Boz certainly is an opinionated person but so was Monty Foreman. The
relevance is that Boz is one of the last remaining Foreman Certified
Instructors. Janiece Wilson, Patrick Wyse, Suzy Baker and Ron Mc Loughin are the
others. Foreman designed the saddle which was built by Slim Fallis with a wooden
tree. Slim's son, John, is still making saddles today with the same design
(called Balanced Ride). Boz tried to convice Monty to switch to molded plastic
but Monty being even more opinionated than Boz said no. So Boz went out and
built his own.
The concept of the saddle was simple. Incorporate the elements of the
committie sadle used by bronc riders to keep them on the pivot point of the
horse (the drive line) with the elements of a jumping saddle. The horse is
better able to carry weight at this point and the rider is more stable. The
analogy is a teeter totter. If you sit in the middle (the pivot point) you won't
get bucked off. Sit at either end and it is easy to get out of balance. So the
stirrups were move forward, the riser was removed and the cantle was raised to
force the rider to sit on the drive line. At the same time the rigging for the
latigos were changed to eliminate the bulk under the rider's leg to provide
closer contact.
Many people who have Boz, Fallis, or Bob's Custom Saddles Balanced Ride
(licensed by Gary - Monty's son) swear that you the only way you can have their
saddle is to tear it from their cold butt cheeks when they are dead. If you feel
that you are sitting or leaning back in this saddle you have the stirrups
adjusted incorrectly. They are most likely too long. There are 2 adjustments for
the stirrups that will allow for anyone from 4 ft to 7 ft ride the saddle
correctly. Correctly means that you can actually stand in the stirrups at any
gait (yes, even at a gallop) without tilting back or forward.
I personally have a couple of Boz and Fallis saddles. I find them very
comfortable. I am 5'11" with a 32" inseam. Not very long legged. I find the Boz
saddle to be more accomodating to different horse shapes than the Fallis because
of the flexible tree and the movable sponge bars. I also find it easier to
adjust the sponge bars than the adjustments required on the Specialized saddle.
I am also familiar with the saddle coming out of the midwest with polyurethane
bars but I haven't ridden it yet. My concern with that design is that the saddle
may u-shape with the rider's weight depending on the give of the bars.
By the way, all of the above mentioned saddles work great with the EquiPedic
saddle pad.
