Cob Jockey

Even though I'd never touched a Thorowgood saddle in my life before one arrived on my porch on Friday, I was feeling confident that this eBay saddle would fit. I assumed that I'd end up ordering a slightly wider gullet bar than the medium it came with, but that the tree shape would be right, based on everything I've read about Thorowgood/K&M/Fairfax saddles and cobby backs.

Survey says?

Almost perfect, pending the arrival of the medium wide gullet bar.

Fits exactly like I thought it would.  Great contact with his back all the way down, but just a hair too narrow in the gullet.With a slightly wider gullet, it'll be a perfect fit in front, and perfectly balanced front to back.

Liiiiiitle too high.

Fortunately, Thorowgood has a saddle fitting "worksheet" available on their website.  It allows you to use a flexible rule to both figure out what shape of tree your horse needs (high wither vs. normal vs. low), and what side gullet bar they need.  You shape the flexible rule against the horse's back or withers, and lay it against the sheet to determine sizing.

Point billets and movable velcro blocks.

Connor came out to be a Medium Wide, so that is on order and will be here soon.  But before I pulled the trigger on that, I rode one lesson in it to make sure I liked it well enough to keep it (and my trainer approved).

Connor not wanting to play my reindeer games.

And I gotta say, I'm pleased.  It strikes just the right balance of encouraging good position and not forcing me into a good position.  It's a 17" and I almost could use a 16.5, but that just means I've got a tiny little gap between my butt and the cantle, making it less restrictive.

The seat, knees and a panel behind the thigh are leather, while the rest is synthetic.  Also, it's wool flocked.

It also made some of my biggest positional issues a lot easier to fix - especially my tendency to ride with the left hip angle wide open and the right hip angle more closed regardless of direction.  That's not really a comment on this saddle, it's just that doing Dressage in a Dressage saddle is easier than doing Dressage in a jump saddle.  Even a glorious, well-balanced, well-fitted unicorn of a jump saddle.


My one complaint is that the twist seems a little wider than I like, but I didn't get off waddling in pain like I used to with Louie's old saddle (EquiNovice knows what I'm talking about!)  And even with the gullet situation being what it is, Connor went really well in it, especially at the canter.  He's always moved a lot better at the canter in a Dressage saddle.

I told my trainer the cover struck me as odd.  It says, "Real saddles made in England."  As opposed to fake saddles made in England?  That made her laugh, because she's from England, and apparently 'real' in this phrase means something like "proper".

As far as budget saddles go, it's definitely the best quality and fit for Connor I've ever encountered.  I've tried several Wintecs on him, and all of them bridged and/or pinched at the stirrup bars: this saddle does not bridge or pinch at all.  It's not a magical French unicorn made of tradition and engineering like the CWD is, but the Thorowgood cost $550 and the CWD cost me, uh, um, a few dollars more than that, so...yeah.  Definitely exceeding expectations in relation to cost!

My one issue is this:

I think it's time to admit that he really needs an 18" Dressage girth (this is a 20") but I am so not interested in trying to sell this tiny Dressage girth.  Anyone want to buy a 20" Total Saddle Fit girth?

So this may have happened yesterday.  And for once, I didn't have a single drop of alcohol in my system when I pulled the trigger (while lying in bed at 7:30am):


I've been casually looking for a Dressage saddle to get me by (to a Third Level schooling show, at which point Husband of the Year has promised to buy me a custom Dressage saddle) for a while.  My criteria were as follows:

- Must be well-reviewed for fitting Cobs and Cob-type backs
- Must actually fit well when it gets here
- Must be something I'm excited to ride in.  Knowing my CWD is sitting in the barn every time I ride in this saddle sort of sucks (YES THAT'S A FIRST WORLD PROBLEM) so I have to be happy about it.
- Must be cheap enough that I can make a profit on it if it doesn't work and I have to re-sell it.
- Must be Mary-approved.  I know it won't be trainer-approved, and that's okay.

Really not the most challenging back to fit, as far as ponies go.

That's how I ended up making an offer, which was accepted, on an almost brand new (demo) Thorowgood T8 for $550.  Thorowgoods are built on the same trees as Kent & Masters and Fairfax, so I feel good about the choice shape-wise.

My trainer, after falling in love with the fit and quality of my CWD, won't be happy until I get something on par with it.  While I can't blame her and would love a CWD Dressage saddle, I just can't afford that right now.  So this will either work well enough to get me by, or it'll be for sale the day after it gets here. Fingers crossed!  It should be here next week.