# New saddle: Does it fit HER and does it fit ME?



## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Also...how bad/okay is my position? Opinions would be greatly appreciated!
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## MoeMoe (May 27, 2011)

It is impossible to tell whether or not the saddle fits the horse because you need to put the saddle on the horses back cinched up, and look at it like that, then get on it and evaluate again, this is the benefit of having a saddle fitter, but I understand that's expensive and not always an option, but if not, then do some wire measurements of your horses back and trace that onto cardboard and take that with you into the saddle shop and use that as a way to rule out the definite no's and the ones that are best. Also, the saddle is too small for you, or you need to lengthen your stirrups, in which case jumping might be hard. Now, don't go thinking that because the saddle is too small that you are too large, you just have long legs, which is awesome, so you need a saddle flap that caters to that.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

No one can possibly say from those pictures!
First off you have way to much padding under the saddle to see if it fits or not.
A well fitting saddle only needs a cotton cloth under it to keep it clean.

There are many places to see how to fit a saddle but you are best to get a qualified person to check it out.

You are riding way to short when your feet are in the stirrups.


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

I knew something was up. They are officially kid leathers then. 
I live in a really remote, podunk area where you cant even hardly find english tack on craigslist.
Theyre might be a local lady with a really warn 18" stubben siegfried, but according to the lady i use to ride with...im a 17.5.

I never have ridden in a stubben before and I had no clue how wonderfully, nice they are. If i have to get rid of this one just because im so flipping giant, imma cry. :'(

I will have to get some adult leathers on ebay. Not possible to get them here.
Does anyone think with the correct length leathers the saddle might fit me okay? 

Im 5'8" and 140 pounds. she...is 14.3 once my stirrups are the right lenght...its anyones guess...but you figure my feet will be all the way under her barrel????????

ps...no sattle fitters, tack shops, for 100 miles. im lucky to come across someone here who even rides english.
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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

i will go put it back on her, minus half pad, while she eats her dinner. more pics to come.

Thanks guys!
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## blush (Feb 10, 2007)

I can tell right away that the saddle you have is* WAY* too wide. 
It looks like there is little to no wither clearance and that the front of the saddle is literally laying right on the horse's back. You need to have 3-4 finger width's of space between the front of the saddle and your horse's withers, it honestly looks to me that there is no space.

And it really doesn't help when there is a rider in the saddle either, your weight will push the saddle hard onto her back and cause *a lot* of pain. I suggest not riding in this saddle *at all* until you know *for sure* this saddle isn't too narrow or too wide (which it looks like to me). Either too narrow or too wide will cause incredible back pain for your horse. 

Alsooooo, don't feel bad that the seat is too small! I was told I have a 17" seat...well in my Stubben I need an 18" seat because of my long femurs! Seat size really has little to do with how "big" your butt is, it's mostly there to accommodate your leg length.  So really, since you have a longer femur like myself, you're gonna need a bigger seat to accommodate those long legs!


But my piece of advice...*DO NOT ride in this saddle until you (and us) can see for sure if this saddle is neither too narrow or too wide*. You will cause serious pain and discomfort to your horse if you ride in an ill fitted saddle...not worth the nightmare of corrective saddling!


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## farlo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Saddle your mare and sit in the saddle. Then place your fingers underneith the saddle at the front where it sits around the withers. If you can fit your fingers and can't feel it pinching more in one area then another, you are probably ok. Do this to the back of the saddle, too. Also, like Blush said above, there needs to be room between your saddle and the horses withers. If the saddle sits on top of the withers (as in touching them) then it does NOT fit. 
If all else fails and you totally can't tell if it fits, ride your horse with the saddle on until she sweats. Then take the saddle off and look underneath the pad. The whole back (where the saddle was) should be wet. If there are areas where it is suddenly dry but surrounded by all the wet, then the saddle is pinching there. It pinches and therefore the moisture cannot accumulate. A small area of dry in a large area of wet is a sure sign of saddle pinching.


