Here are pictures of the saddle fitting. After the saddle fitter took Kasane’s measurements, we went through most of the saddles in the shop to find one that fit me and had short enough panels for her. Most of the used and new saddles I sat in didn’t fit my seat bones.
The Prestige Venus K monoflap fit my seat and was so very comfortable. (It is the pretty saddle with the fancy stitching on the flap and the large knee blocks.) Generally I don’t like large knee or thigh blocks because they usually get in the way. The Bates Innova dressage saddle has such large thigh blocks that riding in it makes me feel like I wouldn’t be able to get out of the saddle in an emergency. You are locked into place. The Venus doesn’t feel that way. The tree width (gullet size is 32 cm) and panel length were good for Kasane.
The Prestige Gallileo fit my seat okay, but I didn’t like the thigh blocks on it. They hit my leg in the wrong position. The blocks didn’t pinch, but they felt like my leg would go numb after a while. The saddler said that he could change the thigh blocks so they velcroed in place and could be changed. I have no doubt that the saddle fitter could make those changes — he’s a master saddler. I just hate to spend that kind of money on a saddle without it fitting me perfectly. The saddle flaps are fitted over the thigh blocks. I don’t know how the saddle would look if those blocks were modified and the panels were still molded to the old shape. In addition to changing the thigh blocks, the gullet would have to be exchanged for a smaller size and the panels would have to be reflocked to match Kasane’s back. (Reflocking is included in the cost of the saddle.) The saddler preferred how the Gallileo fit because the panels were shorter than the Venus.
