Hey Yip-any reports for us?

[Reds]

In a brand new thread with brand new energy...how about sharing your report? :-D

[Yip]

Thanks, Reds. I do have a report. I rode Cookie for about 20 mins. yesterday in Jeremy's saddle.

With a heavy, contoured top felt pad on, I could push the saddle forward & back. It is just too long. When I got it off her shoulders, it was too far back on her loin. I decided to push it forward off her loin onto her shoulders, hoping the thick pad would prevent pinching. If she threw a fit, as she did with the Wintek Western I had for a time, I was prepared to bail.

It's 7/8 rigging and the entire back fishtailed a LOT from the ground, which saddened me. When seated though, it didn't seem to move.

I mounted and immediately felt uncomfortable in many ways. I do not need a reeealy small twist like many women, but this twist was almost unbearable.

There is a little padding under the crotch, but under the butt it was hard and flat. I got over that after a short time because the real discomfort was on the bottoms of my thighs, where the elastic band of my undies is, and a little in front of that. It hurt, and could have been related to the *lack of* twist. I never got over that feeling & it was a big distraction.

The seat is a 17. Roomy but being too large didn't bother me in any way. I had room for an entire hand + 1 more finger from crotch to swell. I think 16 would be fine, but not sure about 15.5 - not for crotch but if thighs might rud sides of swell? Opinions, please.

The main distraction was feeling perched high on top of the horse, like in a basket on top of a camel. I get this sensation every time I go on a string ride but had forgotten how much I dislike it.
I never got over that feeling. When riding string horses, I think I am rather used to it by the end of a 2.5 hr. ride. BUT I have never had a string saddle that was uncomfortable in other ways. They are well broken in. So, feeling *up off* her back, I was sure Cookie wouldn't respond to seat cues. Wrong. I rode the entire time w/ seat rather than rein cues. I don't know how she did it but it proved she was paying attention and trying hard for me.

I did the entire ride with only one stirrup. I could not get my other stirrup for love or money. It was parallel with the horse's side & too stiff to budge, and my foot just wouldn't twist that far. We stopped many times so I could physically grab the fender and bring it close, but at some point, the stirrup flipped forward, too far & at a strange angle to get my foot in. I finally got the stirrup 2 mins. before the end of the ride because I was finally able to grab the stirrup itself and get my foot in. Cookie stopped well for me, but when I leaned forward to reach down & grab the fender/stirrup, she began moving off again. I think my forward seat movement was a cue to her to begin moving. I did feel balanced & could have kicked out the one stirrup I had & ridden easily w/o them.

While I would still opt to shim the rt. shoulder because I see a deficiency there, the saddle did not slip.

Cookie was great and didn't do a single thing wrong. She jogged a little but would not trot, which was no big suprise. I could feel the front tight on her shoulders so didn't want to try a canter.,

My biggest diasppointment was, w/i 10 mins, my left knee was already aching. I rode another 10 mins. and could hardly walk after dismounting. The leather was broken in, but the stirrups went back parallel with the horse's side when left to their own devices. Just a little bit of torque will injure me.

Althought the fit was bad because of excess length, Cookie seemed to like the spreading out of weight more evenly. I think she would do well in a western or crossover saddle. After yesterday, I think I need to carefully consider the crossovers, like Rosalie's saddle. Or even Jane's Tucker. I can get the Tucker locally and quickly for about the same price as the Hillcrest. I wasn't orig. looking in that price range, but I think it may have to be done if I am going to accomplish what I set out to fix, or this entire journey will be for naught. The feedstore gal knows me well & may allow me to borrow a Tucker for fitting/sitting, albeit maybe not for riding. I will wait till I view the saddlefitting vid before pursuing it though. Need to be prepared to know what I'm looking at.

So, that's it I guess. It certainly was a learning experience. I would like to have Jeremy learn from it too, by showing him why his *spot on* saddle does not fit Cookie (and probably does not fit his little QH mare either). Od course I would just show him why it doesn't fit Cookie, then let him take that idea and apply it to his mare if he chooses. He's a good guy & I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be offended by learning.

[Sheryl]

I think that the perfectly fitted western saddle is awesome, but I for sure struggled to get there! I had a horse chiro who also claims saddle fit qualifications check out my two saddles. My Tucker, she declared as about as close to perfect fitting as she ever sees. He fits a medium tree, which is approx the same as semiQH in a typical western.

My 16" equitation show saddle, she felt was way too long, even on a big guy like Buster. Her advice was - "ok for occasional, but use the Tucker for daily riding". I think that many of the square skirted saddles are too long for many horses.

My tucker is very comfy, but finding that model meant I had to kind of settle and I hate how tall the horn is. I probably won't switch it up for Buster, but when I get my next horse I am going for the kind with the rounded pommel, I have had that before and really liked it.

