Thank you every one who wrote with advice about my saddle
trouble. I have a 14.1 hand, short-backed,
low withered, big shouldered 5 year old Arab mare.Lyric had grown out of her Abetta
endurance and I could not find a saddle that fit.I sure learned a lot about saddles
thanks to all the good people on ridecamp.
Katee at Advantage saddles spent time looking at pictures. She explained how western trees work and the
2 basic styles.She really knows
her stuff.Her clients really like
her saddles.
I spoke at length with Heidi Helly,
an endurance trainer located near me.She was candid with me a said that due to Lyric’s conformation I
really needed to go to an English style saddle.I have resisted this in the past, but
you know what they say about crisis and how it opens you to change.So I tried a Marathon, too
narrow.A local tack and feed
(Hawthorne Country Store in Escondido) had a used
English trail saddle I’d eyed over several months.So I brought it home and lo and behold
it fits!(strains of hallelujah in
the background).It has no identification
on it.It has a padded seat and is shallower
than the Marathon.My trainer thinks is an Icelandic
saddle. I have to find some endurance stirrups (for my foot Lyric broke last
year) and a crupper.
Because I still want a western style saddle and I’m a
glutton for punishment, I plan on ordering one in about 12 to 18 months when
Lyric stops growing.This week her
back grew longer and more wither appeared. And she took the key out of the tack room
door and played keep-away, again.
Thank you again for sharing your wisdom with me. I am so grateful.
