you wasked
>Hi every one, I need some of your expert help and advice. I am going to buy
>an endurance saddle and need some feed back. The horse is a 14.1 or 2 arab
>mare, very round and flat with no withers and a very broad chest, I am 5' and
>in the heavyweight division, also I am a very green novice and not in shape.
> I am looking at the Skyrider and the Sport Saddle, I would appreciate any
>feed back positive and negative on either or anyother suggestions you may
>have, also any ideas on saddle pads and stirrups, I am considering The Cloud
>I tried them at the confrence, they were very comfy and I liked the wide
>width so you could wear heavy boots in the winter.
>
>Thanks in advance,
Sorry don't know anything about the saddles you have in the USA, but an
experience of my wife might be worth keeping in mind.
She bought a 5 yr old arab 3 1/2 yrs ago. Very green and unfit. A rather
poor and uncomfortable (for the rider) came with him. Despite the
discomfort, she stuck with this saddle for nearly 2 years. It turned out
to be a wise move. Why? Well in the first year she just did fitness
training and social rides (up to about 15-18 miles). Second year was his
official Novice Year (i.e. first year in Competitive trail Rides). Only
allowed a maximum of 10 rides of 25 miles at 6mph (min) to 7 mph(max).
Result - a very fit horse (he won a nice silver salver for best 5-7 yr
old EHPS (UK) novice, and at the end of last season was the only horse
to get a grade 1 in the Red Dragon 50 mile CTR) but was now a _very_
different shape from when she bought him. In particular he had lost he
rolls of fat on either side of his withers.
His old saddle was no longer a good fit so time to get a new one.
The lesson? If, like Bozuk was when Janet bought him, your horse is not
yet endurance fit, then after a season or two his shape will be very
different. So you might want to avoid spending too much yet since there
is a good chance you may need to change your saddle after a season or
two.
Another tip. Here in UK a _few_ saddlers have now realised that men and
women are different shapes (and from correspondence on the Internet I
know some in the USA do too). A team of 4 people in Devon (saddler,
horse chiropractor, vet and farrier) have been working together.
Measurement of 150 men and 150 women were made. Result was that most
(80%) of women have a wider pelvis so need a wider flatter saddle if
they are to be supported on their seat bones and not by the bits in
between - hence why so many women suffer from chafe and why, according
to the chiropractor, so many without realising it develop a one sided
seat to support themselves on one seat bone only to avoid pressure down
the centre line of the saddle. He said that as a result, when the
saddler makes the lady a saddle to fit her, he often has to manipulate
the horses spine to undo the damage done by several years of one sided,
and hence unbalanced riding.
So unless you are one of the 20% with a narrow pelvis and can happily
use a men's saddle, make sure you buy a saddle that is made for ladies.
Janet's endurance riding group (Offa's Dyke Group of the EHPS) had a
clinic last autumn where the saddler in question visited and checked
each horse and rider individually, and the fit of their present saddles
to both.
Luckily Janet is one of the 20% so did not need a Lady Rider saddle -
and the saddle she had fits both her and the horse well.
A friend of Janet's (they often go around the endurance rides together)
did need a new saddle. It was made to measure to fit both her and her
(now fit) arab. She reports it is wonderful and very comfortable. It
cost her about 700 UK pounds (about US $1000?).
Unfortunately I don't ride anymore, I just crew (for me, not enough
adrenalin in endurance, unlike hunting), but have observed on a number
of occasions the effects on horses and riders of ill fitting saddles and
relate the above in the hope you might find it useful. All too often
tack shops think of the saddle having to fit the horse, but very rarely
do they measure the rider too. (A well known big saddlery in Cardiff
brought a load of saddles for trial fittings on Janet's horse - and it
was clear he was only interested in selling one of his stock saddles
even if it was not that good a fit on the horse - and never a thought of
fitting the rider. We went elsewhere.)
Incidentally , the method used to measure the rider is very simple. Two
blocks of wood on a flat bench. Move the blocks apart until the rider is
just supported on the seat bones. The distance between the blocks is
then the pelvis width (or rather the seat bone width).
Bets of luck, and comfortable riding.
Barrie.
--
Barrie Avis Gwent, S.Wales, UK barrie@avis.demon.co.uk
Phone/FAX 01633 882005
Sailing and bell ringing keep me amused -
except when I bump into a bell buoy!
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