Yes, Karen I was riding in Freeforms. I still like the ride for me of a Freeform better, BUT..there is not enough wither clearance for the length of my horse's shoulder. Add to that the width of this horse's withers, the FF spread out and just sat on his spine in the front. This caused a rub (raw nasty rub) at the base of his withers. You could see it in the center of the HAF pad..skin that had rubbed off!
The two things I like better about the Bandos are the wither clearance (there is a western-like pommel), and the larger stirrup plate..not to mention the price. I was concerned it might not hold up well at that price, but so far, so good. No problems at all. I have just about worn out the HAF pad, will need a new one by spring, but the saddle is still great!
BTW, I put a sheepskin cover on mine that is meant for a Bob Marshall..and it fits great. comfy!
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
> Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:49:19 -0800 > From: greymare56@xxxxxxxxx > To: raneller@xxxxxxx > Subject: Re: [RC] Fwd: saddle question > CC: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Hi Ranelle, > good news for me, I am getting a used demo one to play around > with....I love these lightweight treeless saddles for starting my > young horses.....even though my top of the list treeless right now is > my Sensatino hybrid. > > Curious why you switched from Freeform to Bandos? Weren't you riding > Freeform for several years? > Thanks, Karen > > On 11/18/08, Ranelle Rubin <raneller@xxxxxxx> wrote: > > I love my Bandos saddles which are treeless. I have two DR ThunderBask sons > > who have LONG sloping shoulders, wide bodies, and BIG wide withers. These > > guys are tanks. The saddle fits both very well. Even sweat pads, nice dry > > spine, no pressure points anywhere. These saddles are much like a Barefoot > > Cheyenne, only you can move the stirrups forward and back like a Freeform. > > The "plate" the stirrups hang off of is very big, almost dinner plate size > > which distributes the weight of the stirrup pressure more evenly. > > > > They are available from Action Rider Tack and Chris Martin. Candace Khan and > > Chris Martin developed this saddle to bring us the best of several designs. > > I have done several 50's and all my training for the last two years in these > > saddles..happy girl with happy horses. > > > > > > > > Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne > > > > > > Ranelle Rubin, Business Consultant > > http://www.rrubinconsulting.com > > Independent Dynamite Distributor > > raneller@xxxxxxx > > > > 916-718-2427 cellular > > 916-848-3662 fax > > > > > > > > > > > > > From: johnt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > Subject: [RC] Fwd: saddle question > > > Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:10:05 +0300 > > > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > > > > > Maybe y'all might help linda? > > > > > > Begin forwarded message: > > > > > > > > Subject: saddle question > > > > > > > > Hi First of all I want congradulate and thank our team for 2008 > > > > WEC. I'm > > > > saddle shopping for a treeless. There are a lot of brands. Which > > > > brand > > > > seems to work best for a big withered horse? I'm a small balanced > > > > rider and > > > > do 50 milers and dressage. What kind of saddles did they use at WEC > > > > Malaysia? Thanks, Linda Klee > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > > > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > > > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: > > http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe > > http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > > > > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > > > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > > > >