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## yourcolorfuladdiction (Feb 19, 2012)

I actually don't think that your saddle is too small for you, your stirrups are too short, they're suppose to touch your ankle bone or just above it when your leg is straight. It looks like, when you have your feet out of the stirrups they're already at your ankles before you straighten your leg. Lengthen your stirrup and see how that works (if the saddle in fact does fit your horse).


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

New pics....Put the saddle on everyone today...Does it fit anybody in particular? OPINIONS PLEASE AND THANK YOU! :shock:

The morgan/mustang:







Side






Withers






Back 

"Big" Paint gelding (I take no credit for pig-pen here, he belongs to a 13 year old who wont touch him. And she will not permit me to ride him either.). 















And finally, on the Arab/Pinto (from yesterday). I feel like she may be the most narrow of all of them?


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Anybody? 
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## QHriderKE (Aug 3, 2011)

I don't think there's near enough clearance. You need at least 2 fingers of clearance.


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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

Okay, I'm going to tiptoe in and try to give comment. I couldn't see your first links, but could see the second lot of photos.

Firstly, to get the best opinions, you need to post again with pictures without the saddlecloth. To properly assess the fit of a saddle you need to try it without a cloth.

Can we please see the shots you have done (withers & from rear), plus a photo from the side so we can see it on the whole back?

Now, based only on what I see, I would suggest that .... oh drat it, now I've started a reply, I can't see the photos!... oh heck, from memory then.

It looked too wide on the third horse, too narrow on the second, and I think it looked like it was tipping forward on the first horse. Sorry - not what you want to hear, so I reiterate, please re-post without the saddlecloth.

How old is the saddle? Do you know when it was last re-flocked? How smooth is the underside? A photo of that may be useful as well.


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

on which one? the morgan i can easily get 4 fingers under. i took a pic, and on the arab i can just barely get two.
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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

The flocking isnt crunchy or anything, its pretty smooth. 
I dont know how old it is...but im going to guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 years+. When stubbens were german made? 

Dangnab it! What was it designed to fit? a unicorn? haha.
Out of the three, and each has a very different back...its gots to fit someone...
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## blush (Feb 10, 2007)

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but there is a very slim chance you are going to find one saddle that properly fits all 3 of your horses.  especially since your horses seem to fit wide, regular and narrow trees! The only possible way you are going to find a saddle that fits each of them adaquetly is to get one with a changable tree..and then your looking at spending 2-3k. 

The new pictures you posted are better, but you really need ones with just the saddle on the horse so there is no other objects obstructing our view. But I'll do my best and judge these as is. 

Out of the 3, I really don't like the fit on either one unfortunately.  
The saddle fits the morgan good in regards to wither clearance, however now we're getting into the area of the saddle being too narrow! You can tell from the picture of the back of the saddle that it looks like it pinches through the sides, it's sitting too much ontop of her. This saddle will cause pain for the morgan if you ride in it...pass for her.
The second horse fits the saddle the best out of the 3 if I absolutely had to pick. It still looks a tad too wide, but not wide enough to hammer down on his withers. It doesn't seem to be pinching anywhere but I'd still really like to see a bit more wither clearance with him. 
The arab fits the saddle the worst. Please don't ever ride this horse with this saddle! It is WAY too wide and from my previous reply, will cause serious damage and pain to his back. Pass hardcore for this horse!

I know saddle fitting is frustrating and a lot of people don't understand that a saddle needs to fit pretty much perfect or else you will cause serious harm and damage to your horse's back. It's like finding a pair of shoes...they can't be too small or too big or else they cause blisters, slipping and PAIN.
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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Oh, no, im just looking for it to fit one! any one of the three and ill be happy as a clam! i dont care which horse! 

i just feel like since each seems to have a dif back (one wide, one medium-narrowish, one very narrow) someone in there has to fit. like cinderella. there has to be one that will fit this saddle!

oh bother....

the arab also doesnt have a lot going along her topline. shes got a hay belly, but lack of exercise has left her with not a nice, well muscled top line. i feel like its gonna be a challenge to find anything that fits her. I want to sell/give her away, so hopefully that will happen here soon.

