Dressage saddle research and fitting
There are some issues that have come up with Breezy that might be related to saddle fit. How do you cope with the possibility of having to spend $$$ on a new saddle? You research the brands and options that might fit.
My saddle fitter/bodywork person recommended looking at saddles with short panels with a hoop tree. What does that mean? The panel is the underside cushiony area of the saddle. If you lift up a dressage saddle, the panels run along both sides of the saddle. It’s what helps distributes the rider’s weight over the horse’s back and helps the saddle fit the horse’s back. If a panel is too long, then it can put pressure on sensitive areas of a horse’s back that should not bear weight.
A hoop tree refers to the shape of the front of the tree. Most saddles are built on a A tree. When you look at the front of the saddle, the gullet is in the shape of an inverted V (or an A). A saddle with a hoop tree has a gullet that is shaped more like an inverted U, which gives horses with larger or broader shoulders more space. A horse has to have enough freedom of movement in the saddle gullet to have clearance for their shoulders to freely move. Refer to this article on how to put a saddle on a horse for info about saddle parts and how it sits on the horse.
I am not specifically looking to purchase another saddle. However, if it turns out that we do need to consider a new saddle, I want to be prepared. I don’t want to potentially miss riding time because I didn’t do my research upfront.
Start with saddle shops
Where do you start looking for saddles? Most horses will require some specialized fitting for their horses. If you can, work with a saddle fitter who can provide an expert opinion on both how a saddle fits and how it can (or can not) be customized to your horse. A lot of saddle fitters work with local tack shops and can bring saddles to try during a fitting session. A saddle fitting session can run any where from $100 and up.
In my case, because I’m investigating and not buying right now, I opted to explore saddles by visiting the two local saddle shops and then looking online. Neither local shops had any saddles with hoop trees, which was unfortunate since local saves shipping costs.
If you are requesting help from an online saddle shop, they will probably request a wither tracing of your horse to help understand your horse’s saddle size and fit requirements. Most of the saddle shop websites have specific instructions they will want you to use.
Here’s who I worked with online:
- Pelham Saddlery, huge list of saddles and fantastic help for saddle suggestions. Week-long trial available.
- AllSaddles.com, huge list of saddles and brands; even saddle rental program. Fantastic help!
- Fineline Tack and HighLine Tack, online sister shops that are local to me. Huge selection and great support. They have sold two saddles for me.
- Galloping Grape, several friends of mine have ordered saddles from them in the past
- Trumbull Mountain Tack, I’ve purchased two saddles from them, but after reading recent reviews online, opted not to contact them about a saddle.
Which brands might work for Breezy?
Breezy is a short-backed, tightly coupled mare with big shoulders and a broad back. She’s well muscled and a big mover. She needs something with short panels, hoop tree (or adjustable via a gullet plate change or something), and a seat that fits me (17 or 17.5). I tried to sit in as many saddles locally as I could before ordering any online.
I looked at these saddles:
- Adam Ellis Kemlyn Cob – Sat in at local shop. Not comfortable for me.
- Duett Fidelio (trial ride) – Very comfy. More on this here.
- Black Country Vinici X and Noveo – Did not find a used one for a trial in a size for me and Breezy.
- Detente – Might order one for a second round of trials.
- Berkley Susanna cob (made by Barnsby) – Did not find a local one to sit in.
- Balance Matrix – Sat in at local shop. Not comfortable for me.
- Frank Baines Reflex / Frank Baines Dressage – Sat in at a local shop. It wasn’t a Reflex model, but it was still comfortable enough for me and seemed to have a wide enough tree as an option for Breezy.
- Albion Ultima SLK II – Sat in at local shop. Not comfortable for me.
- Custom Echo or Revolution – Not available locally. Sat in a Custom saddle at Dover Saddlery. So comfy, but not the right tree shape for Breezy.
- Wow dressage saddle (trial ride) – Modular saddle. Fascinating concept. I ordered a trial from Pelham Saddlery. Comfy for me, but not so much for Breezy. More on this here.
