Event/Jumping/Hacking Saddle for TALL, Thin Rider--Sick of Leg Bruising and Sore Bum

[HollysHobbies]

I am SICK of riding on buckles and having my knee sit below knee rolls! I'm a thin rider (130 lbs, and 5'10") and ride in a jumping/event saddle that was supposedly made for my height, weight, and horse specs. But I get horrible bruises from the girth buckles, which sit right below my knee any time I ride in it! It's a georgeous, top of the line saddle, just doesn't fit me! I tried a Jeffries Flyover--very comfortable in the seat, but the knee roll ended well ABOVE my knee...that's not normal, right? I suppose that's only because it's a forward flapped saddle, but since I spend 95% of my time in my jumping saddle hacking/conditioning on hills, NOT jumping, I'm really not comfortable in a saddle with a FORWARD flap!

I MOSTLY am hacking these days (when I'm not schooling dressage in my dressage saddle--can't hack in that thing! It's a Luc Childeric!), so I want a saddle that is comfortable for my boney derriere too! But I would like the ability to jump up to 3' occasionally in lessons or if I get another horse...

My price range is limited to around $1000. Used is fine!

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking a crosby all purpose soft ride? (I know...all purpose is no purpose...but I need a longer flap??)

Thanks!

[HollysHobbies]

Anybody with a super comfortable jumping saddle who is tall?

[mjrtango93]

I love my jump saddle and am 6' so I totally get the flap not fitting thing. No saddle recommendations for you though as I just bit the bullet and bought an Antares to my dimensions. Even used I think you'd have a hard time finding one in the $1000 price range, I just got a new one, sold mine that was 3 years old and I got $2600 for it.

[deltawave]

My trainer is 5'11" and probably weighs 115 pounds and is ALL leg. She uses an Antares with the slightly more forward flap, and I sat in that saddle once and immediately went and found a used one for me! I'm only 5'8" but the saddle is great. I was able to find a used one for a fair price on-line, the name of the website escapes me but you could do a search for "Antares" and find it, I'll bet.

The saddle I had before that was a Berney Bros. Dublin Jumper in an 17.5" and it was MORE than enough room for my thigh, but hard as a rock. I did adore that saddle but it stopped fitting my horse, so it had to go. :( I love the Antares, though--soft and comfy and weighs HALF what the Berney did.

[WW_Queen]

I'm 5'10" and *cough* 145 lbs (I just gained 10 lbs over the last 6 months and having a really hard time accepting it!!!!! :( ) and really liked the Passier Military. Not sure if it's in your price range (but used you never know) but I found it kept me secure and comfortable.

Can you try some of your friend's saddles to see if there is a brand/type you prefer? Then you have an idea, but look for it in a long flap. :)

[HollysHobbies]

Yes, that's what I'm trying...ride in everyone I know's saddle! I don't really have any amazonian sized (tall) friends though! ;) Anyone have any exerience with the girth buckle bruising dilemma--I think the area below my knees has turned permanently yellow from bruising? :confused: Perhaps I should ask the foxhunting crowd since they ride in their saddles all day! :)

[HollysHobbies]

I had a Passier dressage (very flat--the baum PT model) which I could jump in and do flat on. It had a HARD seat and pinched just a bit in my mid-to upper thigh--felt like I was squeezing too hard or something. Actually, I found that saddle VERY usable though and may go right back to it...I just feel like I shouldn't have to select from the lesser of the evils though. :sadsmile: I know I can get that same saddle in the soft seat variety, but am afraid it will still pinch the upper thigh/groin/not really sure what to call the part of my leg where it pinches. :o Thanks for the advice--I'll sit in one though! They are in my price range anyway!

[mjrtango93]

I don't have a problem with the knee bruising but I also have a mono flap so there is nothing there. Perhaps look for a mono that way the buckles would be by your feet and below.

[HollysHobbies]

Oh, the passier military looks like the jeffries flyover! I loved that one, it just was probably too short in the flap for me!

[HollysHobbies]

Will see if I can sit in an Anteres too! Maybe I could find a used one!

[CookiePony]

In your price range I might try some used Ainsleys and Berney Bros. If you google "used Ainsley Chester" an "used Ainsley ProNational" you will find some.

[Aorrowan]

Try looking at Barnsby close contacts, they tend to have quite forward flaps. I'm sure you could find a used one in good condition for around $1k. I have a Barnsby Pegasus, and if anything, the flap is too long for me, yet in most saddles my knee hangs over the front of the flap! I'd recommend this one for sure, they are very comfy and the leather is good quality.

[HollysHobbies]

Thanks--will look at a Barnsby--I know they are comfortable on the bum! :lol:

[HollysHobbies]

Anyone have any views on Crosby saddles? :lol: I've seen some complaints about Barnsby customer service!:eek::no:

[mjrtango93]

Anyone have any views on Crosby saddles? :lol: I've seen some complaints about Barnsby customer service!:eek::no:

We have several kids in Crosby's (my first 2 saddles were Crosby), good quality, they are comfortable, not quite Barnsby or Antares comfortable, but they do hold up well with minimal care. Hard to find the right flap on them though for long legs and not a fan of the XL line. Pessoa also makes an uber comfortable saddle with a decent flap for longer legs, I believe its the A/O model we have around. The Gen X is nice as well but not forward enough for long legs.

[EventFan]

about the HDR CC, but it is the ONLY saddle that fit my thin legged, skinny bottom daughter. She too used to get the bruises and tried several saddles before happening upon the HDR. I've heard other people complain about it putting their legs in a "too forward" position but for her it has been perfect. She isn't an eventer so it may not work for you; but for hacking and jumping it has been wonderful for her.

