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...and yet another saddle fit question...

5K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Captain Evil 
#1 ·
This saddle is currently my only saddle, and I love it. It was built to measure for my little round Polish Arab, and also fit my chunky Percheron, but I have a very bad feeling about my current horse, a rotund and flat-backed Haflinger. I am hoping to get a dressage saddle also, but this will probably be my go-to saddle for riding around on the roads and trails. I think maybe it is too narrow and has too much "rock." I hope the pictures are adequate:

Tan Footwear Leather Glasses


Horse Mammal Vertebrate Horse tack Horse supplies


And then I moved the saddle back a bit...

Horse Mammal Vertebrate Horse tack Bridle


Halter Bridle Rein Horse tack Horse


Pottery


Horse Horse tack Bridle Neck Snout


The saddle does not seem to have a sweet spot. When the horse turns his head or shifts his weight, the whole saddle slides around.

What do you think?
 
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#3 ·
Before you get rid of it, slide way forward. That is a Dave genadak saddle, and they are designed to have a lot of flair to them. They are designed to give a lot of freedom to the shoulders but they must sit, or appear to sit, further forward them the typical western saddle. That being said, I have a feeling that saddle will not fit that horse. Do you know which bar with which number bar that saddle is ?
 
#4 ·
Yes, Tinyliny, it is his saddle. He built it for me back in 1999. He calls it his #2, and the description is "..designed for a horse with a well sprung rib cage and a gentle curve to the top line. We once called this our Arab bar. It has more twist and rock than the #1 bar." This saddle and my old 1953 Martin 0018 guitar are my favorite non-living possessions.

But it has to fit the horse, or it is just decoration.
 
#5 ·
I sent David an e-mail using the pictures I posted here, and he just now replied.

He wrote, "... I would try it and see what happens. Looks like it might have too much rock. If you have enough contact in the middle it will work if it doesn’t tip forward on you."
David Genadek

Tinyliny, should I slide it even more forward than this?

Horse Mammal Vertebrate Horse tack Horse supplies
 
#7 ·
To me it looks like a poor fit. Especially looking down the channel there does not appear to be enough surface area contact for a wide, flat backed horse. What you say about there not being a "sweet spot" and about the saddle wanting to rock and move all over reinforce what looks like poor fit in the photos.
 
#8 ·
I agree that saddle won't work. You'll be slipping and sliding all over the place. Have you checked out the saddles made for Haflingers? Fabtron makes one 16" 17" Fabtron Extra Wide Saddle with Round Skirt 7186, also Big Horn, Simco, and others. I think that would be your best bet. There's a reason they make special saddles for that breed! Or a used original Ortho-Flex will also probably work. Check e-bay or your local Craigslist. They turn up every once and a while. A breast collar will help keep it stable.
I have a wide, low-wither Gypsy Cross, and saddle shopping was a nightmare. Ortho-flex worked the best for me! Good luck!
 
#9 ·
I know this thrread is now rather old, but once summer comes, my life is all about work, and anything but basic care and pats has to wait.

But I have been poking around the internet and calling tack shops during breaks. My goal was to use my Black Rhino western saddle for trail riding, and get a good dressage saddle for ring work and lessons, but that is probably not going to happen. Anyway, not this year. Not unless I can get my Rhino to work okay on my guy.

So, Len Brown, who designed the original Ortho-Flex saddles (I believe) has developed some saddle-pads, which he says will help a saddle fit 95% of horses reasonably well. He thought my saddle on a haflinger might be too etreme.

Does anyone havbe any experience with these pads? They are called the Corrector and the Protector.

I think this is my last shot before PM-ing Tinyliny about selling the Rhino...
 
#10 ·
I agree that the saddle has too much rock and I think the bars need to be a little flatter.
Going off of what Tiny said, and this may be a stupid question, but what is the point of more flare in the bars at the shoulder if you're going to slide it up further anyhow? I thought the idea of more flare was to allow more shoulder movement but if you are going to slide it up it seems it would not be a whole different than if you didn't have the extra flare. Someone please educate me.

Anyhow, the Corrector pads that Len Brown designed are meant to compensate for ill saddle fit and I have a friend that owns one and claims he likes it. Not sure how extreme of ill-fitting saddles it resolves though. I think that would be determined how long you are riding, what type of riding you are doing and how bad the fit is. One thing I would consider is that you said without a pad it seems to roll on his back, a pad is going to exaggerate rolling no matter the thickness, in my opinion. Perhaps shimming may help but I would be shopping for a different saddle.
 