- Cavaletti Dressage (trial ride) – My saddle fitter’s saddle. More on this here.
- Sommer Savoy – Sat in at a local shop. So comfy. “Adjustable” but concerned what that means. Did not order for a trial.
- Veritas Exmo – Sat in at a local shop. Did not fit me.
- Arabian Saddle Company/Lovett & Ricketts – No local saddles to try.
Deciding which ones to order for a trial
I chose the Duett Fidelio and the Wow dressage saddles for trials. When you order a saddle for trial, you usually have to pay for the saddle in full and then are reimbursed if you return it. (Make sure you clearly understand the terms of a saddle trial before ordering one!) I can swing one saddle trial at a time. Saddles are expensive!
Duett Saddles
Duett Saddles specialize in hard to fit horses and they offer a free saddle trial. You pay for shipping and voila! You have a saddle to try out for a week. Keeping in mind that you can’t have any marks or damage to the saddle during that time. That means covering your leathers with a sock or something similar so you don’t scuff the panels. I followed their instructions for a wither tracing and they recommended a 34cm tree for Breezy. I requested a 34cm and 36cm tree, just in case the 34cm was tight. It’s better to have extra space than be too tight.
They were absolutely fantastic to work with. I paid for saddle shipping and they sent me two 17.5inch saddles with a 34cm and 36cm tree. The ride in their saddle was the best for Breezy. (More on this here.) I didn’t quite fit the saddle right, but that is always a chance you take when you order a saddle you haven’t been able to sit in first.
I emailed Duett back with the results of the saddle ride. They are sending me a slightly smaller saddle (17″) custom flocked based upon my feedback.
This is fantastic customer service. Highly recommend Duett. My saddle fitter was also impressed with the quality of the saddle. She said the newer models are much improved.
Arabian Saddle Company
I called Arabian Saddle Company and talked to one of their saddle reps. We talked for over an hour about Breezy, looked at her pictures, and talked about what I want in a saddle. She said that they have a new model coming up and that she would love for me to test ride it. That will be some time in the new year. I’ll update when I hear back from her.
Wow dressage saddle from Pelham Saddlery
The Wow saddle is a weird beast. On the one hand, it’s a great idea to have a fully modular saddle so any piece of the saddle can be swapped out. Don’t like the seat? Change it for a deeper or flatter one. Horse’s shape change? Get different panels or gullet plate to customize the saddle for your horse.
I ordered a trial from Pelham Saddlery after talking with their saddle fitter (Janie) about Breezy. We went through their inventory of saddles and she helped me come up with a list of options. I was intrigued by the Wow and it seemed like a good option because it could be customized. However, the downfall of the Wow saddle is that there are so many parts that you can customize that you really need to have a Wow saddle fitter out to see your horse to get things to fit correctly.
The Wow saddle will probably go back. My saddle fitter didn’t like the way the panels sat on Breezy plus the gullet plate in it was too narrow for her. (More on this here.) I’ve reached out to some Wow saddle fitters to see if it might be possible to get a hoop gullet plate to try.
Pelham Saddlery and Janie get rave reviews, though. Highly recommended if you are looking for a saddle.
Next steps
The Wow will probably go back next week. I am not willing to spend the money for a Wow saddle fitting out of curiosity when I’m not going to be buying a saddle right now. The saddle fitting would be $150 for the fitting + travel expenses for someone who has to travel 4+ hours to my barn.
The 17″ Duett Fidelio will arrive sometime next week after the holidays. My saddle fitter wants me to try a slightly larger size in her Cavaletti dressage saddle to see if that fits me better.
I’m curious about the Pegasus Butterfly trees available from AllSaddles.com. They look very interesting because the trees are self-adjusting in width. I sat in one at Fineline Tack and it fit me okay, but the seat was huge (18″).
This evening I had a great talk with Ron from All Saddles. Super knowledgeable person. He looked at Breezy’s pictures and gave me some ideas on things to try with my current saddle. So. I’m going to try that tomorrow after Breezy’s farrier appointment. That will go into another blog post.