Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hi Mary,
	Thanks for sharing your saddle trial experiences - lots of good info 
for anyone trying out a saddle, especially the part about making sure 
all the parts are attached correctly!  I'm a little concerned that you 
had to make a physical move - moving your ubtt towards the rear of the 
saddle - in order for the seat to be comfortable.  My concern is that 
where one sits first is usually where the saddle really wants you to 
sit.  But hopefully your rain will clear and you'll be able to give the 
saddle a real trial ride.  I might be wrong and I hope I am!  But if you 
find you're being moved forward against the pommel, the problem might be 
that the saddle isn't sitting really level.  The most common reason is 
your horse's (horses') conformation.  If the horse is higher in the rear 
than the front that forces everything forwards again the 
withers/shoulders.  (If you horse(s) is/are shaped like that, that is 
probably a big part of the reason you've had trouble finding a saddle 
that fits.)  I don't know if the Freeform offers shims to raise the 
front of the saddle but Skito does.  Theirs can be used with a variety 
of pads.  To experiment just use a folded hand towel laid over the 
withers on top of the saddle pad or anything else that will add 
1/4"-1/2" height.  A quick test for how the saddle sits is to use a 
chapstick.  Put it across the seat and watch where it rolls to.  If it 
stays in what your eye says is the deepest part, the saddle is level. 
If it rolls forward, the saddle tips to the front.  It would probably be 
a good idea to do this test before riding and also after riding for a 
while because things can shift and change.
	Good luck and let us know how things work out.
Laney

Mary Krauss wrote:
> Before telling you how the demo saddle is working out so far, a quick 
> history for those who haven't read my whining rants about failing to 
> find a saddle to fit either of my wide-backed horses:  I've gone through 
> a number of wide saddles that bridged or were still not wide enough or 
> simply seemed to bother the horses despite looking like they fit.  The 
> only thing that seemed promising was a gorgeous Ortho-flex Cutback with 
> short panels but it turned out to have a cracked tree.  I need two 
> saddles, and, for some reason that bewilders me, I want them to be 
> different types.  Something about being a basically ambivalent person I 
> guess.
>
> Anyway--finally decided to demo a Freeform.  First of all, it looks way 
> cooler than I expected.  It's built way better than I expected.  It's 
> way lighter than I expected.  It arrived with EZ ride stirrups and an 
> Equipedic pad.
>
> Day one:  I narrowly avoid falling off by realizing, a millisecond 
> before putting all my weight into the stirrup,  that I had the stirrup 
> adjustor on backwards so the velcro couldn't attach itself.  Pretty 
> humorous moment for the friend who had stopped by to take a look.  
> Attach the stirrup correctly--MUCH better.  Sitting in the saddle feels 
> really odd at first--keep slamming into the front of the saddle--very 
> uncomfortable.  Stirrups seem to be set way too far back--odd for 
> someone who likes stirrups straight underneath her.  Never had stirrups 
> too far back before.  Move stirrups farther forward hoping this will 
> keep me from tipping forward into the front of the saddle.  No such 
> luck.  Changed horses.  Better, but not much.  Really impressed by how 
> it fits both horses backs.  Wow, only once before have I been able to 
> slide my hand easily under every part of the saddle.  It's a perfect fit 
> for both horses, even the mutton-withered one.  I'd heard that with 
> these saddles one shouldn't mount without a block, tailgate, stump, 
> etc.  Didn't like that notion because one never knows when one might be 
> caught flat-footed out on the prairie somewhere without a hummock in 
> sight.  Decided to try mounting the mutton-withered mare thinking that I 
> might as well try the worst-case first.  Zero problem.  Granted, I leap 
> up pretty quickly so don't usually have a problem, but still, this is 
> one worry out of the way.  Have I mentioned how great those wide 
> stirrups feel to this inexperienced aspiring endurance rider?  Darn it 
> though that the seat feels so awkward and painful.
>
> Day two:  Hmmm.  Thought about the seat all night.  (I just deleted a 
> bad joke.)  There's no way this thing can be this uncomfortable when so 
> many people love the saddle.  I must be doing something wrong.  Try the 
> saddle again.  This time I simply lift and sit my bottom further back to 
> where the seat rises up in back.  AAAAHHH.   Everything changes for the 
> better.  However, now the stirrups are too far forward.  I move them 
> back by lifting the really cool velcro-d seat and repositioning the 
> contact strip for the stirrup hangers.  Takes about 1 and 1/4 seconds.  
> Try sitting in the saddle again, this time sitting farther back so I can 
> feel the back of the saddle.  Note, the saddle seemed almost too big 
> last time out.  This time, with the new position, it seems just right.  
> It feels exactly like my lovely County dressage saddle offering even a 
> little bit more contact.  One really wraps one's legs around the horse's 
> body.
>
> Day three:  hasn't happened yet.  It's pouring and I don't dare take the 
> demo (a plain black leather model) out in the rain because, if I am 
> going to buy the saddle, why not get a shocking blue suede one?  :-)
>
> Cheers everyone.  I think I've finally found one saddle that should work 
> well enough or even terrifically for every horse I have.  Please G-d, 
> let it be true!   One more outing of greater length and I'll commit.  
> Then we can move on to find a saddle for horse number two.  Maybe this 
> time it won't take THREE YEARS.
>
> Mary K.
>
>
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Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

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