In response to the person who questioned whether our horse had a sprung
shoulder - no. This horse moves fine under other saddles (including an
Ulster, a Stubben Survivor, and an Albion), although she has been difficult
to fit properly. All of our horses have been to the
vet/chiropractor/accupuncturist at least once. Our mare simply did not like
the Orthoflex. Another thing to note is that the Orthoflex saddles were too
long for this horse's back, bridging badly from the withers area to the
kidneys. I should mention that this was a 16" seat size -- simply too much
saddle for a short-backed horse. We might have tried cutting the booties
down some, but that would have prevented us from being able to return the
saddles, and we didn't want to be stuck with a $2000+ saddle that didn't
work. And no, I am not going to replace the horse to fit the saddle...
I don't know if eastern arabs have been bred differently than those in other
parts of the country, but we have heard complaints about the Brown saddles
from other people in this region similar to the above. We've heard numerous
people complain that the Orthoflex saddles have CAUSED back problems and at
least one prominent eastern vet does not like them. On the other hand, I do
know of a few top eastern riders who use these saddles very successfully,
but they typically ride anglo-arabs with longer backs. I'm sure there are
others who have no problems with these saddles, and others who do. The same
will hold true for any saddle -- other than perhaps the sport saddle, I have
seen no saddles that are "universal".
The bottom line is that the Orthoflex didn't work for our horses. That
doesn't mean that they won't work for you. Not every saddle fits every
horse. The important thing is to find a saddle that works for you and the
horse, whether that be an Orthoflex, a Wintec, a Circle-Y western saddle, or
whatever else. The TEAM (you and the horse) has to be happy or you can't
meet your potential.
Kevin Pfoertsch
Safe Haven Farm
PA USA