Saddle advice?

[Pleasedontdothat]

It’s looking like the lovely saddles which fitted dd’s old horse perfectly aren’t a perfect match for the new one. The problem is she’s got quite a short back (compact eventer) so really should be in a 17” but dd’s got ridiculously long legs so definitely needs to be in a 17.5. The saddles are both Fairfax so are pretty adjustable width and flocking-wise already but that’s not where the problem is. Any ideas please? We have a lovely saddler but there may be possible options which she doesn’t stock ...

I had a custom made from Derby house saddlery and was worth every penny.

Not derby house, Fylde Saddlery. Sorry. Get a custom, it'll fit the horse and DD.

I had a wide shouldered, square shaped section D who struggled with saddles until I got the custom to fit him..

Companies like Voltaire can do something with the panels so the saddle fits the horse like a 17 inch but fits the rider like a 17.5

Depends on your budget.

Ideal will use a 17" panel and and 17.5" seat and will set you back about around £1.2k

Harry Dabbs will also do the same. Also Adam Ellis to name a few.

If you go new, you can get the blocks and flaps made to suit as this can make a smaller seat roomier, plus the flatter the seat the more room she'll have.

Thanks

Budget is reasonable but not sky high - her current saddles were new Fairfax monoflap dressage and XC so not cheap (sob) but we should get most of our money back if we need to sell. Ideally she’d like a dressage and jump again but if we go towards the pricier custom options then she’d rather have a perfectly fitting jump saddle as she can’t jump in a dressage ...

New horse has very powerful shoulders - I was under the impression that Voltaire fitted finer type horses best?

A friend has custom made Sue Carson saddles but they’re just silly money

My DH is a saddler, and he very often makes saddles with a shorter panel for short coupled horses (eg 17" seat with a 16.5" panel). Likewise, different knee / thigh blocks / rolls, different flap lengths, more straight or forward cut - the options are endless.

Whilst adjustable gullet saddles suit some, they do not take into account the fit of the rest of the saddle.

Saddles are not a cheap item to buy, but some prices charged by the big names are truly shocking. It does not always guarantee a better quality product or materials used in them either.

If you don't need to have separate dressage and jump saddles, have you considered a VSD or standard GP?

@Pleasedontdothat - just remember if the saddler only stocks one brand, they will try to make sure that they can sell you a saddle or 2 and this could lead to issues with fit down the line.

Voltaire will set you back around £3k, even 2nd hand they sell for around £2k.

My sister has a heather moffatt Flexee vsd. It's the most comfortable saddle IVe ever had the pleasure to ride in. It's on a leather tree and is cut to free the horses shoulders. It fits her fjord and my warmblood. The stirrup bars are set back which instantly puts you in a better alignment and you never find yourself fishing for an iron . I haven't tried the jumping one but I'm sure they're just as good.

Thankfully the jump saddle fits (phew!) so it’s just the dressage saddle to worry about - we’ve got the saddler coming out next week so we’ll see what they say and take it from there - thanks for all the info