10/30/2026
Saddle fit is challenging for my Arabians with their wide well sprung ribs, short backs, and often forward girth grooves. The UK made Black Country Saddles with hoop trees, upswept panels, and other structural options have been the best fit for most of my horses. Some need a MW hoop tree, others a W or XW, but the BCS saddles (Kur, Eloquence, and Quantum in particular) have worked well for my horses since 2008. Over those years, various saddles have been tried by with mostly less than stellar results. Mostly when I had to send a horse away into someone else's care like when Obie went to SC to be prepped for the 70 day SPT and then during the SPT.
My instructions for saddles were ignored by the trainer prepping him and the SPT only allowed the saddle brand sponsor's saddles. Fortunately Obie's back recovered from the poorly fitting saddles.
Over the years, I've tried multiple other saddle brands and models. In a few cases something other than a BCS saddle has been a good fit -- like the Passier Antares that we used for Obie for several years -- but the BCS saddles just seem to offer models and options that align well with the conformation of my horses.