None of these are horses I want a saddle to fit long term, is the frustrating thing. I wanted to get started in this one, and when i get my tb or appendix (The phantom horse, it probably doesnt exist) for hunter/jumper and pony club, thats my longterm, what i want, have been hunting for 10 months horse. I assume because so many tbs are "Slab sided" that ill probably need another narrow tree then too, right?

I heard Krefelds can run wide...apparently its not a myth  Anyone know of a Stubben that runs narrower? Its just so...so...comfy...
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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

Oh dear, I do feel for you. We just take it for granted here that when we need a saddle...... we call out a saddle-fitter, who comes laden with loads of saddles, new and old, together with years of training and experience. I had never really seen 'English' saddles from a Western viewpoint before!

A badly fitting saddle will hurt your horse, end of story. You just can't compromise or 'make-do' with saddles, it has to be fitted right to your horse. And unless you have a proper saddle fitter fit your saddle, the potential is that you will only find out that it's not fitting - and causing pain - when it's too late. You might end up with a grumpy horse, or a horse with a bad back, or a newly developed habit of rearing, bucking or napping come out of nowhere.

If you can... take your time. Post those photos without the cloth and then go from there.


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## Beling (Nov 3, 2009)

Your saddle is quite flat underneath, and needs more stuffing. But I've had many old, flat saddles, and when I was growing up, the answer was to pick the right saddle PADS. That's not a good answer, but it was what we did.

To help matters, the school horses were usually Quarter Horse types with low-or-no withers. You canNOT pad-to-fit a high-withered horse. We were also kids-- at 140 lbs, you will probably cause the saddle to readjust, and I think it will sink down too far.

My favorite pad is the very thick wool (not synthetic) half-pad. My horses do not have much wither. However, I did finally save enough for a new saddle. I encourage you to do the same.


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## Valentina (Jul 27, 2009)

I have provided 3 site links on saddle fitting - for horse and rider.
It wasn't apparent what type of saddle it is - jumping? dressage? All Purpose? - the reason I ask is this - dressage riders ride with very long legs (and hence leathers), hunter have shorter leathers, jumper riders have shorter leathers than hunter riders.

The seat size also varies. I ride in a 17.5" jumping saddle and an 18" dressage saddle. Basically in an english saddle the rider should be able to put a hand (4 inches) between their butt and the cantle of the saddle. But pictures do not show your butt hanging over the side - so size is probably OK for you. Leathers are much too short as it pushes your kneww forward too much - onto knee rolls. 

Stubbens are (at least were) made in Ireland - older models are VERY well made but tend to be narrow. The "gap" underneath the saddle is called the channel. It needs to be wide enough to sit just on the outside of the horses vertebrae (spine) but not too far out - I ride large horses so mine is generally around 3 inches wide (don't have saddle in front of me so going off memory). 

Your saddle needs more flocking (wool only) in the back. Picture from rear with you sitting on it shows saddle almost sitting on her spine. Adding more flocking to saddle will raise it up in the back so it matches the front clearance. Sorry I couldn't find a link to this old saddle fitting video which was great.... but start by placing saddle on withers and sliding back until you can get you fingers around the top of the shoulder blade. This is the #1 mistake most riders make - thus saddle restricts shoulder movement, hurts horse and soon you have a bucker or other problems. Isn;t there a horse person around that knows a little about saddle fit? Essentially when you ride you look at the saddle pad. It should have equal amounts of dirt and sweat covering the entire saddle. Dry spots indicate possible issues where saddle is causing undue pressure (pinching near the withers is a common one). Dirt on front more than back may indicate you need more padding in rear or rider is sitting crooked. 

Hope this helps. 

http://www.countysaddlery.com/pages/fittingguide.html
http://www.thetackguide.com/saddlefitting.html 
http://www.showhorsepromotions.com/saddlefitting.htm


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

Thanks everyone! 
I will post pics, without the pad, if everyone can stand it (I feel like the internet is running out of room because of me here...haha). 

But, new plan: I hoard the Stubben, if it fits nobody. Or maybe sell it. Good news is, its well made, so, it should resell okay. 
If I get to go to the city (by that i mean, the 100 mile drive i get to make once or twice a year), I will try to find a saddle fitter or tack shop down there that can evaluate the flocking. I do agree its narrow treed. Wide gullet, narrow tree. Interesting combo. Makes me a little sad. 

