Thorowgood
Griffin Broadback All Purpose
All Purpose Saddles
Manufacturer: Thorowgood
Model: Griffin Broadback All Purpose
Category: All Purpose Saddles
Purchase: When I bought my horse in March (half Canadian, quarter Clyde, quarter Standardbred) I needed to get a wide saddle for him. I decided to go with a synthetic one for convenience, and the Thorowgood Griffin because it was easily available to me and I could get it in a package. I also liked Thorowgood's website with its guide to saddle fitting -- I found that really useful, and it allowed me to order the Wide tree (rather than the Extra Wide) with confidence. I paid about $570 Canadian for it (not sure exactly -- it was part of a package) from Greenhawk Harness.
Likes: The saddle fits my horse very well -- I was really pleased (and somewhat relieved) about that. I ordered the 18 inch seat, and find it very comfortable for me -- I had been riding in a 17 inch saddle, but I'm a larger woman, and the extra inch makes a big difference in my comfort. I like the styling of the saddle, too -- squared off and modern looking.
I also love how easy it is to clean (I keep a container of premoistened towels handy and wipe the saddle off after a ride), and how light it is to cart around.
It has a lovely, wide gullet -- very comfortable for my horse.
It comes with the "FISH" inserts to reduce the size of the tree at the withers, which I will probably find quite useful as my gelding loses a little of his "pasture pet" padding!
I didn't notice any strange smell, which some reviewers have commented on regarding the Thorowgood saddles.
Dislikes: Nothing -- it's great!
Quality: Seems very good quality for the money.
Summary: I would certainly buy a Thorowgood saddle again -- I've been very pleased. I can't emphasize too much how useful their fitting guide was to me, and the saddle itself does all it says it should.
Rating: 5
Author: Nina Scott-Stoddart
Date: 2006-07-02
Usefulness Rating: 3.56 out of 5.
25 reader(s) voted.
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