Saddles - what's this one?

[Marlene Moss <marlene.moss@wcom.com>]

Ok, I've got a saddle that I now just love, but I have no idea what it
really is, so maybe this discussion will provide some ideas.

I got it from someone who got it off eBay and the only name I have is
Australian outrider.  I've done some searching and found nothing.  I did
find a couple saddle called outriders, but they looked like the typical
Australian saddles and this one does not.

I bought it because I have a wide mare and it is definitely wide - and it
was cheap and my husband is getting quite good at modifying saddles.

Basically, the bottom of the saddle is western with a square skirt, but it's
short enough for my fairly short backed mare.  It fits her perfectly (a
little too wide, so my thin supracor won't work by itself).  But the seat of
the saddle is the most perfect fitting dressage seat I've ever sat in.  Nice
and deep, narrow twist and overall seems so much more stable because of the
wide base.

The stirrup bars were in a horrendous position - almost in front of the
pommel.  So we moved them back.  It has a centerfire girth which at first
seemed to cause problems with slipping forward.  But a thicker pad and
arranging the girth as far forward as possible has seemed to fix this.  We
did crupper training which I'll use just in case though.

There was also another set of girth straps way forward.  They really didn't
make any sense - too far forward to use alone, but not far enough forward to
use with the centerfire.  Very bulky straps too and not in a good position
for my leg.  I removed them before even trying the saddle (maybe not smart
in hindsight, but I don't really want them back).

The saddle has tons of places for tying, is working really well with both my
pommel and cantle bags.

Now I'm sure this saddle isn't from some well known manufacturer because the
leather is very cheap.  But it's decently made (and we've taken the entire
thing apart!)  I'm really thinking that if I designed a saddle, I would go
along these lines - nice wide base to distribute weight and the perfect
dressage seat.  I think it wouldn't work well with someone taller though -
lots of weird bulk that would be uncomfortable under the thigh, but comes
just behind my knee.  I'm not quite 5'3".

I used a Synergist last year with mixed results.  I love the saddles, very
comfortable and convenient with all the endurance packs.  Extremely well
made and I just loved the position it put me in.  But I had to be very
careful to keep my legs relaxed when going down hills or my knees just
killed me.  Don't think that was anything wrong with the saddle, probably
just me.  I had the saddle adjusted to fit my horse when she very strongly
indicated it didn't fit her and as far as anyone could tell, it should have
then fit her great.  But she still complained and I'm short and wanted
something lighter so found it a good home.

I tried going with my dressage saddle which my mare loves.  But not enough
area to distribute weight and she got pretty sore.

I have a Stonewall that fits my young horse and technically fits my mare - I
just know it wouldn't work for her.  It's a weird saddle that I mostly like,
even though it's a little wide for me.  But I think it won't last through
the muscle development this boy will have this year and will probably have
to sell it.

I tried a SS that someone loaned me.  It took some getting used to - I would
definitely move stirrups back, get the raised cantle w/Cheyenne roll and
higher pommel.  I liked the feel, I could feel my young horse bunching up,
just before he gets stupid, a lot like bareback.  But I worried about the
weight distribution even though I'm not too heavy.  I went back and forth,
things I liked, things I didn't.  If I ever find one cheap with all the
options I want, I'll jump on it.

There's several brands out there that I want to try.  I love the look of
Advantage saddles.  I would try a Synergist DSS, but worry about the weight
distribution for my mare, but probably not most other horses (she really is
picky!)  If I ever win the lottery I'll check out Reactor Panel.

So if anyone has any ideas what my saddle might be, I'd love to know.  Gotta
be able to find it's replacement if the leather falls apart!

Marlene