Ridecamp: RE: [RC] [Guest] Bob Marshall sport saddle

> I've been trying my friend's SS which I love, except for the stirrups
being too far forward, and my horse seems to be happy with it as well.

These saddles can be ordered with the stirrups hung in a centered riding
position.

>... both my vet and the local saddle shop are skeptical because there is no
tree to support the rider's weight on the horse's back.... My vet says there
was a study using a special pad with computer analysis that showed pressure
points on the horse's back.

This type of study would make great sense if a rider didn't change position
much while riding, but an endurance riders position in the saddle typically
changes quite a bit. Why? They change gaits, ride a posting trot and,
terrain changes encourage the rider to change position. I'm not sure what
happens with gaited horses...

Dr Kerry Ridgway talked about treeless saddles at our saddle fitting clinic,
and said he was surprised to find out how well horses carrying heavyweight
riders do in these saddles in endurance rides. He laughed that at one ride
he vetted, he watched a group of large men who were not... uhhhh... "well
balanced" <g> ride off at the start of a race. He said he was shaking his
head while muttering that he'd be pulling those horses at the first check
with sore backs because of the combination of treeless saddles and rider
balance. Well, the horses backs looked great at the first check, and to his
amazement there were fine at the last check as well. Knowing Kerry, he
probably palpated those horses very carefully.

He pointed out that horses whose spines are higher than the surrounding
muscle have trouble with these saddles due to the movement of the pad across
the spine, and I saw this with Cammie, a race bred appaloosa.

Good luck - Linda

Linda Cowles
Horse 'N Hound
New, Consigned & Used Tack
9155 North State St. #13,
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
EASY  access with Hwy 101 frontage!
Shop: 707-485-0347
Fax:  707-485-0453
kadence@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:kadence@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>



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