I rode Lily last night. I hadn’t ridden her since May 1st, when she was very lame on a trail ride. It’s been paddock rest and numerous vet visits since then. The last ultrasound on Friday looked very good and my vet does not think that she has DSLD/ESPA. Yay! Since her healing had gone so well these last two months, he gave me the go ahead to take her out on short, flat, walking rides.
One of our fist rides in the Black Forest back in May
It turns out that Lily has a bone chip in her right hind leg. Specifically, it is an avulsion fracture at the top of the cannon bone, where the suspensory ligament insertion is. It is at the lower part of the upper attachment of the suspensory ligament. There was a shadow of it on the last ultrasounds, so we x-rayed and it all looked really clean, only slight, normal spurs on a couple of hock bones. It didn’t show up on x-rays then, as it is tucked in between the splint bones at the top of the cannon. Chris did three separate ultrasound images of it Friday and they were all consistent.
Riding in the FreeForm SB last November
It was just starting to get dark, so I just brushed her saddle area and tacked up. She looked a bit confused, but went along with it. Once I mounted up, she was confused no longer and stepped right out. I pretty much let her choose the way, which meant that we followed the local gravel roads, visiting all the other horses in the neighborhood. She wanted to gait a few times, but I asked for a long walk instead. Walking is going to be good for both of us. The few months that I had ridden her last spring, she had lost her long walk. It was short a choppy instead. So this was really nice. I started to get a good feel of her back feet, something that’s been hard for me to tune into before. Short rides will be good for me too, as I am very out of shape!
So now, with these walking rides, I will have a chance to break in my new Black Forest saddle and decide if it will work out for us. I do think that it puts me in a much better spot than the FreeForm did, so that’s a good start. I do wish that I could find a sheepskin seat for it. I suppose that it will get more comfortable with time, but for now, there are a couple of creases that would not do well on a longer ride.
I flipped the photo from last November for a good comparison of where the saddles sit on Lily. I checked her today and she free lunged sound! I’ve been treating her legs with Sore No More and doing some massage on her back and haunches. This seems to help her comfort level. I hope that this first month of walking rides continues to go as well as the first one.
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I’ve had three rides in this new saddle so far, two on Lily and one on Vinnie. I think that, with some tweaking, it can work. It needs some breaking in and more trials before I can give a full review.
I like the Grandeur pad that I bought with it. I am looking forward to trying a Skito with laminated shims though, as I would like a bit more twist. And it seems to restrict Lily’s shoulders a little more than the Barefoot I tried. I did ride that other saddle with the Skito, so it’s not a fair comparison, until I try it with that pad. The choice of pad is extremely important with most treeless saddles. I’m seeing that more and more.
Amy Jo came down to ride and brought two Barefoot Cheyenne saddles that she got recently. The brown saddle is a size 1 with VPS. The black saddle is a size 2, older and without VPS. I had heard about the Vertebrae Protection System, but didn’t quite understand what the difference really was. Looking at these two saddles and handling them made it very obvious. The black saddle was quite floppy. I could fold the cantle up the pommel easily, while the brown saddle had much more body to it.
Along with the saddles, Amy Jo also had 3 different Skito pads, hard and soft cantle inserts and 3 sizes of hard pommel inserts and a soft pommel insert. After trying a couple of pommels on Lily bare, I chose the medium width (pictured), as it gave her the best wither clearance. I wanted to try this before going to the soft pommel. The Barefoot London that I had tried previously had the soft pommel and it felt really wide to me. I used a Skito with wool felt bottom, 1/2″ firm foam with another layer laminated on. I also swapped out the fiberglass cantle for a soft foam one.
Amy Jo rode Vinnie in the brown size 1. It looked great on him and he went just fine. He has let me know right away when he didn’t like the feel of a new saddle in the past.
We took off to Pisgah and rode for 3.5 hours, mostly walking, but we also trotted and cantered and did some hills. Being young, Vinnie got tired doing hill work, so we didn’t ride on the mountain that much. He also needs a tiny pair of boots for his feet on gravel. He managed, but it was obvious that he would have done better with some foot protection. Coming out of the wet winter in a pretty gravel free paddock, there is just no way that he feet are tough enough.
I found the Cheyenne suited me better than the London. It didn’t feel too wide at all. Lily moved out well in it. I didn’t feel as far up on her withers as I do in my FreeForm. Though we didn’t get any photos of me sitting in it, I felt balanced and comfortable. I tested wither and shoulder clearance when moving. It was excellent. And the sweat patten showed a clear, dry strip down her spine. It was pretty even everywhere else with no hair roughed up.
I could mount from the ground, using a modified mounting technique. I reach across Lily’s back and hold the offside stirrup leather. Then I get my weight across her back as soon as possible, before I swing my leg over. This would be more difficult on a taller horse. Another reason that she is the Perfect size.
While this might not be my first choice in a saddle, I am on the lookout for a used one to ride in for the time being. I would like to try out a Barefoot Atlanta. I like the look a bit better then the Cheyenne. One step closer to a new saddle for Lily!
I saw the sun yesterday afternoon from my office window. I finished up, hoping that it would stay long enough for me to get in a ride. Lily looked pretty good when I got to the barn, so I took her out to groom and try the Sensation on.
I’m not used to using Skito pads. The foam was really stiff from being in the tackroom, so I put the saddle on first, then went to do boots, comb her mane and brush her head. By the time I was done, it had warmed up somewhat, so that I could adjust the girth.
For consist testing of saddles, I’m developing a list of things to check. It’s mostly so that I don’t forget something and then wonder about it after I’ve shipped the saddle on.
