high wither and saddles...

Bettie

Hello everyone! so I'm new to this forum, and I have a question people may be able to help me with: )

I'm looking for a saddle for a horse I am hoping to get this summer. He will be my first horse so I am not very knowledgeable about tack and so on.
He has TB blood in him and has quite high withers that have caused problems in the past.
I am on a tight budget, so will not be able to get a saddler to fit one for him...
I have been looking online at saddles and have found one that might be good- its this 'self adjusting gullet' saddle that provides for narrow withers.

here is a link to it on ebay (hope this ok by admin...)

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEWself-adjusting-Gullet-SYNTHETIC-GP-SADDLE-17-5-TB_W0QQitemZ370356682435QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Horse_Wear_Equipment?hash=item563afa7ec3

what ye think?anyone tried these before?
it is probably dodgy just getting it without fitting first...:pac:


any info would be great
B : )

fits

I wouldnt touch it with a bargepole.

Try getting one of these perhaps? They're very nice saddles

http://www.thorowgood.com/uk/t4/t4_hi_wither.htm

They are reasonably cheap and you could pick up one second hand on ebay.

Some saddlers will fit a saddle for free if you box the horse to them. Might be worth a try.

Dont skimp on a cheap unbranded saddle though. You'll only be throwing the money away and you wont be able to sell the saddle on if it doesnt fit. You could wreck the horses back too.

Bettie

thanks for the advise, I am looking at the Thorowgood ones online now, they sounds perfect: ))

B

convert

I've a TB who has quite a high withers and even though I've had the saddle stuffed and padded as much as possible, I still wasn't 100% happy so I bought one of these in TRI.

I've found it really good as it raises the saddle off the horse's back. The saddle is now way above the horse's withers.

doctor evil

A saddle with a pomel that is cut back will also help.

There is such thing as a cheap saddle that fits. If you can't afford a saddler can you afford emergency vet fees?

Horses are money pits.

Dark Phoenix

agree 100% with fits a saddle is the one area you cannot afford to scrimp on. If you are based near Berneys give them a ring they often have second hand saddles in and if they are not their own brand they often are going for very little but the bonus is they have been checked out by them and classed as fit to sell.

If you box the horse up they will try it on for you in the box. Not a complete saddle fitting but it will at least check it sits properly and is included in the price.

Have heard Berneys have a sale on at the moment too and I think there is a percentage off leatherwork.

Bettie

hmm... this is turning out to be more difficult to get than I hoped. The horse is a loan horse who does not have tack with. I suppose I was hoping against hope I could find cheap tack for him and then maybe sell it on after the loan is up. I cant afford to fork out for tack for a horse I will have for 3 months.But I certainly don't want to damage his back in any way, so maybe I will hold out for a loan with tack included...pity as he seemed so perfect for me otherwise!!

@doctor evil, I have emergency money, in the budget I had worked out for a 3 month loan...tack I had not accounted for: ((




thanks all for advise it all very helpful: )

fits

sorry to hear that. But I agree it would be very expensive to buy tack for a loan horse.

Whereabouts are you based OP?

Bettie

yea, the search is starting anew now

Based in lovely Limerick: p

mack2

Hi, just a mention but have a horse myself with high withers and ended up buying a kieffer saddle (cost over £400 2nd hand) after looking and trying loads and loads of other types.....can honestly say its the best saddle ive ever had and cannot recommend it enough.......paid it with money we got for our wedding - still havent mentioned it to hubby
The trouble with horses/ponies is that buying them is the cheapest thing - all the gear you need will prob cost as much as the animal!!!
Best of luck!

Alibear

Congratulations

Firstly...
'I am on a tight budget, so will not be able to get a saddler to fit one for him...'
Saddle fit is something you really can't cut corners with.

You may not think it now, but getting a saddle correctly fitted and checked by a qualified fitter is so much better in the long run - Even one pressure point can cause so many issues, and you may end up having to spend quite of money a lot on physiotherapists, back people etc. for your horse.

Taking a template of your horse's back is helpful if you want to get a good rough idea of what saddles will suit your horse, but you say you lack knowledgeable about tack, so I think you'd be better off getting a fitter out, or drive to a saddler with plenty of new and secondhand saddles for you to try out.

Alibear

Dark Phoenix wrote: »

If you box the horse up they will try it on for you in the box. Not a complete saddle fitting but it will at least check it sits properly and is included in the price.

IMO, I don't think anyone should rely on a box fitting... What may look ideal when your horse is standing in a trailer could actually be very wrong once you ride on the flat or jump with it!

Pity you aren't near Holmestead, as they have an excellent selection of new and used saddles. If you bring your horse there one of the girls is very knowledgeable when it comes to saddle fitting, and you'll also be able to ride in as many saddles as possible.

Would Cashel be too far for you?

phoebebright

In my view (as many above agree) buying a cheap saddle is a waste of money, but be aware that you can buy a nice saddle from eBay and find that it is a nice saddle but you now have to spend another 100+ getting it restuffed before it fits your horse! I would recommend buying a good saddle second hand an plan on having it restuffed so it fits your horse properly, <snip> as in the end my very kind horse won a lovely Prestige saddle that fits everything!

Mod edit: No advertising of goods for sale. If you wish to sell something you can advertise it on adverts.ie

edgeronn

That's good if your are thinking to buy a saddle, there are various brands in the market with affordable price which can fall in your budget.So no need to worry.Just hangout on few shops.