Re: The Saddle Thing

[rides2far@juno.com (Angela C. McGhee)]

Man, oh man.  Don't want to start any saddle wars, but I can give an
opposite answer to most of these examples.  Fact is we've all had good
and bad experiences, and the saddle that stinks for us today, might be
the answer to our dreams for our next horse.  Take any comments like "All
Western Saddles are the worst"...saw a rider at the ROC with an old
Barrel saddle.  Said she owned most of the major brands of endurance
saddles, but this one "worked" for this horse.  Took nerve to be seen on
it!

 Western styles are just about 
>the
>worst.  They pinch the horse, cramp the rider, are cumbersome and 
>heavy, and
>the horns have been known to crack ribs.

I find that the problem with pinching usually comes form English saddles.
 The Western saddles are more prone to being wide.

  PLEASE don't find this out 
>the hard
>way!  Aussies are wonderful.

I'm sure some are.  We bought an Australian saddle, made in Australia of
excellent quality and workmanship back in 1988, at the very beginning of
the craze.  It pinched our horse so horribly behind the withers, and I
was sooo dumb and didn't know it...that he began to refuse to go uphill
at all...would rear and do a roll back...something he had NEVER done
before, and quit after a change of saddles.  I know some work great for
some people, but that one was a nightmare!

 >ride like a sofa

The polies bruised my thighs horribly.

  All this goes for specialized endurance 
>saddles as
>well, only the cheap endurance models fall apart and rot

Have some friends who have ridden the cheapest of them for thousands of
miles.

 while a $200 
>aussie
>will last for 200 years--there's proof!

The $200 ones I saw had very uneven stuffing and it was stapled on the
bottom.  If I were going to get an Aussie, I'd get one closer to $800
level.  Some pretty bad immitations came out back in the early 1990's.

  The best you can go for in 
>any
>distance event is an English close contact or jumping saddle, a 
>good-quality

I guess that's your experience.  Mine would put all but the dressage
model at the bottom.  I've had good luck with my Express...so far.  If I
had to get another saddle when that one didn't work, I'd probably try to
get a good custom fit on the Desoto saddle, but I prefer the stirrup set
up of the Express.  The Sharon Saare has been very good for some of my
friends, but for the money, and considering that I'm near enough to get a
custom fit, I'd opt for the Desoto.

I started out on a jumping saddle.  Liked the convenience, and weight,
but it had more horse sore by the withers and in the cantle area, and I
had constant lower back pain.  Had to give it up.

Angie McGhee...whatever works for you...use it!

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