General
Quality
Weight
Places to attach gear
Adjustability
Design features
Rider
Mounting from the ground
Stirrup placement and swing
Seat twist
Seat comfort
Horse
Wither clearance
Sweat pattern
Back condition after riding (sensitive, hair ruffled, rubbed, flat?)
Underside of pad
Demeanor/attitude
Is there anything else that you would add? Please let me know in the comments.
Here’s how the Sensation rated after a short ride. We mostly walked on local roads, no real hills and only a bit of trot and canter that Lily offered. I was just glad that she was feeling good!
General
Quality – Excellent
Weight – I didn’t weigh it, but it’s light enough!
Places to attach gear – I didn’t notice a lot, but there are rings on the back and front, no saddle strings.
Adjustability – Good. It came with a bolster in the seat cantle, as the demo is a large seat size, equivalent to 17″ western. I removed it right after I got on and was comfortable without. There is no adjustability for the horse, but it’s all soft, so not really needed.
Design features – I like the adjustable nature of the seat!
Rider
Mounting from the ground – It slipped big time, both mounting and dismounting. I didn’t have the girth very tight though. While riding it felt secure, not slipping at all. I mounted from a tailgate.
Stirrup placement and swing – I might move the stirrup hanger back a bit for my next ride. And I’m not sure that I like having the stirrup leather attached to the bottom of the saddle flap. The stirrups also pulled my toes in some. That might make my knees hurt with a longer ride.
Seat twist – I will try a small bolster of my own making next ride. I would like more twist.
Seat comfort – Very nice!
Horse
Wither clearance – Fine.
Sweat pattern – Not enough riding to tell.
Back condition after riding – The hair was smooth and I didn’t find any sensitivity.
Underside of pad – Not enough riding to tell.
Demeanor/attitude – Great!
I am going to try the saddle on a longer ride with Vinnie this weekend, so the jury is out at this point.
Here are a few more photos. The rest are on Flickr here.
I love the pear trees in the background. Not planned, at least by me! Rachel took the photo.
I would like to be able to bring my feet back under me more, if I wanted to.
I am on the hunt for a new saddle. I’ve been riding in a FreeForm Classic SB (I bought it when they first came out and this was the only version) and a Wintec AP 2000. The Wintec fits both my horses moderately well, but it’s a tad small for me. I also don’t think that it’s quite comfortable enough for the long rides needed for endurance conditioning.
The FreeForm Classic is way too large for Vinnie. I would have to get a girth that was so short as to be ineffective. I already have two custom Montana Cincha dressage girths, 18″ and 20″. I really don’t think that I want to go any smaller than that. Lily became uncomfortable in it over the last month or so and I think that it’s been putting pressure on her withers. I swapped out to a Barefoot London on our last ride and she did much better. She’s currently laid up with some soundness issues, but more on that in another post… Needless to say, I can’t try any saddles out on her now, which limits my demo horse to Vinnie.
So the search is on…
I am pretty sure I will end up with a treeless saddle, as they are more able to accommodate changing condition and different horses. I realize that no one saddle will fit all horses. And I’m not closed to the idea of a treed saddle, if it fits and isn’t too heavy. Treeless saddles have come far in the last few years with many new models and options out there. I am looking forward to exploring some of them.
E-Z Fit
I tried one last month. I went with a medium and should have ordered a small. It was HUGE on my horses. It didn’t give me the close contact feel that I want, as there was too much leather between my thigh and the horse. A few of us tried it out one weekend. This particular one was not a fit for any of us. It turned out that Eli Beiler had tried out a new material to stiffen the seat. It created a ridge down the middle, not so comfortable for the rider. He was just great about it and refunded my demo fee and shipping. I am sure that the next one will be an improvement on this. This is an interesting saddle design and one to watch. It’s just not a fit for me.
Sensation Western
I received my demo yesterday! It was pouring down rain, so I only got to put it on my horses in their stalls. Lily let me know that it was NOT okay for me to even try to sit in it. This had nothing to do with the saddle, unfortunately. I did get on Vinnie and rode him up and down the barn aisle a couple of times.
I need to get out on the trail to really see how it will work out. My first impression is that I might want more twist. I think that there is a bolster to put under the seat for that. I’m also not entirely sure about how one side of the stirrup leathers hang from the bottom of the saddle flap. I understand that it is to help distribute weight, but I like to be able to move my legs as needed. Trail testing on hills is needed. Other than these two points, it was very comfortable, well made and put me in just the right spot. Vinnie moved out as well as could be expected in these limited circumstances. I really like all the choices in colors and leathers. No photos yet, but check back in a few days.
Barefoot Atlanta
This is next on my list to demo. I am being cautious about buying saddles just to try them out. I’ve done enough of that so far, so I appreciate vendors with generous demo programs. I really like the minimal look of the Atlanta, light weight and it looks like it would work for horses with forward girth grooves like mine.
Startrekk
I would also like to try a Startrekk saddle. The problem I have here is simply choosing a model. They all look nice! What I would really like is a Western in brown with border tooling and an Espaniola, maybe the simple brown model for a classic look.
Trekker
I have tried my friend, Romina’s Endurance Pro Original and really liked it. It has more structure than some treeless saddles, a built in spine channel and is quite adjustable. The only thing that I didn’t care for was the height of the pommel. A few times, I ran into it ducking to go under tree limbs. We ride in some pretty thick woods, so that’s a common occurrence even with my small horses. I rode Paisano ten miles in this saddle. We were both comfortable. I also like that it doesn’t need a special pad like some less structured treeless saddles. So this one is on the list.
I’ll have more to say after the weekend when I try the Sensation out on the trails. It’s supposed to clear up on Sunday. Keep sunny thoughts in mind for us!
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