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[RC] Saddle for draft horse - Julie FullerDeb,Having ridden draft horses in the past, I have a few suggestions about saddles. We had a percheron gelding who wasn't big as drafts go... he was 15.3 and weighed 1600 lbs. When we first got him, he was very soft and fat. The first time I threw a saddle on him, the gullet was about 6 inches above his withers! It was a cheap Aussie saddle. So, we rode bareback awhile, pasture chased,drove and lunged Prince until he lost some weight and started muscling up. Then the Aussie was tried again. A bit interesting as far as fit... but it worked for light riding. Later on, we rode him a lot more, and harder, and he Aussie seemed to work fine. Now, looking back on all this with many years of hindsight, I think that a Bob Marshall treeless would be a good way to go. A Bighorn with a wide tree would probably work very well also, and would be a bit cheaper. A Wintec with a wide tree would also be a good cheaper saddle as well. If you want, I can check with a friend of mine.... she had a beautiful custom saddle with an extra wide tree built for her exceptionally huge Appaloosa. The horse had to be put down, and I don't think she's got anything it will fit. She may be willing to sell it, but it wouldn't be cheap. Let me know. And please, please please, do not ever use a cheap aussie saddle! I don't care if someone gives it to you! I had four different brands of these saddles years ago, and in my ignorance of saddle fit, did some terrible things to several horses backs. When I got smart, these saddles went to the dump! Julie ============================================================ REAL endurance is eating egg salad sandwiches for 3 days straight! ~ Heidi Sowards ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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