 |
[RC] Tucker saddle bridging - Karen Bratcher
I rode a Tucker Endurance saddle this summer, and loved it for myself. It was very comfortable and I didn't feel the need to get off and walk to ease my knees like I usually do. It was about a 14 mile trail ride in the Cascades with lots of elevation change so it was a good test. As it turned out, the tree was too narrow for my wide-shouldered horse and left dry spots on both sides in front. Later, I set the saddle on him with no pad and I felt up underneath with my hands. It felt as if almost the whole weight of the saddle was concentrated at the front of the bars, and of course they were pressing heavily into him. At the back of the bars there was some pressure, but in the middle they didn't even touch. My horse is built slightly downhill and his back is starting to dip, too many years hauling the fat chick up the mountains :-D I have been riding in a Sports Saddle since 1999.
A Tucker rep told me (after I sent wire impressions of my horse's back) that their wide tree would fit his withers just fine. However the bridging problem would still exist. He said they could modify the tree by shimming it, but would prefer not to do that in case I use the saddle on straighter-backed horses as well. He suggested to use a "bridge pad" and recommended Skito. I'm currently waiting for a reply from Skito. I also emailed Tucker again asking them to send me tracings of their tree in the same fashion as they want tracings of horses' backs, so I could make a cardboard form and try it on other horse's backs. Have not yet received a reply.
I would like to hear of other people's likes and dislikes specifically with the Tucker Endurance and Equitation Endurance, and especially if anyone else has bridging problems with them. I did go through about 100 posts in the archives about Tucker saddles, but didn't see anything regarding bridging.
Please feel free to reply privately so as not to clutter the list.
Karen Bratcher aka Ready
karenbrat1 "at" earthlink "dot" net
"On the back of a horse there are no limits"
|