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In France the Gaston Mercier saddle is probably the most widely used
endurance saddle - almost all my friends ride with one, and I do to. In my
quest for the perfect endurance saddle (and being a bit of a tack addict) I
have tried many many different ones, Wintec, Podium and Devoucoux ( not
sure this is sold in the States) as well as a treeless Action Horse/Torsion
- and the Gaston Mercier is definitely the best. I've not had problems with
either scrubbing in the back or shoulder blade restriction, but than I use
the 'no flap' model so maybe that makes a difference. You also need to make
sure the saddle sits well back, allowing around a hand's width between the
horse's elbow and the girth. I find this saddle has very good balance
(although the rider position does take some getting used to if you come
from english or western style saddles) and is closer to the horse than the
other's I've tried (except for the treeless saddle but than that's an
entirely different concept) - plus of course it's very well made with top
quality leather and looks great. I'm sure there are horses which will not
go well in this saddle but I have not met them yet - all the arabs (fat and
skinny ones) I've used this saddle on went great, and I find it very good
for more difficult horses (spook - stop - spin type, infernal bucking
bronco syndrome etc. I've got those here!!) because the close contact
offers a secure seat. This I find is one very big advantage over the Podium
which is a great saddle  but tends to send you flying forward in case of a
sudden stop because you sit much higher over the horse's back and gravity
does the rest. 

I can imagine that on a downhill constructed horse this saddle would slide
forward and pinch the shoulder blades but have no experience with this. I
think this saddle is definitely on the list of good endurance saddles, and
worth a try. 

Mercier also does a great sympatex saddle pad which works very well under
other saddles - you can have them custom made in the shape you want. 

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