Accept The Saddle

When starting a young horse, the first step is to accept the human, the second step is to accept the saddle. This is a step that has taken a lifetime for my seventeen year old mare. I have written previously about how Rydel came to me with a great fear of saddles and saddling, and it took me a few months to reintroduce the saddle to her as something benign. Unfortunately, while I was trying to teach my horse how saddles can be good things, I was also learning about saddle fit at the exact same time. Through a long process of trial and error with different types and sizes of saddles, I learned a lot at the expense of my horse's back. Even when I thought I was doing it all by the book (wider treed saddle with special pad and shims) it only took a few months before my horse ended up sore backed and ready to bite me when she saw me coming with  my saddle to ride. So, I knew something had to change, and fast!

After months of research (and taking a break from riding to heal my horse's back), I decided that Freeform saddle's were the way to go. My horse was getting sore with every treed saddle I tried, so I knew that I wanted to try treeless, but I also knew that not all treeless saddles are created equally and choosing the right one was very important. Research pointed me to Freeform every time as the obvious choice for quality and science. Tests showed Freeform saddles to have even weight distribution due to the special process in which they are made. A few years ago, the winner of the Tevis Cup (the 100 mile long grueling endurance race) rode in a Freeform and passed every single vet check along the way. I was convinced, I needed to try one.

In February of last year, I purchased my very own Freeform saddle for Rydel, and the difference was remarkable! My horse no longer tries to bite me when I saddle up and she never bucks or balks when I ask her to change gait. When I get off, she doesn't dip her back in pain, and I am forever grateful that we found something that works for us.

Trying on the Freeform

After a year of riding in the Freeform, I am still amazed at how well my horse is doing with it. However, last night, something even more incredible happened. We recently got a new horse, and while I was over helping my boyfriend ride bareback for the first time, I left Rydel saddled up, with the reins tied up so she wouldn't get herself tangled. I could tell she was relaxed, so I had no problem leaving her untied to wait for me to return. Well, the next thing I know, she started to act like she was going to roll...with my saddle still on her! As you can see in the video below, my first reaction was to think "NOOOOO, that saddle costs more than you do, silly horse!" Sadly, I was so dumfounded by her willingness to roll, that I didn't think to turn the camera to start filming her.

(It's the audio in this video that matters)

But after watching my horse roll in the snow and straight over onto her back with my Freeform saddle still attached to her body, I realized how truly big of a deal this event was. First, my horse has never been confident enough to roll in an arena full of people, let alone to be confident with the saddle enough to feel comfortable rolling in it!

I have no words to describe how amazing it feels to know that my horse finally accepts the saddle, and to know that I (with the help of Freeform) was able to help her overcome her anxiety and years of baggage to be truly comfortable wearing her saddle and to be the best partner immaginable!

Let's Talk Saddles

Saddle fit is such a complex issue, complete with both myths as well as facts and everything in between. I highly encourage every rider to research for themselves and attempt to find the truth, but be warned, once you start, it is a long and treacherous journey!

About a year ago, I got my Duett saddle and decided that my saddle search was essentially over and that I had found exactly what I wanted. Of course, at the time the Duett was what I wanted: a saddle wide enough that I could shim under it and it would allow my horse's muscles to build up underneath. After all, this is the general concept to follow for saddle fit that Parelli teaches and it is why their saddles are so darn wide. And it does make sense, you don't want to fit a saddle to a horse that is not muscled properly to carry a rider. Well after about a year of using my Duett with both the Theraflex pad and the Equipedic pad, I am still seeing soreness in my horse's back, just forward of the lumbo-sacral junction. Along with this, my horse remains to be girthy and hate being saddled despite trying everything imaginable to fix it! (As a side note, I am putting my horse on an acid reducer, per the vet's recommendation to rule out the possibility of ulcers.) 

So where does this leave me? Basically, I felt the need to start over with what I know about saddles and saddle fit and go on a exploratory journey of my own which requires lots and lots of learning. I began researching saddle fit, biomechanics of the horse, differences between treed, treeless, and flex-tree saddles, and finally what models would be best all things considered. I must say, I have received a lot of information but don't have a very good way of sorting it all out. Hence, I'm turning to you, the blogging community of the world, for help. 

