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Post by merrylegs on Oct 4, 2009 14:20:04 GMT -1
My saddle seems to be getting to small for my 5yr dalesxfell mare.Does anyone know a saddler in the manchester area . I have a wintec saddle at moment, but I want a saddle fitted by a expert. I just do hacking no jumping , I want a saddle that gives you a deep seat secure seat. I like synthetic ones as they are lighter but any reccommdations gratefully recieved.  |
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Post by harleydales on Oct 4, 2009 18:52:37 GMT -1
Sorry, can't help you in your hunt for a saddler, but I know exactly what you are going through asI had problems with Harley, and I know a lot of folk on here have struggled to get saddles to fit Dales ponies.
I had a Wintec Wide for years and it was great, but have now bitten the bullet and gone leather - it is heavier but fits like a glove which is the main thing.
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Post by JoM on Oct 4, 2009 19:09:25 GMT -1
I too, cannot advise on a saddler - however, i will say, consider a working hunter cut saddle. I bought Dancer a GP saddle at about the same age as your pony - and wished a couple of years down the line I had bought a straight cut saddle to release all that lovely shoulder action these guys are renowned for! At 5, his shoulders wern't as substantial, but a couple of years later and the saddle started to hinder the action. I ended up trading in my GP an buying a WH instead - you can get them with a slight knee padding - and i have never yet not been able to get my seat secure in this one. Mine is an Ideal Ramsey Show Saddle www.idealsaddle.com/catalogue/saddle/25My best purchase yet!  |
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Post by merrylegs on Oct 4, 2009 19:38:57 GMT -1
I would try leather the main thing is a good fit, I like the reviews on the pheonix saddles but I have never tried or seen one in the flesh and they are expensive, plus I dont know if my mare is going to change much more in size. \\\\\\i like the look of the ramsey saddle , are dales better with a straight cut saddle ?.
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Post by harleydales on Oct 4, 2009 20:25:51 GMT -1
Definitely, because of the size of their shoulders. The Wintec Wide is VVSD, but the new leather one I have now is much more straight cut and has definitely made a difference to his movement.
A lot of people on here use treeless saddles and have good results with them too. I've got one but find it slips like mad when i try to get on so is hopeless out on a hack with difficult gates to open LOL!
Good luck in your hunt.
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Post by JoM on Oct 5, 2009 5:17:07 GMT -1
I debated a treeless - i was lucky enough to be able to borrow from a friend to see what i thought, and - I am probably a minority on here LOL - but I disliked how it made me sit. I felt that it tipped my upper body forward and set my legs back - it just didnt gel right for me - I though maybe it was just not right on dancer - so stuck it back on her horse and had another go and I felt no better. Didnt make me feel very comfy or secure at all. But - lots of the guys on here love them and hack for miles in them - so its probably just me! LOL  |
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Post by dalesponyrider on Oct 5, 2009 6:30:04 GMT -1
I wouldn't be without my Fhoenix! LOL Jo! I too had a Dales mare D that I just couldn't get the right saddle for. I got through four, including a made to measure one, before I got the treeless. None of them were right - D is very short coupled as well as having a big shoulder movement. She loved the treeless saddle and I'm not sure I would change now. We started off with the SBS which did put pressure on her from the stirrup bars but the Fhoenix has solved that problem. I don't have to worry about fit and can put it on any pony. Plus it doesn't matter when they change shape from summer to winter. The stirrup bars are set further back to give you a good position and this does take some getting used to if you are used to them set further forward. It will make you feel like you are on your fork and that your leg is too far back. That is because you will be used to compensating for the stirrup bars being forward and having to drag your leg backwards. Nothing can compare to the comfort a Fhoenix gives your girly bits on a long hack though! ;D I have a GP and don't bother with the knee rolls. I hack and do small jumps in it and love it.
