Sorry, I fired off an answer without realizing Cathy had posted a further
reply, which was right on the mark and very much to the point. I
just wanted to let her know (not having her email anymore) that I didn't use the
saddle for a 50 mile ride without doing some hefty conditioning in it first, and
that my horse's back looked fine at the halfway point of that ride (I asked
the vet to really check it, due to the new saddle). It was at the final
check that he nearly went to his knees when they checked his
back.