#12 ·
One thing I would consider is that you said without a pad it seems to roll on his back, a pad is going to exaggerate rolling no matter the thickness, in my opinion. Perhaps shimming may help but I would be shopping for a different saddle.
I agree with that! Adding a pad to an already slipping saddle makes it much worse. The original ortho-flex saddles I referred to in my previous post were made by Len Brown in the early-mid '90s I think. He sold the company and it changed hands several times. I only like his original saddles, none of the later incarnations. He doesn't make them anymore and has moved on to the pads the OP mentioned. I like the original ortho-flex because the pad, or booty, is attached to the flexible panels on the saddle, so you don't have a slipping saddle pad to deal with.
Here's a picture of one that's the same model I have:
Beautiful OrthoFlex Endurance Saddle 15" Seat | HorseClicks
I found mine for 1/3 the price of that one locally on CraigsList. They're out there, but you have to hunt for them.
 
#11 ·
I always wondered that, too, about the flare thing. but, I swear, the Genadak fitters will tell you you have to slide it pretty far forward.


and Captain, I could not pay you what it is worth, so you'd be better off selling it on their used saddle site.

I currently have two saddles that I am not using, I cannot in good concience take on another. much as I'd like to .
 
#14 ·
Tinyliny~ I just gave away two unused saddles; one a pony western saddle that I rode in before I bought the Black Rhino, and a brand new draft western saddle that came with my Percheron, Ahab, and that sat unused for ten years. I hate having unsused tack sitting around; like a closet full of too small clothes...

Dave, the man who built my saddle, doesn't do swaps, but he lets peple sell their used saddles on his site. I might have to do that.
 
#15 ·
Ongoing saddle saga...

My plan had been to get a used, but nice, dressage saddle for schooling and lessons, and use my Black Rhino western saddle for trail riding, clopping down the road, etc. But the Rhino really doesn't fit, and a shim pad is kind of a micky mouse solution, with no guarantee of success.

So I've decided to bite the bullet, sell the Rhino,forget the Kieffer or Niedersuss dressage saddle, and get a new, light weight western dressage-type saddle for my Haffie, and use that saddle for everything; lessons, schooling, and trails.

I did it. I broke out the credit card, and ordered a custom Mike Corcoran saddle.

But so many decisions! Originally I thought a light butternut oil color, with kind of a light brown/green seat, but on a flaxen chestnut that looked a little washed out. This is the style saddle I've ordered, but not this color.

Horse tack Saddle Bridle Bicycle saddle Horse harness


Instead, I went with a dark russet oil with a black seat and black saddle strings, and with a white rawhide pencil roll on the cantle and around the horn.

Horse tack Saddle Horse harness Brown Rein


This is the color scheme, but it will be made in the style of the first picture.

I told Mike I wanted a straight cantle, and I still think I do, but then I got to thinking that while that looks great in the pictures I saw, all those riders in the photos have little tiny, tidy butts, while my derriere is a bit more, ah, expansive. I hope that won't be a problem.

I am incredibly excited!!
 
#16 ·
I am already on my second pot of coffee, and it is just past eight am... I hate taxes!

So more on my saddle saga...

I am canning the idea of having two saddles, a western and a dressage, and am going for just one, a western dressage saddle. I don't bounce very well anymore, and for trail riding on roads and things, western is much more secure, and my Haffie does like to jump sideways.

To financially justify a new saddle, I had to get a little creative. So my Black Rhino is for sale, and I think, from looking around, it is worth about $1800 to $2200 dollars. Add to that the cost of a decent but used dressage saddle with re-flocking; that is another $1800 to $2200, and voila! My new saddle is paid for!

So I've sent off two checks to cover the bulk of the saddle cost to Corcoran saddles, and now I am just waiting... and waiting... I think I am in the queue, but I am not positive.

Since it is a custom saddle, I figures I should have some custom tooling. I would like to start drawing some designs, but am unsure of the space available for carving. I have a general idea, but no dimensions. It will have a straight cantle with white rawhide on the edge, so I'm thinking about asking Mike to carve the back of the cantle, and then a little carving on top of the horn, and a little more on the back along with some outline carvingl I think I want an octopus...

Does anyone know how to find rough dimentions for a cantle? My current saddle has a Cheyanne roll, so that is not much use.
 
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