Re: australian saddles - pads and girths

["angela harper" <minpins@hotmail.com>]

>Just a word of caution from someone who TRIED to use an Aussie -- the
>stirrups were in the wrong position for posting (too far forward), and
I
>felt really "locked in" from the thigh blocks (some people may like
the
>feeling, I didn't).

I had a couple of cheapie Aussie saddles that I bought at a local horse 
auction, and they really differed from each other.  The first one I bought 
had a smaller seat that was really scooped out looking - I didn't care from 
that one, it gave me that "locked in" feeling that even on a gaited horse 
was unpleasant.  The other one I had I LOVED - the seat size was bigger, and 
it was flatter.  If you look at them from the side, you could really see the 
difference - the one I really liked was closer in appearance to a dressage 
saddle with poleys; the seat was flat with a rise at the cantle and a little 
bit toward the pommel.  This one I didn't have any problem posting in, and I 
could kind of scoot around in it, so I didn't feel stuck in.  Unfortunately, 
this one had a design flaw, not suprising for such a cheap saddle.  One of 
the stirrup bars was crooked or something.  It kind of twisted the fenders 
and left a big bulge under my thigh.  I temporarily remedied this by taking 
the regular fenders off and using plain English stirrup leathers, but on a 
lenghtier ride I realized it was twisting my whole leg out of position and 
my back was killing me at the end of the ride.

For a pad, I always used a thin folded Western saddle blanket or a Diamond 
Wool pressed wool felt shaped dressage pad (the latter only worked with one 
of the saddles, due to the shape of the flaps)  As for girths, you would 
probably have to get an Australian girth - the billets on mine were too 
thick for the buckles on a standard English dressage girth.

~angela

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