[Candle]

Can you have the billets on your current saddle swapped for really long billets? Use a very short dressage girth and really long billets, and then put a girth cover over the whole thing. You won't rub as much. 5'11, NOT sharing my weight here :D, been through this. I got a Crosby XL that fit me REALLY well, but it's a medium tree and my new horse is a wide now :sigh:

[HollysHobbies]

Yes, Pessoas were VERY nice in the bum...I was just afraid the flap leather would eventually soften to the point that I'd be back to riding on buckles. Anyone know how much it'd cost to have long billets put on a saddle? Any suggestions on someone who wouldn't butcher my saddle while doing it :winkgrin: in a reasonable amount of time? :o

[cllane1]

I am 5'11" and around 140, and I ride in a Stubben Siegfried VSSG, the very forward flap for long-legged riders.

[EventMore]

Look into used Albion Kontrol and Kontact - especially if you can find a long flap. Comfy, roomy even in the regular flap, durable, and coming down in price. The newer version is called eventer I think, and those are good too - made for William Fox Pitt at 6'4".

[Bogie]

I have a County Extreme that has a forward flap and not a terribly hard seat. They don't come up that often as they've been discontinued but when the do they are usually in the $800-1200 range. I find mine to be very well balanced.

I used to have a Stubben Siegfried with the extra forward flap -- not only did it put me in a chair seat but it also was hard as a rock.

I like the Ainsley Chester but make sure you get one of the old ones. The newer ones aren't nearly as nice. You can pick up the older ones for less than $700.

[edit]

[GiGi]

Did not read all the replies so excuse me if this is a repeat.

I LOVE my Barnsby Diablo. I have a 36" inseam. Anything off the rack my knees were 4"-6" in front of the knee rolls. The Barnsby off the rack fits me beautifully. Nice soft seat too! Nothing rubs wrong. I have been on a 4 hour trail ride and had no rub spots nor was I too sore to take a jump lesson the next day. The med wide has fit all the horses I have ridden in it with nothing more than a Mattes half pad to fill in on a narrow withered horse. It fits my barrel boy perfectly and my thinner mare.

[rhymeswithfizz]

Try an Albion K2 jumper in an 18" seat - also called the Kontrol I think. I found one used on ebay for around $700 shipped from the UK, bought it blind based on my saddler's advice. If you google it, you can find all sorts of used ones there, lucky brits!

Here's a photo of one:
http://www.consensus-shopping.com/advancedsaddlefit/legend-k2-jumping-saddle.html

I loved my ancient Stubben Siegfried, but this one is better! It is built very similar to the County, with a nice roomy gullet.

Oh and I an 5'10". And I fondly remember being 130 lbs. ;)

[subk]

Your saddle might not fit, but it sounds to me like you might possibly have a different problem than fit. Does your saddle have billet guards or even soft thin ones? The cheapest thing to try would be a heavier/thicker leather billet guard. The other thing I would try is a girth a size or two smaller so it doesn't end up exactly under your leg.

I'm 5'10" (and it has been a long, long time since I saw 130--although my daughters are both 5'10" and under 120! Eeek...) and I ride in a very old, big, Ainsley Chester. It's a different cut than the more recent models with the same name--but I think I got it for well less than 1k! It's a XC saddle that actually works best when my stirrups are short enough to be jumping bigger than 3'3". To hack in it puts me in a little bit of a chair seat, but I like that for the very, very green horse I'm riding. The other saddle that I really like and is a great fit for me is a Black Country--I think a Quantum. (Ask Cookie Pony what her old BC saddle was!)

Remember too that a saddle seat size should have more to do with your thigh length than the size of your butt. At 130 you obviously don't have one of those, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be trying out 17.5 and 18s.

[HollysHobbies]

I just sat in a Crosby Equilibrium DSL at the tack store and LOVED it! HOORAY! Now if I can just find one at a reasonable price... Good on the bum, long enough flap, knee not hanging off the front when I pulled up stirrups... I'm just hoping I won't get girth rubs on my legs...a risk I am willing to take. [edit] I saw a Crosby Equilibrium Tad Coffin Model at a more reasonable price online--are they the same?

[Catalina]

I am 5'10" + and I have an Exselle that is wonderfully comfy and fits my long leg great; too bad it doesn't fit my horse at all :mad:. It is also not the best XC saddle in the world, but it is great for stadium and flat work. I finally broke down and ordered a BC; I sure hope it fits....

[deltawave]

You could also have the billets re-done as long billets, and use a short girth--NO buckles under the leg.

[Badger]

I'm very familiar with the problem. Your cheapest fix is to get a pair of padded bicycle shorts that pad the seatbones, crotch, and inner thigh.

Outside your budget, but my Antares truly fits me where even a fully custom Stackhouse left me with saddle sores. Antartes has seat widths as well as seat lengths, tree widths, and flap lengths and shapes, and getting the right seat width made all the difference for me, even when I'm in the saddle hunting for 4+ hours.

The most economical off-the-rack saddle that I found that is definitely well-padded and very likely to fit you leg is the Courbette Vision (they have a version with a more forward flap, maybe called the Courbette Vision XL). I have two friends who are hunting in these now and are really happy with them. The tall, thin MFH raves about it every day. The saddle shop was able to get one in for him in less than a week.

Here is a link: http://www.vtosaddlery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CVS

The new is under $2,000, so you might be able to find a used one in your price range. Here's one google coughed up for $1,200 lightly used:
http://www.equinehits.com/courbette.vision.jump.saddle~27354

[Moderator 1]

A reminder to avoid posting re: specific saddles for sale or wanted to comply with the board's no-advertising policy.

Thanks!
Mod 1