Wendy, you don't explain exactly what kind of
"slope"this horse has from withers to croup?. If he has truly downhill
conformation (croup higher than withers), I doubt you will ever get a good fit
on any kind of saddle, as any saddle will tend to slide forward into the
shoulders....I hate to say this, but it is the honest truth; a good riding horse
should have a relatively level back......
That said, I have ridden sport saddles for 10
years, with very good luck, ln a variety of shaped horses. Our Anglo Arab
had very high withers and a short back, and the saddle worked fine with a top
shim skito pad. Even English saddles that appreared to fit dug into her
shoulders on downhills,and there is no way on earth a standard Western saddle
would have ever fit this horse as she had a dip behind the withers. The
sport saddle worked on her with the right pad.
I have used them on horses shaped like propane
tanks, really narrow horses, and a really sway backed pony.
Again though, on a horse that is really rump-high,
it is possible that the hard pommel on the sport saddle might jam into the
shoulders eventually. Then maybe something with a flexible pommel (like a
torsion) would be the only way to go.
However, using the saddle fit issue as a jumping
off point to discuss back conformation....it is a critical thing I have looked
as with any horses I consider buying....if that back of the horse is suitable to
carry a saddle. I have seen far too many Quarter Horses, AND certain lines
of Arabs that are rump high (again, not claiming your horse is, just had asked
above). Beside being almost impossible to fit for a sadlde, rump-high
horses can tend to be heavy on the forehand, hard to collect, and from my
observations, tend to often be the ones that get jiggy....
I give a real thumbs up on treeless saddles, but
you still might have to do some tweaking with pads,shims and
rigging.
