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Re: RC: Sport Saddle by Bob Marshall



Wow, definitely a YMMV (your mileage may vary) topic!

The sports saddle works for my horse.  It has taken a long, long time for
me to be completely comfortable in it over long distances, and even then I
still cast my eye about for alternatives.  My substantial grey Arab has
portions of pink skin instead of black in the dip beneath the withers on
both sides, from poor saddle fit in the past. :-(  So when I found
something that worked for her, I forced myself to learn to like it.  So a
big YES, ma'am to Linda's point about proper saddle fit's importance.

Linda's girthing and stirrup comments echo my experience.  I bought my
youth cut endurance model used from a ridecamper.  It has the higher
cantle, which I really like, and the reiner pommel, which is unnecessary.
I use a biothane quickcinch with a Woolback cover which buckles back onto
itself, eliminating the bulky rigging which ships with the SS.  I also use
a wool blend Skito pad with the 1" inserts, which lie to either side of the
spine, thereby forming a gullet to eliminate sitting directly on the back,
and get good sweat patterns this way.

For stirrup leathers, I use 3/4" dog collars, 30" long, which work
*great*--the buckle is on the away side, stays down at the bottom similar
to a properly rigged OF leather.  I use Easy Ride's new plastic stirrups,
with a 3/4" spacer.  previously I used 2" biothane leathers, but the
stirrup bar is a ring, and the 2" is too wide, resulting in delamination of
the biothane at the ring unless you duct tape it or something, which also
makes for bulk under the leg--yuck.

My stirrups are back 1/2", it has a 14.5" seat.  The flap which about
killed me on a 50 last Nov totally hasn't been a problem once I began
riding with longer stirrups.  I post about 90% of the time, so the standing
isn't an issue for me.   I also had trouble on the same 50 with the stirrup
leathers bruising my shins.  Again, this problem departed when I started
riding with longer leathers, so that my foot was level in the stirrups,
knee barely bent.  Formerly, I'd used an Ortho-flex endurance cutback and a
Passier all purpose on this mare, and both of them were unsatisfactory in
her case.  I'm an English rider, and prefer an English saddle, but have to
go with what works for my horse.

I use Snugpax for the water bottles and first aid stuff.  If I had some
spare change, I'd get a full sheepskin cover, which to other users has
minimized any problem with the flap also.  Oh, I ride as a FW, 120 lbs,
5'6".  My only occasional ongoing struggle with the SS is having a long
thigh bone in relation to my seat size, and I often lightly tap the pommel
in the "up" part of posting.  On a training ride with a lot of start/stops,
this is a PITA.  In competition, it's not even noticeable.  The SS has a
wide twist compared to a normal saddle (again, my definition of "normal"),
but I ride bareback frequently so it doesn't bother me despite preferring a
narrow twist saddle on an English model.  The weight is nice, around 13 or
14 lbs with all my stuff on board.

More than you wanted to know?

Lynne

At 6:12 AM -0700 6/28/99, Flemmer, Linda wrote:
>Sandy,
>
>Here's my thoughts.  I'm pasting something that I sent to another person
>about my experience w/ the Sport Saddle (SS) - not very favorable.  I
>noticed that you had questions about the Big Horn, too.  Remember to
>concentrate on what fits the horse first, then about what you prefer. 
>Your riding style is more adaptable than the horse's back.  Bad saddle fit
>can literally cripple him.
>
>I am a HW rider - the SS did NOT work for me.  There are some inherent bad
>designs in this "saddle" that require a lot of finagling to make it work
>for the longer rides.
>
>There is a solid cantle & pommel on the SS.  This is what the rigging and
>stirrups attach to.  If you do a lot of 2 point (standing), there WILL be
>pressure on these two solid pieces.  If they don't happen to match your
>horse's conformation you still get dry spots (or worse).  If you should do
>some slow rides with lots of sitting (pleasure rides w/ non-endurance
>friends) the horses tend to show soreness under your seat bones.
>
>Don't even bother with the girth supplied with the SS - throw it away &
>get something good.  Galling is a universal complaint with that felt girth.
>
>The stirrup "leathers" are actually bulky nylon with a leather tube over
>them.  They are irritating!  Lots of folks are switching these out for
>biothane or australian saddles' leathers.  The bulk of the SS "leathers"
>are irritating to my knees and they rubbed. 
>
>The most irritating aspect of this saddle for me was the side flaps that
>cover the stirrup hanger area.  They bunched up and rubbed horribly under
>my upper thigh.  I was told to try a "youth cut" - no better.  I've seen
>folks sew them down, velcro them down, cut them off - and still not be
>happy.
>
>Last complaint is that the stirrups and girth are too far forward.  SS
>could easily make an adjustable rigging that could go from center fire to
>full, but they are not interested in trying.  The stirrups are set forward
>as though it is a roping saddle rather than in a centered, balanced
>position for endurance.  (The originator made Western Saddles.)  If you
>get one, be sure that the stirrups are back 3/4-1" if you want to be
>balanced standing to a trot.
>
>I sold my SS and found a more traditional saddle that fit my horse.  I
>consider the purchase of my SS an expensive lesson that I wouldn't want to
>repeat.  I haven't had any experience with the Big Horn, but like any
>saddle the tree needs to fit the horse.  I'd try to find one locally to
>try for fit.  If you aren't comfortable with assessing saddle fit, ask the
>tack store to help you.
>
>Good luck finding the saddle that you want!
>
>Linda Flemmer
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: SANDYSROB@aol.com [<mailto:SANDYSROB@aol.com>mailto:SANDYSROB@aol.com]
>
>Does anyone use this saddle?  I need some infomation from anyone who does
>pros. and cons. I'm considering getting one after setting on one for a few
>minutes it sure was comfortable, the owner had a skito equalizer pad under
>it, no saddle tree sticking you in the seat bones, the only thing I noticed
>was the position of the stirrups didn't seem right to me, the owner had them
>in the center position and felt to far back for me???  Any info. would be
>appriciated, reply privately if this subject has been talked to death before.


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