The Right Saddle for the Norwegian Fjord Horse

The Norwegian Fjord horse has very old roots – and is an absolute dream of a little horse. This is a true all-rounder: a sturdy mount for long trail rides who looks as if painted into the woods and fields; a quick learner for lessons ranging from working trot to circus tricks; a Western horse, carriage horse, jumping horse. A loveable companion for a relaxed hack and a bit of fun. Or all of the above.

His proportions make the Fjord horse equally suited to tall and small riders alike. And with his two-toned, tousled mane, his beautiful dun coloring and his expressive face, he never fails to melt hearts.

As easygoing as the Fjord horse is, finding the right saddle for this round-bodied fellow is often anything but simple. The Baroque proportions of Fjord horses – a broad back, pronounced shoulders and often a very flat wither – are anything but average. Standard saddles often lack the required gullet width and angling, making them too narrow in the shoulder. But you shouldn't put your little horse through a wobbly, slipping and above all pressure-inducing saddle – or the cheerful, friendly rascal can easily turn into a tense animal with compromised health.

Due to their stocky build, Fjord horses need:

• a saddle with a wide, wide-angled gullet that allows the shoulder to move freely underneath
• a rather short saddle that generously clears the loin area and the often somewhat overbuilt hindquarters
• Conventional wedge-shaped pads are unsuitable for overbuilt Fjord horses, as they additionally lift the back of the saddle

Fjordis generally have the anatomical prerequisites for a saddle with a wide bearing surface. You should make the most of this: especially with short saddles, wide padding creates additional bearing surface that reduces saddle pressure – a real relief for the horse's back, especially on longer rides.

Norwegian Fjord horses are eager eaters, and it's quite remarkable what a few seasonal pounds more or less on their ribs can do to these horses' build. Fat deposits, but also additional muscle mass, have a direct effect on how well the saddle fits.

Whether it's a growth spurt, weight fluctuations, or muscle building and loss: a saddle with a gullet width that's adjustable via the head plate takes physical changes in the horse easily in its stride. That's why it's strongly recommended for the Norwegian Fjord horse.

Not only your horse, but you too, need the saddle to fit. Important factors include:

• the right seat size
• the seat depth you feel most comfortable with
• knee rolls that support you the way you want
• seating comfort – for example through a saddle with an Amazona Solution

As a leisure rider, you also need a versatile saddle that's suited to as much as possible of what you want to do with your horse. Many leisure riders opt for a classic dressage saddle – but if you're often out on the trail, so-called all-purpose saddles with slightly forward-cut flaps can be useful, as they make it easier to adopt different seat positions. If your interests lean towards trail riding, you should make sure your saddle has as large a bearing surface as possible. Good for long rides, and suited to endurance and trail rides, are for example Baroque saddles: they offer more bearing surface than English saddles and are usually very comfortable to sit in.

As our name suggests, we see ourselves within the Iberian saddle-making tradition: we make comfortable, versatile saddles for riders who want to spend a lot of time in the saddle. Our saddles don't just fit Spanish horses, but also other breeds of the Baroque type that are often poorly served by conventional English saddles – like the Norwegian Fjord horse.

Our Baroque saddles are modern developments of traditional Spanish saddles that also meet today's leisure riders' expectations for a high-quality, comfortable and low-maintenance saddle. And our dressage saddles are true marvels of comfort that will happily accompany you out on the trail too.

• The majority of our saddle models come equipped with the Iberosattel® Comfort Pad. This saddle padding is an in-house development available only from us, with a significantly wider bearing surface than conventional saddle padding. For short, stocky horses like the Norwegian Fjord horse in particular, widening the saddle padding is a great way to reduce the pressure on the horse's back and thus the strain the horse is under on longer rides. The thin padding, further reduced in the leg area, allows for especially precise use of subtle weight aids. Our Comfort Pad is individually tailored to your horse in length, width, curve and spinal channel dimensions. For very short horses, it's also available in a compact variant that can be shortened down to 44 cm.

 

•  Our saddles always feature an adjustable saddle tree with adjustable gullet width and angling. Gullet widths of over 38 are no problem at all – wide enough even for the stockiest Norwegian Fjord horse!

 

• Our saddles are made-to-measure production – with plenty of room for customization. Every saddle is precisely fitted to your horse after careful measuring of the horse's back. What's more, when putting the saddle together we can take into account your wishes for seat depth and size, the Amazona Solution and other extras, flap length, knee roll shape, and leather type and color. Fancy some embossing, decorative stitching, or metal fittings? We're happy to personalize your saddle for you.

 

• The finest leather, high-quality workmanship, personal purchase advice and individual fitting ensure that you'll enjoy riding our saddles. An adjustable gullet width and easy re-padding ensure that this remains true for a horse's entire lifetime.

 

• Together with our selected Iberosattel® partner saddlers, we're active throughout Germany and in a number of neighboring countries. This means we can offer personal saddle appointments right where you are.

A saddle appointment is an essential part of buying a saddle from Iberosattel®: on the agreed date, we'll come to you with our saddle van. You'll have the chance to inspect and try out our saddles with no obligation, we'll take a look at how your Norwegian Fjord horse is built and how you sit in the saddle, and advise you accordingly on choosing a suitable model.

If you'd like to order an Iberosattel®, we measure your horse's back. Gullet width and padding are individually adjusted for every one of our saddles. We make the models in our Premium Line to measure for you and your horse. In doing so, you have numerous choices when it comes to look and functionality.

Depending on whether you'd like an in-stock model adjusted or have opted for a brand-new saddle, it takes anywhere from a few weeks to three months until we can deliver your finished saddle.

The first follow-up check of the saddle fit is included in the purchase. And even after buying the saddle, we remain your point of contact – especially for re-measuring and the subsequent re-padding and readjusting of the saddle.

By the way: if you've gotten hold of a used Ibero, we'll fit that to your horse too!

Interested? You'll find more about our saddle models and the highlights of Iberosattel® on our website. You can reach us directly by phone or via the contact form.