Now that we've been down the road a few miles I wanted to update
you on our "DeSoto Experiences". What I expected from this saddle was a more
comfortable horse. I knew that his increased comfort would improve our overall
performance and potentiate our partnership. I knew the saddle would be beautiful
and exquisitely engineered because I looked at one and spoke to several happy
owners before I ordered mine. What I did not expect from this saddle was
that it would improve my own comfort and abilities to the degree it has. Correct
position is effortless, my legs are under me without a struggle and this allows
all the building blocks of my riding position to align correctly without any
conscious thought on my part. What a concept! PE's response has been equally
dramatic. He has come up with this marvelous swinging walk - where the heck has
that been all this time? We can almost walk up with our gaited buddies now.
Hills have become "places to run up" and it's wonderful to ride down a bank on a
PE with ears forward and neck relaxed. Even flat schooling is more fun. PE's
back comes right up, his transitions are lighter and more subtle and even his
reverse has improved. He's listening to my seat much more and he seems to be
free from "saddle irritation" for the first time since we've been partners -
maybe for the first time in his life. Every ride I wonder why I didn't do this
sooner (and I'm sure PE wonders that too!).
EUREEKA! The best description for the DeSoto Experience is
Liberating.