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Post by merrylegs on Oct 5, 2009 19:05:55 GMT -1
Ive been looking at the fhoenix vogue dressage I think it looks lovely, but like Jo not every body feels right with them. I like what is said about them the way they put you in the proper riding position (i need all the help i can get ). I also was interested in the wow saddles they seem quite popular. I wanting comfort ,my back plays me up a bit and my knee joints ache whenI hack out . Do the fhoenix have to be fitted by saddle fitter or are the quite easy to do yourself ?.
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Post by southerner on Oct 5, 2009 21:10:02 GMT -1
How wide is your wintec? I have just put a thorowgood L6 cob gp on ebay, which is a leather adjustable up to xxw and also an Isobel dressage!
If you get back problems I would think twice about a fhoenix, as they can aggravate it as not supportive enough, so gives your core muscles too much work to do to balance. Sounds like you need a saddle with a narrower twist. Look at the Isobel, if it will go wide enough, and you want a synthetic - I used one on my dales - dressage saddle but very deep and secure, and a narrower twist which will help position and comfort. Use flexible stirrups to fix your knees!
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Post by dalesponyrider on Oct 6, 2009 5:57:03 GMT -1
It is all a very individual thing. I would just like to add that I have a troublesome back, scoliosis of the lower back, narrowing of the disc spaces and osteoarthritis and find I am far more comfortable in the Fhoenix than in a dressage. I would agree that the Vogue with the narrower twist is even better though! (I've got the old Fhoenix but have the added advantage of riding a slimmer Dales now!)
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Post by admin on Oct 6, 2009 6:52:43 GMT -1
If I had the money, I go for a Wow. Not keen on the treeless, especially on the table-backed pones.....but understand those who are because they are supremely comfy under the bot.
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Post by SuzieP on Oct 6, 2009 10:52:13 GMT -1
Ooooops - just realised I still had my admin hat on when I posted......!!
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Post by greydales on Oct 6, 2009 15:02:39 GMT -1
I'm another huge fan of the Fhoenix/Vogue and would never have anything else. I appreciate they do not suit everybody but from my experience a lot of people who try them initially have problems with tipping forward and feeling the leg is too far back - purely because most treed GPs put you in a chair seat and people try to 'fight' the correct position of the set back stirrup bars! Most people that persevere eventually learn to relax into the right position. The dressage model would probably be more of a 'culture shock' than the GP as it's bars are set back more.
I think if you have hip problems they can be unsuitable - especially on a very wide pony, but the Vogue is the latest model to have much more of a twist and is a big improvement on the Fhoenix, which I think is still a good saddle. However speaking as someone who is a permanent lower back pain sufferer AND has suffered groin strain I can categorically say they do not make my pain any worse and if anything are an improvement on treed saddles, for me personally.
I have a high quality Barry Swain semi-flex treed saddle which actually cost more than the Vogue but I always use the Vogue in preference to the BS - which is kept purely in case of showing! And even then I usually end up riding in the Vogue ;D.
I have used the Fhoenix/Vogue on all of my six horses and ponies and they fit all of them. I've never used a saddle fitter either - have had enough experience of saddle fitting from 'qualified' saddle fitters that I can make up my own mind whether or not a saddle fits!
I can't really speak for any of the other 'treeless' saddles, I've tried a couple of other makes and haven't liked them.
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Post by merrylegs on Oct 6, 2009 19:01:36 GMT -1
The Isabell saddle looks good, my mare isnt overly wide but her saddle needs altering an I think it does restrict her shoulder so I think something with a straighter cut would be better.My back pain is lower back it does not stop me riding , but I thought if I am going to get a new saddle I will put that as one of my considerations it is my knee joints that are the worst. I want to get some flexi stirrups but have put on hold till I get a saddle. I think the vogue is top of my list at the mo, do they do the vogue in a gp?.I wish I could go on one of the simulator courses and see how it feels and if I could get use to the position.
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Post by greydales on Oct 6, 2009 20:08:25 GMT -1
Yes they do the Vogue in a GP and you can also have them on trial. If you decide to get a treed saddle they need to have pretty flat panels - many saddles are just too 'banana' shaped for the flat backed natives!
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