Why DP Saddlery for Me

My Journey to DP Saddles

I have struggled for so long trying to find saddles to fit me and my horses, ever since I started dabbling in disciplines other than English I struggled to find a saddle that I felt comfortable in. Western and Stock Saddles were such a challenge and it seemed that perhaps there was no answer.

I was always tipping forward and felt unbalanced, like I was sitting way above my horse and not down with my horse. I was constantly fighting the saddle to try and stay square and balanced which caused a number of bad habits in my riding and made it difficult for my horses.

Not to mention the trouble I had with my horses! Saddles slipping, tipping, making them sore, atrophied muscles, uneven pressure and they were not happy. On different occasions I encountered my horses becoming agitated when being saddled, some would rush in their ridden work and get anxious, they were developing incorrectly, getting tight and on one occasion my mare had a sore back (she threatened to buck which is extremely out of character) it pays to know your horse and to listen to them, I have NEVER come across a horse that was “being naughty” they are simply trying to communicate the only way they can.

I have always let the horses guide me on this journey, never doubting what they tell me and they were not happy with the gear, they persevered while I tried everything!

I was beginning to get so upset, frustrated and put a lot of pressure on myself to try and find the solution!

My horses were continuing to develop incorrect muscle and my riding was getting worse and worse due to compensating for the unbalance in the saddles. I had tried some of the best brands and spent a lot of money only to find the same thing over and over!

I felt so out of touch, my horses were uncomfortable and so was I.

I took a deep dive into saddle fitting and rider balance and spent many sleepless nights trying to find solutions. I was so distressed that I thought I wouldn’t ride anymore, countless times I cried as I could never seem to find a riding solution that aligned with my values of putting the horses well being above all else.

I finally stumbled upon Lightweight and Flex Tree saddles, commonly offered in Barrel Racing Saddles and started to notice an improvement. Continuing on this path I came across DP Saddlery.

I saw the DP Adjustable Gullet System online and instantly thought wow! How innovative!! Saddles haven’t changed much over the years so it was exciting to see a company redeveloping the saddle to become more beneficial to the horse and user friendly for fitting multiple horses. I was sceptical about the gullet mechanism but had to see for myself, I had already come this far!

I bought a beautiful DP Equitation Trainer, it is a stunning western saddle that has the adjustable gullet system, along with correct positioning for the riders legs (which is so hard to find in western and stock saddles, that so commonly put the rider in a chair like seat. The saddle is absolutely beautiful, the best quality that I have ever owned!

The adjustable gullet is so well designed that it widens or narrows the entire from of the saddle changing the angle of the bars for the shoulders! I was amazed at how easy it was and that it is strong enough to use on multiple horses day in and day out changing to suit their body shape!

For a western saddle to sit me so correctly and balanced I just couldn’t actually believe that I had found the solution to my problems!!

My position improved, my horses were happy and they even started developing properly through the topline and building muscle back in atrophied areas caused by other saddles!

It is safe to say that I was completely convinced! At this stage I was not aware of how big the DP range of saddles was, I found that DP Saddlery have something for quite literally everyone!!

I associated DP saddles with more Classical, English and Endurance disciplines but I now know that they have an entire range of models to suit every horse and every disciple!

I am such a fan of DP Saddlery that I knew I had to promote awareness of the huge range of saddles they offer in case there is someone else having the same trouble I was having.

DP Saddlery offer a range of Dressage, Jumping, Baroque, Trail Riding, Endurance, Western, Cutting, Cowhorse, Reining, Barrel Racing, Vaquero, Treeless and so much more! All saddles are customisable, and can be made on your choice of tree. Weather you prefer traditional wooded tree or are interested in some of the other options like, Flex Trees or the Adjustable Gullet or completely treeless.

While on this saddle fitting journey I have changed all of my saddles over to either lightweight trees or DP Saddles and my horses are so grateful! They are happy and their bodies are developing much better. I finally feel at home again in a saddle and on a horse and can actually begin to work on my riding in a constructive way without fighting the saddle.

I am so excited and feel as though a huge weight has been lifted, I no longer have this huge problem anymore that I had for so long!

If you would like to know more, feel free to reach out for a chat.

I hope that by sharing my experiences I can help other horses and riders!