First, here is a theory article article about the biomechanics of the horse and how they relate to saddle fit. I would say, I agree with most of the information presented in this article. In fact, and embarrassingly, many of the illustrations of horses subjected to poor saddle fit, look a lot like my horse. :( I don't think I'm doing everything wrong. I do have a wider saddle and place it so that it is behind the scapula, but the panels do not sit flat on her back which I believe could be contributing to her pain. 

As such, here are some of the models I am looking at:

1) The Parelli Cruiser - built on a flex tree and designed with the lowest part of the saddle in the back to help put you on your balance point. I am interested in this saddle because of my interest in trail riding, but it is overwhelmingly expensive, way heavier than my english all purpose saddle, and I am unsure how my horse would react to something built more like a western saddle. 

2) The Freeform Saddle- Technically a treeless saddle but is built with special injection molded foam as well as a flexible gullet that helps provide support. Not nearly as expensive as Parelli and has gotten rave reviews, but still has the taboo of being treeless. 

3) Balance Saddles- What the Parelli's used to use and promote. I believe they are built with a flexible tree but I cant be sure as their website is difficult to navigate. I believe the theory provided on their website is good but I'm still pretty in the dark about these saddles. 

Basically, I want your feedback, advise, personal anecdotes, recommendations, ANYTHING that will help lead me in the right direction. In other words, let's talk saddles!

The Great Saddle Search...

Is over!!! After over a year of trying to find a proper saddle, I have finally settled on one that I believe will serve both me and and my horse very well!

When I first started taking riding lessons, I rode western because that is basically the only style of riding that exists in North Eastern Ohio (the land of contesting/barrel racing). Naturally, when I bought my horse, I wanted to buy a western saddle because that is all I had ever known. I purchased my first saddle at a local tack swap for 200 dollars. It was a barely used 16 inch synthetic Abetta trail saddle that was way too big for my short backed Arabian. Of course, at the time I didn't know anything about saddle fit and sadly, it took me a long time to figure out that my saddle didn't fit properly and was hurting my horse's withers and shoulders. :( After wising up (which was around the same time I came to Columbus) I decided that English saddles, being more compact and lighter weight, would fit my horse better and would help me learn how to ride with a more independent seat.

Well, even though the decision to "go English" came easily, finding a saddle that would fit both Rydel and myself on my budget was proving very difficult! To make matters worse, I needed to find a saddle quickly because Equine Affaire was coming up and I didn't have a saddle to ride in during our clinics! (I had borrow an 18" all purpose saddle to film my audition!) Finally, I decided to trade in my western saddle for a discount on a new Wintec 500 with CAIR panels and interchangeable gullet system. At the time, it seemed like a good fit as I was sure Rydel would gain muscle and figured the changeable gullets would come in handy! Likewise, the only other saddle I had ever owned was synthetic so the idea of owning another easy-to-care-for saddle seemed like a good idea. And the saddle did serve its purpose, it fit me and was by far the best fit I had ever seen on Rydel, but it wasn't perfect. It tipped forward on her back forcing me out of my balance point and not giving my horse the shoulder mobility she needs. At higher gaits, it put me in "chair" position, and after about an hour of riding I would be completely sore in my knees and back. To rectify this, I purchased the Theraflex pad which helped to balance the saddle and with shims freed up Rydel's shoulders and provided space for her to build up muscle in her back. Unfortunately though, I still had pain when riding and I knew the saddle couldn't not be one use forever. So again, I began searching for saddles. Knowing about what Linda teaches her students about saddle fit and fluidity, my search criteria focused on finding a wide saddle that I could shim to build up my horse's back, that had the lowest point in the back and would be comfortable for me. The best thing I found (other than just buying a Parelli saddle) was the Duett brand of saddles which are made specially to be wider for the horse and distribute weight more evenly but not feel extremely wide to the rider! After doing much research and reading many good reviews, I decided that their all purpose model was the right one for me! - Now, about that price tag! Considering a new Duett is a little under $1,000 I knew I would have to shop used.

Thanks to Ebay, I am now awaiting the arrival of my used 17" Duett Rondo 2 (black, all purpose model)! I am so excited to finally own a leather saddle and I got such a great deal on it, I don't even feel bad about spending the money! Pictures and updates to come!