What saddle for a sausage - Thread II

[Deleted]

Some of you may remember, that last year I asked for your advice....

My lovely grey mare lilly is shaped like a sausage. No wither at all.

Her dressage saddle EXTRA WIDE, is now sitting way too high off her back is slipping forward as soon as I canter her.

The best saddle I ever bought her, cost me £300 , bought 2nd hand, from Hollycane and is simply a little flat showing saddle. She goes beautifully in it and it doesnt move at all on her

I actually has 4 girth straps to secure it, for round barrel bodies

Sadly this saddle has no BRAND printed on it

I should be able to sell me dressage saddle for about £500 /£600.

Can anyone recommend a saddle, perhaps showing type, dressage saddle?

Needs to suit sausages ;D ;D ;D

I cant do dressage, in the showing saddle, as there are no knee rolls , which at my old age, I really need ;D

Any ideas advice welcome?

[Louise Dixon]

I am sure you may have already tried this, but have you showed your saddle that fits to a saddler to see if they recognise the maker from their type of work?
Failing that, I have Solution treeless saddles for my sausage-shaped highlands. I did not set out to get treeless, I definitely wanted treed, but the sausagey problem drove me to try them out of desperation, and they are working wonderfully for us (I have 1 x dressage and 2 x jumping). They are ludicrously expensive, but do good finance schemes and although I was very dubious at first, have been worth it for me. I am still paying my monthly installments on one though. Might be worth a try, I think they charge £50 for a week's trial, deducted off the price of the saddle if you buy it, or I found someone near me who had one and just scrounged theirs for a bit.

Good luck, sausagey-shaped ones are the best!

[Louise Dixon]

Should have said, when I got mine, I asked about ex-demonstrators, that's what all mine were and were much cheaper than full price, although still expensive.

[quackers1995]

I have a Pessoa saddle on my rolly poley pony Bought second hand at half the RRP Mine has a bit of a wither come up now...but still very rolly (i cant get on off the floor unless either my girth is cutting him in half or someone holds my stirrup the other side!!) Plus they are very bum friendly and have the beloved knee rolls ;D maybe borrow someones to try it out? A bit expensive to buy if it isnt going to fit!! xx hope you work it out xx

[rcblvr]

I have an old Passier dressage saddle which I used on my very wide Connie.

Ian at Calcutts lent me an XW dressage saddle whilst waiting for my show on, it's very lovely to ride in and fits my barrel welsh cob well.

What sort of d to d are you looking at?

[GinaGeo]

I too use a Solution Treeless saddle on my hard to fit Connie. Again, I didn't set out for a treeless saddle but tried one, and wouldn't go back now! Soo comfy I have a GP as wanted to jump and do dressage but couldn't afford two, they are very pricey, but for me worth it. -As you can always fit them to your horse, regardless of seasonal shape change etc... which for me was a massive plus ;D X

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2011 17:52:24 GMT quackers1995 said:

I have a Pessoa saddle on my rolly poley pony Bought second hand at half the RRP Mine has a bit of a wither come up now...but still very rolly (i cant get on off the floor unless either my girth is cutting him in half or someone holds my stirrup the other side!!) Plus they are very bum friendly and have the beloved knee rolls ;D maybe borrow someones to try it out? A bit expensive to buy if it isnt going to fit!! xx hope you work it out xx

Thats what Lilly is like ;D I tried non slip girths and numnahs, but they just stick the saddle on lop sided and I cant shift it back, once on. They dont stop the forward movement anyway

She has massive paces, so the saddle is bound to slip if not properly bedded into her back and behind her shoulders

I will measure her showing saddle and see what that is D to D.

