thought some of you might be interested in the following responses that were
mailed directly to me (as suggested)... the authors names have been deleted
for confidentiality reasons... just in case.
1. As for the Big Horn endurance saddle, compared to the McClellan , it's
really comfortable. I had just thought that riding 25,50+ miles was supposed
to be painful. I
didn't realize that the McClellan is a torture device.
2. --as the proud owner of TWO Sharon Saare saddles, I have to relay
to you how much I have grown to like these saddles for myself, and in
particular how much they have improved all my horses' backs. I am a convert
from Stubbens (Siegfried & Survival) and an OF Swain CT. I thought I could
NEVER grow to like a western style endurance saddle--and I'm delighted to
have proved myself wrong! Sharon is exceptionally knowledgeable about
saddle fit and will move heaven and earth to see that her saddles fit your
horse (or she won't sell you one!).
All my respondents to my saddle survey have said the same thing. I have
heard NOT ONE disparaging remark about these saddles!
3. Is the SS saddle you are talking about the Sharon Sare or the Sport
Saddle? I presently ride in a SS (Sport s Saddle). I changed from an
Orthoflex. I had an OF Traditional and a NEW Express Lite. I loved the
traditional and couldn't ever quite get used to the Express Lite. The
horse I purchased last year was a very, very short backed arab and
couldn't use either of the OFs. Sold the OFs and bought the sport
saddle. My horses like the sport saddle. I am still getting used to
it. They say it is much like riding bareback. Well yes in the sense
that you are very close to the horses back and can feel so much more but
no in that your legs go right around the barrel instead of more out in
front of you like bareback. Just what I have found. If you do not flex
well in the hips it is not so comfy. If you cannot at least sit
crosslegged (indian style) comfortably for awhile I would choose another
saddle. Just my 2cents.
4. I now ride in a SportsSaddle. Previously, I tried the Orthoflex
Endurance Cutback, Wintecs, Zes, Nice english style saddle, and SR Enduro.
My horse was hard to fit and the only saddle that did not bother him was
the Enduro. Even the SS made him move stifly and with a shortened stride;
the Orthoflex caused sore shoulders, the Wintec and Nice caused soreness and
(on a 100 mile course), caused all the hair to blister off. The ZES just
plain didn't fit. I could have been happy with any of these saddles, except
the Wintec endurance, which just put me in too much of a chairseat.
Now I have a new horse. He and I love the SS; the seat is so soft you can
really feel the muscles on his back and have much more influence on his way
of going. For the first time, I feel like I'm riding the horse and not
riding the saddle.
I am responding, though, because the experiences with these two horses
demonstrates to me that the same saddle will not fit different horses the
same way. I suspect that horses with basically level conformation and normal
backs do quite well with the SS, but horses with strongly downhill builds,
uneven shoulder development, really fat, witherless builds, etc. do better
with other types of saddles. This is just my guess based on my friends'
reactions to trying the SS.
Regards to everyone,
Melody
NB: if you think it might be of general interest, please go ahead and post
your responses directly to the list. Thanks all for sharing your saddle
experiences.