Anyway, I mention all this because it was my personal experience that western saddles are hard to find a good fit. I probably tried 20-30 saddles before finding one that I felt was "just so" for Buster. Lucky for me i had access to two trainers racks of saddles to really learn what worked and what didn't.

[Marci]

I found I couldn't ride in a western unless it was a REALLY expensive well broke in one.
But I LOVED that aussie from the word go. It had the twist of the english, the deep seat and the security of the western in fact even more so. And since I used english stirrups and they were dressge long my knees didn't hurt. The only bad was the overgirth could pinch, (they are really easy to girth up.) but a nice soft fluffy sheepskin solved that problem.

[Yip]

Sheryl, I also am not a fan of horns & would opt for the plain swell, I guess you'd call it.

Marci, I loved my Kimberly stock saddle. It was the English type though, with pads underneath instead of the western style flat bottom. But Phyllis was built like th eAlps & the flattish type would have been awful. I would buy the western type panels for Cookie's flat back - but I am really over the Poleys. An aussie would give me the closer contact I like - but not loving the Poleys anymore. It's something to keep in mind though.

[kaliomele]

Hey Yip, any tack stores near you might have one of these available to try? I bet the tree is really similar to my Simco...Looks comfy, too...

thesaddleco.com/hornless-abetta-arabian-saddle.aspx

[Yip]

I just learned about a saddle shop in a different direction that I knew nothing about a week ago. I understand they have lots of trail saddles. They're really close to the Uwharrie National Forest, which has bridle trails and even a horse campground.

[Idaho Linda]

You are learning all sorts of new things, aren't you? Now, a new place to ride!

[Yip]

I spoke with Myron Razor today. He was sooo nice!

And trailpal, he remembers you!

[Jenni]

It sounds to me like that saddle doesn't fit her or you.

You should not feel "perched" in a western saddle. It is not the normal for them or something you get used to. It means they aren't well made and/or they aren't fitting right.

Seat size varies with the style of seat a little. I like to have about 2 fingers of room between the front of my thigh and the swells of my saddle. I ride in a 14 inch (5'6" 140 pounds), I also have a 15 that I like ok and a 16 for riding double with Kelsey. My guess you are going need something with shortened or rounded skirts for her since she's so compact.

Roper saddles like this one tend to have very heavy fenders and leathers. They also tend to be able to fit very long legged cowboys so when you have to have them short enough for you it's a big wad of leather under there. My 16 inch is a roper. I have it on the next to the top holes of the leathers and it makes my knees hurt too. My barrel saddles not so much. Actually my Double J has biothane leathers under the fender so they didn't even need to be broken in or turned. Remember too that you can ride them a little longer to take some of that stress off your knee.

I had the luxury of working at a riding stable that understood the value of saddle fit and used good quality saddles on the string horses. I got to ride in a lot of nice saddles and see and feel what the different brands were like. Prior to that I had a cheap auction saddle (like the one you are trying) that I thought was pretty good. After spending a few days in those "good" saddles I wouldn't give $2 for that auction saddle. My favorite names - Courts, Billy Cook, Older simco and longhorn, Circle Y and of course my own Double J that I love. I spent 7 hours a day in some of these saddles, no sore knees or butt.

[steph]

They used to do saddle fittings at Rocking B in Hillsborough & I would assume they still do...I know it's quite a hike from you, and especially with no trailer--but if worse comes to worse, may be something to take into consideration.

My saddle now is a Reinsman. I love it. Bought it brand new, but the feel of it is like it's been broken in for years and years.

As for Uwharrie...Gorgeous place and wonderful place to ride. But not for the faint of heart. I about peed my pants a couple of times because I am deathly afraid of heights. LOL. Of course it could've been the particular trails we took and the riders I was riding with...Professional cowboys--the good ole boy type--not the rough and rowdy type.

[Trailpal]

Feb 9, 2012 1:52:11 GMT -5 Yip said:

I spoke with Myron Razor today. He was sooo nice!

And trailpal, he remembers you!

Aw, gee, thanks for passing that along! He was pretty nice to work with.

[Yip]

I was riding with long legs because it was ok & I really didn't want to change them away from Jeremy's setting & forget. That is SO rude.

Jenni, I bet you could cut of some of the excess in the stirrup leathers. They can be replaced by your Amish friend, and better to fit you than to not fit. I need to go find this shop & try different seat sizes. When I was *new* to horses I was Jenni's size anbd also rode in a 14".

Steph, whatever happened to your trailer? Daddio found a good used stock trailer but I might just want a 2H at this point. I might not want one at all anymore, but he is pushing to buy one. ?? I found a place at the other end of our rd. (only 5 mi.) that rents trailers for $50/day. We need to go take a look & see if they're good & safe - then maybe take Cookie to the saddle shop.

Lots of good info here, thank you!

[Jenni]

Yip- I don't ride in that saddle enough to worry about it. I bought it for my hubby, yeah rightl, or larger friends to ride in.