Re: RC: Reactor panel questions for users and the manufacturer

[Lynne Glazer <lynne@glazer.org>]

Hi, Deanna,

At 1:53 PM -0500 12/4/01, Deanna German wrote:
>I don't feel comfortable in a western design saddle, so have had some
>challenges finding an appropriate saddle to use for distance riding. Seems
>like most saddles are based on a western design.

There are a lot of Western choices out there, but think about 
it--what alterations are necessary to make an English saddle into an 
endurance saddle?  Unlike the Western which includes reducing or 
eliminating the horn and lessening the amount of skirting and other 
materials to get the weight down, the choice of an English saddle is 
mostly about choosing one which provides enough panel area so that 
the rider's weight is not concentrated into a small area and/or 
causing pressure points.

Try thinking about it from two sides--the horse side of the saddle 
and the rider's side.  On the rider's side, you could choose anything 
from an all-purpose type to a dressage seat.  Picking the twist that 
suits your anatomy, while taking into account that the narrower the 
twist, the higher you generally are off of your horse's back. 
Picking one with stirrup bars that hang the leathers where you want 
them to be.

 From the horse's side, selecting the appropriate tree width, avoiding 
saddles which pinch at the stirrup bars, choosing a model that can be 
restuffed in order to adapt to your horse's changing structure as he 
muscles up for the task at hand, or other changes he might go through 
over a lifetime.

>
>I'm comfortable in a hunt saddle, but I think a hunt saddle puts too much
>pressure in the withers area (at least that's been my personal experience
>and observation -- perhaps this is related to lack of proper muscling and
>carriage in a young horse); an Aussie saddle is the same, plus the stirrups
>are hung too far forward. I don't think the Sports Saddle provides adequate
>weight dispersion for a horse learning to carry itself properly (just my
>opinion, folks, based on personal experience and observation!), plus it has
>no twist and caused me to be in great agony in my hips.

I agree with you about the typical English saddle and stirrup bar 
pressure.  The SSs seem to be a love 'em or hate 'em situation; 
nobody seems to be on the fence.

>
>I have tried all of the above for extended periods and this last spring
>bought an Orthoflex endurance cutback used. The saddle fits me like a glove
>and I don't feel like I'm riding way above the horse like others have
>reported for some reason. (And you would think that I would since my saddle
>previous to the OF was a SS.) The OF is the best so far for me and my horse,
>but we have some slight bridging issues, so I'm still looking.

The endurance cutback was the first saddle I used for distance.  I 
rode it under varying conditions on 3 dozen horses, and my prospect 
who seemed to have an ordinary back, hated it.  After her second LD, 
where she started crabbing, I never used it again.  It would bridge 
no matter what.  What to do after you've bought the best?  The Great 
Saddle Hunt.  Next was a borrowed SS.  She won BC on the next ride. 
Hmmm.  I bought one, disliked it for me, a friend's husband wanted to 
buy it, gone.  Somewhere in there I bought and sold a Wintec 
Endurance; we both hated that.  Next a Passier PSL that I'd bought 
for ring work.  Had it restuffed 4x in a year to match what I thought 
was my mare's changing back as we moved to 50s.  Tremendous edema in 
the stirrup bar area after a 9 hr 50 told me I was so wrong.  Back to 
an SS for a year and a half.  It rubbed in the loin but she seemed to 
like it.  I didn't, although this one was better because it was the 
youth cut model.  I weigh 115, BTW, and my horse could pack a HWT.

Next came the RP.  Her max heart rate dropped 20 pts, that was 
interesting.  It took a year and a half, but the atrophy caused by 
the Passier filled in.  I had to get an RP with an inch wider tree, 
the "extra wide".  Each of the last two Augusts, she's had all of her 
hair in the loin area, a miracle! <g>

On the rider side--the twist is narrow enough, the stirrup bars hang 
where I want 'em, workmanship is superb and the seat is cushy.

>
>So here are my issues: I want a saddle that feels as good to me as my OF
>does but that won't bridge. (The reason the OF is bridging is because I have
>some remedial work to do with my mare to get her to carry herself better.
>Once I have sufficiently developed my mare's topline, I believe that the
>bridging issues will disappear.)

We don't generally sell RPs without a trial--make one measurement on 
your horse ahead of time so we send the right size tree, you pay 
freight only; we'll send a couple along if you're not sure about 
model preference.  If we're doing a fitting clinic in your area, it's 
UPS one way, if you return the saddle.  Money back guarantee--and 
we're happy to have had no returns in the two+ years that's it's been 
an American company.

The key point about the RPs is the adjustability--you're never locked 
in, can adjust it yourself or set it up for a new horse--providing 
that the tree size chosen is the correct one.  We can help you with 
that.  In the two years I've been involved, there's only been one 
horse that outgrew her saddle--MINE.  :-P  Amazing that she had that 
much atropy, and I saw it as "fitness".  Well, every time she's wet 
and I see those pink spots of permanent damage, I rue that she went 
through that for my education...

The flexible panels provide considerable weight distribution--we've 
done a lot of computerized pressure testing to verify that.  Details 
on request.

>
>Will any of the Reactor Panel models fit the bill? Or are my hips going to
>ache again from lack of a narrow twist?

Any of 'em.  Consider hosting a fitting clinic--gather 6 riders who 
don't even have to be shopping for a new saddle, but are willing to 
be fitted and do some riding in one.  That way we ship enough models 
that you can try 'em all, and we fly in for free.

I'm going to Boise right before Christmas to do just that, and train 
our Idaho fitting agent.  A sneaky way to get to party with my 
friends up there, don't you think?  :-)

>
>Any opinions on the Wintec CAIR system? I wrote to the company asking about
>the CAIR system for their endurance model and they assured me it would be
>available in the U.S. before the end of the year. I know, as inexpensive as
>that saddle is, it's kind of a no-lose "buy it and try it" proposition, but
>I thought I'd solicit some opinions.

I think it's a great improvement on traditional saddles.  Remember, 
though, that the panel size is still the same.

In general, as anybody that's been in the sport for a while knows, 
our distance horses have different needs due to duration.  It's 
exciting to see all of the materials science developments for our 
sport to help the horses, not just the considerable improvements in 
saddles but stuff like the Supracor and Dixie Midnight pads, new 
girthing options, Equithane and updated EBs.

>
>Thoughts?

Regards,
Lynne