yeah it's weird how different saddles suit different people. I HATE with a passion isabell's!! Hate them hate them hate them!! They tip me forward and make my legs shoot back- normally my problem is my legs going forward! And this was riding a very uphill tb- he has the most amazing uphill canter and even then i felt like I was being thrown forward.

DD I think the Anky would suit you cause you are quite short through your thigh but quite long through your calf. That is the perfect fit for an Anky so I think no matter which Anky u ride in u will like it cause it's just made that way! If you were longer through your thigh your lower leg would tip forward or back considering where the majority of your weight is pushed...

Consider your short legs lucky!!

Wierd i'm so short in my calf i have to have the tops on my top boots cut cos they dig in and i love my anky.. Argghh i'm a freak lol

The reason most ppl dont like Isabels is if they have tight Iliopsoas muscles....If they are stretched out they are IMHO a great saddle

Yes please explain Rosie! I'd like to know why I like Isabells but apparently no one else does (other than Isabell & Hayley Beresford)!

i like Isabell

I don't think I have long calves... I don't think I ahve long anything... I am a short butt and to make it even worse I am mainly all torso and no legs!

My gaiters I have to order especially in SS, which is small short... cos small are too long! My legs suck.

I know lots of short legged people who like Ankys.... so I dunno really. i would never rule out a saddle without sitting in it myself.

I actually like Isabells too, very deep and easy to sit in.

yeah, im an isabel fan too!

So poss want to sell me one of your Joey McEvoy saddles?

when i was looking for a dressage saddle years ago - I sat in Courtleigh's anky and loved it - so i bought one - and I am fond of it - but just adore my poor old isabell - and Rosie says i ride better in that anyway - maybe my ilio whatchmacallit muscles are stretched - so i like my isabell and my anky. I used to love the keiffer i rode in at work - but when i tried a couple on my mare - they were fannygrinders - probably great if you were beyond doing any risetrot at all - but I copped a fannybashing and had to look for something different.

the saddle i love the most out of anything - is one of the original wintec single flap saddles - which is most definitely on its last legs - the whole front knee section wore away and I have had it recovered. the tree broke when a horse rolled in it (It broke away from a tie up rail) - I had that replaced for free(woohoo ten year lifetime guarentee on the tree with the originals!!!!) and somehow its still ticking. and the best bit, I paid $50 bucks for it from a bloke who was leaving work to go bush - and he had a lokcer clean out and I got reins, spurstraps - lots and lots of stuff - best $50 I ever spent. It is so comfy - it just seems to "Fit me" - doesn't restrict anything i do - and never hurts my back.

OGM

So far, the nicest saddle I've sat/ridden in is my friend's Anky.

Everyday saddle is a Wintec Isabell. It's about 9 years old. Fairly comfortable, seat is hard to the touch but it doesn't feel it when sitting in it. Good fit on all my horses.

Recently missed out on an older Otto Shumacher Profi for 800,I'm spewing.
Anyone have anything to say about them?

On the look out right now for a show/dressage saddle, looking for County (as I show a friend's pony in one about 30 years old and omg soooo comfortable!) or an in my budget Anky.

This looks like a good thread! Will have to have a read through after, seeing as I always love to know more about what saddles are out there and what people think of them!


I LOVE my eurohunter! It fits Josh really well - he hasn't had any sore backs/bucking episodes since I put it on him! Well, nothing caused by the saddle anyway. Although unfortunately it is an older model and does not have the ezy-change gullet system, and now that he is building up topline I may have to sell it to buy something newer that I can change the gullet in myself - thinking a wintec at this stage.

Personally I love a dressage saddle with a shallow seat and small to medium knee blocks - I like my flexibility and it drives me insane if a saddle restricts it. Rode in some deep seated bates with giant knee blocks that everyone loved, and I just couldn't stand it. Yeah, a horse would find it physically impossible to throw me in it, but I wouldn't ride in it again!
So I prefer synthetic saddles, because they seem to have shallower seats normally. Although my instructor has a lovely prestige saddle...

Don't like Jessica Trainers saddles, I can't walk once I have ridden in one, and I can't ride properly either.

I am actually really comfy in status saddles, I have never had a problem riding in them. But as they come with a narrow gullet, I can't get one for my horse.

Love my wintec close contact saddle - soooo comfy! That's why I am considering a wintec 250 for my next dressage saddle. I don't really care if it is the cheapest model, it looks the comfiest for me.