Saddle Recommendation for Tipperary and Renn Goldberg

Here's our first "Saddle Recommendation" installment, and thanks to Renn Goldberg for patiently complying with my photo requests.

This is Renn's boy, Tipperary. He's a 15.2 1/2 h. Irish Sport Horse, whom Renn describes as having a "big ribcage and a gigantic shoulder":

My initial impression here is a nicely balanced horse, just a tad rump-high, fairly short back. Girth spot is decently long, and I can see what Renn means about a big shoulder and a well-sprung rib cage. Tip has a moderate wither and while he's not completely flat front-to-back, he's not going to need a lot of curve or "scoop" in the tree. The saddle should have a fairly shallow rear gusset and possibly (depending on seat size) an upswept panel.

Now let's look at the rest of Tip's back. Just FYI, that white spot on Tip's wither is NOT Renn's doing - it was there when she bought him:

Tip is a little bigger on the left than the right (left shoulder more developed, left haunch higher), which isn't unusual. All horses (like all people) have a preferred side, and that side will be more muscular (and often less flexible - they'll bend to the left with no problem, but going to the right is tougher because they have to stretch that muscled side). From a saddle fitting standpoint, it's not a big deal unless this is a chronic issue that won't be changing, and then we'd most likely deal with it through flocking adjustments. However, I'm guessing that this is a stage he's at in his development, and it will change.

Though it's hard to tell for sure without a tracing (or without getting my hands on his back), I think Tip can be fit with a fairly generous standard tree - I don't think a hoop tree will be necessary; he doesn't appear to be that broad through the withers. Again, a panel with a fairly shallow gusset would offer a nice broad weight-bearing surface for his nice, broad back without making it sit too high in the cantle.

Now for Tip's sides:

This looks pretty straightforward - no major dips or divots (small one below the wither on the left side), so probably wouldn't need wither gussets or a trapezius panel (can't tell for sure without a tracing). So, based on the photos and Renn's description, my recommendation would be a Black Country Quantum. Since Renn's femur is about 14" and the Quantum has a flap that will accommodate a long thigh, a 16.5" seat might work, or perhaps a short flap option would be worth investigating.

Some other possibilities for Renn and Tip would be a Frank Baines Reflex cc, a County Stabilizer, or one of Albion's close contacts.

Renn, thank you so much for being the first. And if you'd care to send a tracing, I'll make further recommendations.

Fitting Options

I had a request a couple of entries ago for photos of some of the fitting options I'd mentioned. Here you go, with examples of how each is meant to work.

First is a trapezius or dropped panel:

This panel is useful for horses with a good wither and dips below it, like so:


The dropped part of the panel will snug into that dip and keep the saddle from nose-diving into the withers.
Next option is the K panel (named for Kay Hastilow, Master Saddler, QSF, who originated this design):
This configuration is good for a roof-backed horse with "shark" withers:

The extra panel depth works the same as a dropped panel, but is better for a more extreme conformation.
This is a wither gusset:
It's often used in conjunction with a dropped or K panel - again, to help keep the front of the saddle off the withers.

Here's a photo of an upswept panel:

The rear edge of the panel is curved upward rather than being squared off. This is a great help in fitting short backed horses (particularly if the rider requires a large seat size) and horses who are built rump-high.

Another helpful fitting option is an extra-deep rear gusset (don't have a photo of that - sorry; just imagine adding extra depth to the gusset). Works well for a horse with a big back-to-wither difference, and is sometimes used with the K or dropped panel.

While these fitting options (and others) are available from most of the better UK-made saddle makers, these photos are all of Black Country saddles. I'm going to make a shameless plug for Black Country Saddlery here and say that I absolutely love dealing with them. They deliver saddles to us in 4 weeks or less, and they FIT. If there's ever a problem, they make it right immediately (or as immediately as the Atlantic Ocean and 4 time zones allow - I've had Nikki Newcombe, their sales manager, reply to my e-mails on weekends and at odd times of the day and night). Can't say enough about the quality of their saddles or their customer service!