Re: saddles

["Lysane Cree" <cree_l@LSA.Lan.McGill.CA>]

Well, I presently have a Western saddle (roping design) which fits
my horse well and which is very comfortable for me on trail rides. 
But I am only beginning in CTR as a novice and I imagine the pace is 
considerably slower than in endurance, so the weight of the saddle is 
not quite as crucial. I would most likely consider a change
for endurance. Despite the fact that it fits well, is useful to carry 
stuff  and is comfortable for both horse and myself, I do realize 
(every time I lift it up onto my close to 16 hands horse's back!) that 
it is heavy. It 
sure builds bicep/tricep muscles, but would probably be a 
disadvantage against horses carrying much lighter saddles, at a fast 
pace. And there is the horn in the stomach problem on steep hills, 
luckily for me (or my stomach) there are not too many steep hills 
around here to create that problem too often!
Just my humble commentary,
Lysane and Buck