Stubben Saddles

Quality, long life, and crafted individuality is the proof for any Stübben product.

Various parts of a Stübben saddle are still hand stitched such as the seat, the panel and the billets. This ensures a long lasting quality product. The same criteria is applied to all our bridles and leather products.

More than one hundred individual steps are necessary in the manufacture of your own Stübben saddle. Craftsmanship is always realised by craftsmen. The work will always carry the signature of the maker and therefore it will be unique. Your Stübben will always be a very special product.

The leather used for Stübben saddles is allowed to mature gradually during the vegetable tanning process. Although extremely durable, the leather, far from being hard, is soft and supple. A further special dressing process gives it a non-slip top surface. Other features are that it keeps its shape, is sweat-resistant and pleasant to touch. Stübben leather possesses a combination of both practical and agreeable features which riders have come to value.

Stübben "Special" Leather

Stübben "Special" saddle leather was developed in conjunction with Stübben tanners and gives the discerning rider the ultimate in comfort. Through a unique tanning and dressing process, the leather is given a special non-slip surface. The amazing suppleness of Stübben "special" leather gives the saddles a "broken in" feeling right from the start. All Stübben double leather saddles are made with this "special" leather, which is attached to a unique backing leather. The combination of these two high quality materials ensures the comfort of all Stübben double leather saddles.

Mirror the Image of Nature

Every hide has it's particular characteristics, which reflects the life the animal has led. These characteristics are brought out in the tanning process. The aniline coloring gives the leather a rich warm appearance, while all the natural pores, wrinkles and scars remain visible. These particular markings are proof of the "full grain" leather and the "mirror image of nature".

The Stübben Spring Tree

The Stübben spring tree, made exclusively for them to their specifications, is the made to measure link between the horse and the rider. When a rider sits in a Stübben spring tree saddle, the webbing absorbs the rider's weight while the steel springs counteract both the pommel's and cantle's back. These counteractions provide the most comfortable seat for the rider.

The Stübben tree is fitted with a front arch made from specially strengthened steel which both protects the withers from injury and keeps the saddle in the correct position behind the horse's shoulder. The unbreakable never-rust stirrup bars are recessed into the tree, ensuring that the stirrup leather buckles do not interfere with the rider's contact.

The Stübben tree is both expensive and difficult to produce, but in use it is quite unbeatable.

Fitting The Rider

The saddle should have a narrow twist so that the rider's legs are not forced apart excessively; the thigh and knee can lie correctly against the horse. The curve and the dip of the seat should ensure that the rider is not obstructed during the natural movement of the horse. Only if these points are satisfied can the various riding disciplines be carried out correctly.

The seat of the saddle should be large enough to allow the rider to sit in the deepest part of the seat. Stübben recommends a minimum of a full palms width of the rider's hand from behind the buttocks to the cantle. The length of the seat can also be instrumental in fitting the saddle to the horse.

The flaps of the saddle should allow the rider closest contact to the horse. They should not be so short as to interfere with the boot top and not so long to prevent communication with the horse through the rider's leg. Stübben saddles come in a variety of flap length, at no additional charge, to fit the rider's legs.

The rider's position in the saddle is a key ingredient to good performance. When looking for a new saddle, the rider should always use a pair of stirrup leathers and sit in a properly balanced saddle with the pommel 1" (25 mm) lower than the cantle. Using the stirrup leathers will allow the rider to determine whether the saddle flaps are the correct size and shape for the rider.

Fitting The Horse

The Stübben saddle is a specialised item of sporting equipment. It has the complex job of uniting the horse and rider, no easy task if you consider their very different anatomies. The experience and skill of craftsman, perfected over generations and developed into an art, ensure that both horse and rider are fitted flawlessly.

It is important that the saddle does not interfere with the natural movement of the horse. The saddle should be placed forward on the withers and slid back until it finds its place securely behind the shoulder without pressing on the withers. Attach the girth using only the first and third billets. The second billet is used only as a spare. Split end girths allow for equal tension without creating bulkiness under the leg, when using the first and third billets. This allows for a quiet fitting saddle with equal tension distributed from front to back.

If the saddle is placed too far forward on the withers and shoulder, the constriction will interfere with the stride! To check the fit with the saddle girthed, lift the foreleg forward and be sure the points of the tree are not on the shoulder blade.

When it is girthed, the pommel of the saddle should be approximately 1" lower than the cantle. When the pommel-cantle relationship is correct, then you must check the clearance between the withers and the channel under the pommel. On a new saddle, the clearance should be a minimum of 2 fingers. Keep in mind that once the saddle is broken in, the panel flocking will compress slightly and give your horse a custom fit.

Each new Stübben saddle should be used for the first 20 hours with no saddle pad underneath. This will allow the panel to absorb the sweat from your horse. The end result will be a saddle that fits the shape of your horse's back.

The wool will compress slightly and the rider will come closer to their horse. Stübben saddles should not need to be reflocked, unless you have changed horses, extreme weight gain or loss, or if you are experiencing other fitting problems.

Freedom For The Horse And Rider

Stübben's extensive range of saddle trees makes it possible to supply the correct saddle to fit virtually any horse, any rider and for any purpose. The experience and skill of craftsmen developed over generations into something of an art, ensures that both horse and rider, can be fitted perfectly. Stübben saddle trees are exclusive to Stübben. The Stübben tree is the "made to measure link" between the horse and the rider. When the rider sits in a spring tree saddle the weight is in fact taken by the webbing of the tree, and the effect of this is to pull the front and the back of the tree together slightly. This is counteracted by the steel springs, providing the most comfortable seat for the rider.

Key to Stübben Saddles

S - Jumping

VSD - All purpose, emphasis toward dressage, pleasure riding, endurance and riding long in stirrup leathers

VSS - All purpose, emphasis toward jumping

D - Dressage

CS - Half deep, slightly wider seat, square cantle, forward flap, front block (rear block optional)

II - Flat seat, square cantle, forward flap, front and/or rear block optional

DL - High wide knee roll on dressage and VSD type saddles to give better support

HP - Long knee roll on dressage saddles, highest point lower down on the panel for the average to longer legged rider

CL - Anatomically shaped knee roll molded into the saddle flap

GX - Saddle flap molded over a high knee roll on the panel (VSD saddles only)