So...theres a 17 seat narrow Thorowgood on eBay. Its only at like $100 right now...
Worth a shot you think for the arab?
eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

I figure if i shoot in the dark long enough, we just might hit something...
Also, adding to my wishlist..I wish there was more of an english presence in this town.


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

I'm also eying a Wintec of an unidentified sort. If anyone had an opinion of that, and if it would be better... lemme know...say..before this action ends :lol:

BATES WINTEC black saddle 17 1/2" | eBay


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## jumanji321 (Dec 1, 2010)

That wintec is an A/P


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## DressageDreamer (Feb 29, 2012)

I would suggest getting a Wintec with an Adjustable Gullet System instead of this one, or you are going to go through the same problem of it possibly fitting your horse or not fitting your horse. Look on Craigslist and Ebay for one used. I got a great deal on my Wintec Isabell Dressage Saddle on Craiglist. In the picture it looked faded or sunbleached. I got it for $300 - total cost including shipping. When it arrived it was in perfect condition and was nice and dark. It was just the lighting in the picture. Check Craigslist postings in states close to you also. The one I got was out of my state. If buyer and seller have PayPal, it is an easy purchase across state lines and sometimes you get great bargains!


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## poultrygirl (Sep 11, 2010)

DressageDreamer said:


> I would suggest getting a Wintec with an Adjustable Gullet System!


I found a CC Wintec with the "Easy change" gullet system on eBay and for the low cost of break the college student bank..is now enroute to me :lol:
My caboose may be too big for it though. We'll see when it gets here.

So...update about Stubben: Had first lesson with a lady who trained classically, and is a dressage trainer. Great lady, knows her stuff. 

She put it on the morgan with my gel pad, and my camo saddle pad, and it actually fits pretty dag-nab well. a little snug in the shoulder, but nothing restrictive!

We then stuck it on my arab. Its a little big, but, she says most of it has to do with my arab not being narrow, but skinny after the winter. She says also fromthe lack of riding my mare over the winter, as we ride her more, she will get muscle back in her topline, and it should fit. She said til then, one particular western pad i had, would be good to have under it instead of the english. After that, you can definitely get your hand in there, even with me sitting, but its not swallowing her :lol:

Glad I didnt resell it on eBay after all!

She also said it was a frickin deal for $140. Oh..and that i need long flaps  Stupid long legs!


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## DressageDreamer (Feb 29, 2012)

That is great that your instructor helped you with your stubben. I sold my Stubben Portos. It was a great saddle, but I decided I didn't want to jump anymore after a nasty fall resulting in a concussion (and me talking stupid for several hours afterwards....my poor husband said he felt like he was in the movie "50 First Dates" with Drew Barrymore). 
I was never fond of Wintec's before I rode in one. I am using mine for schooling in and have a brand new Berney Bros Kildare saddle for shows. The Wintec really helps me keep my position while learning and I can use it on any of my horses which is really nice  
Be glad you have long legs. Lots of us would be thrilled to have them...hahaha!


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## SaddleOnline (Oct 20, 2011)

Its hard to tell for sure with the pictures, but it looks like it might be doable on the first two horses, but for sure too wide on the last one. 

saddle fitting is such a pain  

We would be able to help you out with wither tracings, and suggest some saddles if you would like help 

good luck!


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## myappyboy (Mar 18, 2012)

The saddle on the first horse seems to fit ok. It has space between the withers but the back of the saddle is sitting up too high in this case shows it does not fit the horse properly!
The second horse fits the saddle alot better. The back sits well on the horses back but it is a bit low on the witheres! maybe try a saddle riser on the second horse to give leaverage from the witheres and wool half numnah on the first horse to make the saddle sit better!
Remember to pull up the saddle cloth at the withers once the saddle is tightned up so it doen't rub!


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

the bay has a decent fit. The pig pen is ok, but as someone said above, it looks too wide and thus sitting down too far on the third horse's withers. Can you stick a couple of fingers under the pommel? What about when you sit in the saddle, does it contact the wither bones? if so, do not ride that horse in that saddle.


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