of pads.
The gullet is definitely too narrow as there's far too much clearance in front. If you look at the level of the pins (buttons on the front of the pommel) in the second picture, they are completely uneven.
I'm assuming that these pictures were taken with the horse standing square on level ground? Also, a picture taken squarely from the side would be very helpful to see the balance of the saddle.
The panels also appear to be the incorrect shape for your horse's back.
 
#14 ·
It looks like you may have it too far forward. Make sure the tree points are about 2" behind the back edge of the shoulder blade. Put it on, girthed, no pad, and take a full side picture and 3/4 front angle showing the whole front of the saddle (flap and all) side of the shoulder (not a close up of the withers). Make sure the horse is tied with his head in a nuetral position. Head down changes the fit.
 
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