Ridecamp: Re: [RC] [RC] saddles

Amoung other things, Andrea wrote:
> [...]
> All the english have lightly attached rings, 
> [...]

Boy did you open a can of worms with this post.  Your 
opinions are certainly valid, but they are your opinions 
and other people's experiences may vary. A lot.

Stubben makes 2 great endurance saddles based on their
english Kerry tree... the Survival and the Kerry GX LD.
Both come with very solid D-rings... two in the front,
2 on each side of the cantle, and a solid rear bar 
attachment for a crupper or whatever.  They are very well 
made saddles and are quite resonably priced.  I just did 
an internet search and found that you can still purchase
one brand new for under $1500.  As for restuffing, while
it is recommended to have them restuffed, take that with
a grain of common sense as a poor restuffing will certainly 
be worse than no restuffing at all.  If you buy the saddle
new and use it only on your horse, the wool stuffing forms
to your horse's back and any additional "padding" needed
can be added with an equalizer, supracor, or just a plain 
wool pad (unless, of course, your horse changes shape). 
The leather on these saddles is very tough and they will 
last you for many years and miles.  Properly handled, the 
leather should not weaken due to restuffing / restiching.
The leather worker of course should make sure to use the
same holes and not damage them.  I did have to have the 
flaps on my first Stubben restiched and there was no damage 
at all... matter of fact, there might have been damage if
I hadn't had the flap restiched.  It was my unbalanced 
riding and swinging leg that wore away the stitching on 
the flap.

I tried to get Wintecs to fit both of my horses and did not 
succeed back prior to 1999, but with the new changeable 
gullet system and with the new CAIR panels I'd suspect to 
have different results today.  My saddle repair person back 
in California pointed out to me that additional d-rings 
can be simply screwed into the Wintec's fiberglass tree 
wherever you want them. 

As for western saddles, I've found that Crates makes a nice 
hornless "endurance" model for a very resonable cost.  The 
Crates Arabian tree really does fit my Arabian.  I've also 
used a Arabian tree regular western on Arabians and Arab 
crosses that fit and worked quite well.  Plus the ones I've 
had experience with were not overly heavy... they were 
quite light for western saddle and very well made.

I have never sat in or ridden in an Australian saddle of 
any make or cost that I liked.  It's the poleys.

I've never felt like I was more likely to part company with 
a horse in an english saddle than a western saddle as long 
as I was riding centered.  That said, the "Oh S@#$%!" handle 
can be a nice security blanket and gives kids something to 
hold on to during pony rides.

As always, the best saddle for your horse is one that fits 
your horse really well over the long haul, and one that 
fits you reasonably well enough so you can ride balanced 
and comfy.

Hope this helps someone out there...  Not currently in the 
great saddle search, knock on wood!

:) - Kathy Myers
in Santa Fe, NM

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