I have though about passoa's..... wonder what they go for 2nd hand off ebay? I cant spend a penny more than I get for my saddle, as hubby thinks saddles are the BAIN OF HIS LIFE and I have to admit dressage saddles do seem to be

Violet goes beautifully in a wintec GP. Put a dressage saddle on her and her back locks up Lilly's extra wide, jumping saddle - same make as her dressage saddle and same measurements D to D - never moves and she goes perfectly in it ;D

All three of my mares fit the flat / wide showing saddle perfectly, BUT try doing lateral work in a GP wintec/jumping saddle/showing saddle and it doesnt happen ;D

[Julie(luke3)]

Have pm'd you LP xxx

[Raising Questions]

Dont know the exact spec you're looking for but I have 2 saddles for sale atm on ebay (see my post in horse tack for sale on here for links - I dont want to breach T&Cs by posting them elsewhere if im not supposed to!) both XW and both having been on sausage type horses. The stubben is a VSD, and in VGC, the GFS is still in good condition but with slight damage to the cantle (slight cosmetic). The stubben was made esp as a special order for a suffolk punch type, so has a point strap to stop rolypoly type movement. GFS has extra webbing tabs for addition of further girth straps.

[Deleted]

Anyone heard of Barry Swain Saddles? Looking on ebay, they come up as super comfortable for the horse?

[GinaGeo]

They're the semi-flex saddles aren't they? I haven't any actual experience of them, but did look into them when trying to find a saddle that my Connie would go in. He went beautifully bareback, but put a saddle on his back, even if the saddle fitter said it fitted, and he was hollow, rushing and uncomfortable... in his solution he goes like he's been ridden bareback, soft, round, working and most importantly happy ;D

I believe, from memory, that the BS saddle's have a large price tag also. But have heard rave reviews about them and they're supposed to be of fab quality. I just decided, that if I was going to go semi flex, I may as well go the whole hog, and go fully flex, as my boy changes shape a lot, and didn't want to be replacing saddles every few months...
X

[Deleted]

So what saddle did you go for GinaGeo ?

Are there any showing saddles, that look/are shaped similiar to dressage saddles?

I rode lilly in her jumping saddle last night and she went fab in that too, so it really is only dressage saddles she has a problem with

I will be riding my dressage sat up like a jockey at this rate LOL x

[colourz]

Try solution freestyle, my daughter rides all 3 ponies in hers, looks nice for showing and she has used it for cross country and working hunter and it goes no where, definately worth their money, keep an eye on ebay as they pop up on there,

[Deleted]

thanks x

[lottiechad]

Barry Swain are excellent IMO. Really good for the horses back. I have found them much cheaper than most but would depend which model you went for. He used to do a budget range but was still fantastic leather and really well made, and he will tailor it to what you want , type of fill, seat, leather, serge panels etc for athe same price as an off he peg one . I have been to his factory many times and he is a very knowledgable man. I have seen his saddles literally transform the way a horse is going the first time you ride in it. Also great for young jockeys, my daughter did everything in hers , all pc activities , hunting etc. Puts them in a fantastic position. PM if you would like to know more.

[GinaGeo]

I have a solution saddle, fab! If you get the Freestyle, they can be used for showing and then put a bigger knee block in and you have dressage saddle!
XxX

[Deleted]

I have tried ringing and emailing Barry Swain but no luck so far....

I looked up solution saddles on ebay and got about a million very slinky push bike saddles in all sorts of colours PMSL xx

[muffymoo]

cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nick-Dolman-Dressage-Saddle-Like-Barry-Swain-/120733969964?pt=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item1c1c4e2e2c

[muffymoo]

shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1311&_nkw=solution+saddle&_sacat=See-All-Categories

[haggismarmite]

Have you looked on horsequest, I was saddle hunting on there today and there is one in their dressage section that is an xxxw they had on natives - could be worth looking. Sadly no WHP saddles for me but I thought of your thread when I saw that one. It's a couple of ads down in the Dressage saddle section.

[Deleted]

Thanks Haggismarmite - will go look now xxx

[Deleted]

Thanks for the ebay posts. I saw the Nick Dolman one? I wonder how that compares with a Barry Swain ?

[Deleted]

just schooled Lilly in her showing saddle, instead of the dressage saddle.

No dollies were thrown out the pram and despite the fact that she still feels like she needs to go for a 3 day gallop , she wasnt even sweaty when I took her in

Normally she is dripping in sweat from the nervous tension and stress.

Amazing what difference a saddle can make isnt it.

[sbloom]

Coming to this rather late but we make a WH/dressage saddle which has decent blocks for the rider but fits wide and flat for the horse - in the Phoenix range.