The Right Saddle for Your Icelandic Horse

Short, round, cuddly – who doesn't love them, the weatherproof little Icelandic horses? There are around 65,000 of them in Germany, and it's not least their tölt – a special gait without a suspension phase, allowing riding that's almost free of jolting and very easy on the rider's spine – that makes them so popular.
 
A well-fitting saddle helps keep the pony's back happy too. Unfortunately, finding one is often not so easy. Icelandic horse owners know: saddles developed for the conventional horse type usually don't fit (and if they do, the rider probably won't fit into them...). Saddle specialist Iberosattel® offers saddles that adapt without compromise to the proportions of Icelandic horses.

We are a family-run saddlery based in Freystadt, Bavaria. Since 1999 we have been developing and building baroque and dressage saddles for horses with baroque proportions – and that includes classic baroque horses like Andalusians, Friesians, Lusitanos or Knabstruppers just as much as draft horses and "square" small horses like Haflingers, ponies, or indeed gaited horses like the Icelandic horse.
 
Because baroque proportions are not a question of size! What matters is the rounded, compact build.
 
Our first inspiration (and our very first "customers") were our own horses – the Andalusians of the Möningerberg PRE private stud. We were very happy with the riding comfort and quality of our original Spanish saddles, but would have liked easier handling when it came to re-padding, and especially an adjustable tree width. Since we couldn't find what we were looking for from local suppliers, we ended up designing and building our dream saddles ourselves. Over the years we've gathered a great deal of saddlery experience – which can now benefit you and your Icelandic horse too.

Icelandic horses are baroque horses in miniature: everything about them is "one size smaller" than their bigger cousins – but in their proportions (short, wide back, little to almost no withers) they closely resemble the broad, rounded baroque breeds. As gaited horses, they also show a pronounced, high shoulder action, especially at the tölt.
 
So the saddle should be 1. short and 2. relatively wide, have 3. a short but wide bearing surface, and offer 4. sufficient freedom of movement for the circling shoulder blades.
 
Small off-the-shelf saddles are usually too narrow in the tree for Icelandic horses and restrict the shoulder. If the width fits, the saddle is then usually too long and presses on the lumbar vertebrae.

A saddle suited for tölting must allow the rider's hip to swing freely. Modern dressage saddles typically now have a deep, narrow seat that holds the rider fairly rigidly in one spot. When tölting, such a saddle restricts the movement of the pelvis.
 
What you need is 5. a seat with enough range of motion.

A suitably dimensioned baroque saddle can, for exactly these five reasons, make an excellent Icelandic horse saddle.

Baroque saddles from Iberosattel® have a wide bearing surface, can be made extremely short if needed, and thanks to a special cut of the saddle flaps, keep the shoulder completely free of padding and the rider's weight.

The basis of every Iberosattel® is a saddle tree with adjustable tree width.

• This allows repeated adjustments to changes in the horse's body shape.

• The saddles are cut short (from 44 cm) and therefore perfect for Icelandic horses.

• An Iberosattel® offers plenty of freedom for the loin and kidney area.

• By fitting a flat-angled head plate, the shoulder stays free of the rider's weight and can work unimpeded.  

• Even more shoulder freedom can be achieved with the EWF system: here, the head plate is integrated into the saddle tree.

• The large, widely angled bearing surface of the saddle tree ensures that the saddle doesn't slip even on your Icelandic horse's wide, round back. 

• Not a priority for these comfortable gaited horses, but still an important bonus for sensitive riders: the Amazona Solution against saddle sores.

• The extra-wide bearing surface of the padding matches the wide tree and distributes the rider's weight optimally over the short Icelandic horse's back. 

• The wide bearing surface increases friction – giving the saddle better grip even on a short, round horse's back.

• Our saddles also feature a special V-girthing with various girthing options – ideal for saddle-slip candidates like the Icelandic horse! 

• The spinal channel, adjustable in width thanks to the flexible suspension of the padding, gives the spine plenty of room on both sides.

• The soft Comfort Pad, sewn from several layers of padding, is noticeably thinner than conventional, bulky saddle panels, and further reduced in the leg area. This allows weight and thigh aids to be transmitted very precisely – for even better communication with your clever Icelandic horse!