spooking and sports saddles.

[Lucy Chaplin Trumbull <elsie@calweb.com>]

Jan A Mutchler wrote:
> 
> One thing I did for myself was to get a secure feeling
> saddle for the times when she catches me off guard.  It is the
> Sportsaddle, training and schooling model with high pommel and 
> cantle.

Hah. We bought one of these saddles recently (used) for my
husband to ride in once his recovering broken leg allows (a
few more months, fingers crossed).

I leant *my* "normal" endurance sports saddle to a friend to
try out last week, so decided to ride in Patrick's saddle...

...Ooooo...

Provo was being a piglet. The trail was evidently *much* 
too easy for him to need to bother concentrating, so he 
could direct his full attention to finding things to jump 
about from.

At one point he bounded up the side of the levee bank we
were riding alongside. He decided to "prance" all the way
home (pretty pony... shame he belongs to us and not someone
else... <g>). We sidepassed, we twirled, we jigged. A couple
of times I lost a stirrup...

But sitting in that saddle - I just wasn't worried. The
high cantle and pommel, together with the full sheepskin 
cover *really* does the trick, making you feel secure and,
even when not in control, not nearly so much at risk (this
is coming from the world's most paranoid rider, you have to
understand).

On Friday, I rode him in my own saddle again. Erk. It felt sooo
shallow, soo slippery, soo insecure... Rats... if I'm not careful, 
I'll get so used to Patrick's saddle, I'll have to sell mine and
buy one of the schooling/training models instead.

At least by the end of the ride (a short one), I was back
to being comfortable in my saddle again, but am seriously
considering, er, "borrowing" Patrick's saddle for our up
and coming 30-debut.

So for anyone who's not feeling too secure at the moment,
those saddles are to be heartily recommended...
-- 
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Lucy Chaplin Trumbull - elsie@calweb.com
Repotted english person in Sacramento, CA 
http://www.calweb.com/~elsie

with Mouse and Provo
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