Money money money!

 I went and got myself something pretty.  And huge.  Massive some would say.

The Behemoth had picked up enough gremlins that we decided a 20 year career would be enough.  The Behemoth is going to be moved on to a job slightly less demanding.  This is Betty.  Betty is a 2023 GMC Sierra 2500 HD so basically the exact same truck but with only 10 miles on it when purchased.  It's nice having things like a back up camera and integrated Android Auto.  The payments are less nice.  I traded in my daily driver car so the hubby and I are sharing his little compact hybrid and saving Betty for hauling.  We both work from home so one commuter car works just fine.

I still need to get the gooseneck hitch installed but that can wait until after Christmas.  My first hauling expedition looks to be April when I bring Kiki up to live with Trainer Z in her youngster field.  She's got a filly that is just one week older than Kiki that will be looking for a new pasture mate in April when her current friend is due to foal so it will all work out beautifully.  The two yearling fillies will have a friend and Kiki goes straight from her breeder to Trainer Z.   This means I'll have both of my trouble makers at the same address and I can start teaching Kiki to go for walks in preparation for breed shows that start in July.

Two ponies and a new truck means a certain amount of strain on the ol' checkbook.  But that's fine!  I calculated and simulated and it's a totally reasonable lift.  It's fine.

So yeah, right after I did that Theo made it clear that he only wants the Custom Saddlery Wolfgang Solo saddle that Trainer Z had been using because it fit her better.  It also fits me better so no loss there but it's still a saddle purchase.  Ugh.  I'm hoping the good mojo from it being Schrodie's former saddle will rub off on Theo.  I'll freely admit that I really like the saddle and Theo goes like a dream in it so it falls under the heading of buying Theo anything he wants to make him happy.  There is actually a category with that header in my budget.  I'm also keeping the Frank Baines because it's the same make and model that Kiki's breeder uses on her cobs so I'll probably want that in a couple years.

Theo's also scheduled to get his hocks done this month because next season is Third Level work and he's turning 19.  He's sound and we want to keep it that way.  He he also made it clear during his fall crazies that he could use a round of ulcer treatment to get him back to a blank slate before the next show season.  Both omeprazole and sucralfate, please.  As the kids say, I'm broke as a joke.

On the plus side, the crazies were brief this year and I only missed two lessons.  One for crazies, one because I went on vacation (gasp!).  We're already back to work figuring out how to get a quality half passe at both the trot and canter.  We may skip Third 1 and go for Third 2 as it suits Theo better.  The quicker the transitions and movements, the happier he is.  He'll also be hitting the circuit with his Second Level freestyle with Trainer Z in 2023.  We're talking about him qualifying for regionals.  He did so well at Saugerties that it seems like a good idea.  At least it seems like a good idea when it's months away.  It's more a Trainer Z problem than mine, I'm going to be working on my dissertation next September when the championships roll around.  But with a professional in the saddle and new ulcer meds on board, he may actually have a chance at Second Level freestyle.  Stranger things have happened.

When in doubt

Buy, buy, buy again.

How many western saddles have I tried?  I've lost count.  But my treeless wasn't holding up as I upped Theo's bounce so back on the market.  I had my heart set on the DP Vario Flex, but there was this one other saddle that kept coming up in my searches.  When my annual bonus arrived, I went ahead and had the demo sent out.  If nothing else, I figured I could at least quit visiting the site and staring at the pictures and options.

This is the Harmony Western Dressage saddle (www.westerndressageridinggear.com).  It's by a division of Foxtrot Saddlery.  Now don't do what I did and immediately turn your nose up at the Foxtrot part.  These are not run of the mill, cheapo saddles.  These are custom made saddles that are focused on western dressage.  This means you are naturally lined up, shoulder/hip/heel.  No fighting the chair seat!  It's also very pretty.

The demo program is great.  You have a Paypal approval for the price of the saddle and they send you the Travelling Saddle with a cinch and saddle pad.  You ride in it for a week like it's your own.  When I asked for an extra day, it was no problem.  Customer service has been excellent.

The tree is elastomer which is helpful for me with the horse that has the insane back where nothing fits.  It's definitely got a tree, I can feel that added stability and support, but I didn't have to worry about the rock (curve).  I got the width right and the rest sorted itself. 

I love riding in this saddle.  After fighting every western saddle I've sat in, it was such a relief to sit down and not feel like I had to fight it even when cantering.  It's wide compared to my English saddles, my SI is still debating the wide twist, but I'm so comfy in it.  Theo is quite happy in it and moves out at the walk beautifully.  I've done two trail rides and I find the deeper seat and horn to be a great support for keeping me chill through Theo's natural, looky behavior.  Instead of grabbing his face I put my right hand on the horn and ride him western down the trail.  Loops in the reins and neck reining convinces Theo everything is fine.  I don't worry about ripping the horn off because it's part of the saddle.  It's a proper, heavy (35 pound) western saddle.  I can't rope off of it, the tree isn't strong enough, but it's very stable. 

It's not perfect, I have saddle pad slipping problems.  It's also a flexible tree so tightening the cinch after mounting is kind of crucial.  Which is most of my saddle pad slipping problem.  I'm still messing around with pads.  I hate the pad it came with, it's so freaking long it looks like it belongs with a different saddle.  My existing Five Star pad looks much better, but it's a bit thinner than I want under this saddle.  Guess I'll have to do some saddle pad shopping.  The cinch it came with is a Smart Cinch and it makes it possible for me to tighten the cinch from the saddle.  Score!

So after eight days I emailed the company and asked if I could just buy the demo.  It was the exact color and size I wanted, it matched my bridle, the tooling options picked were beautiful, and I wouldn't have to wait 6 - 8 weeks with show season right around the corner.  Sure enough, they sold me the demo.  I win!

I'm going to dump my treeless saddle (and a bunch of other tack) at the local consignment shop.  I have to finance my crazy expenditure some how.  I'm already shopping for the perfect 5 Star pad to go with this saddle.  I'll keep the cinch since I can actually tighten it from the saddle. 

Fingers crossed that I now have all three saddles and I can take a break from the hell known as saddle shopping.

A new hope

Y'all, there might be a light at the end of the tunnel.  I might have a western saddle that works.

This is my new Startrekk Commander, a treeless saddle.  It's just as pretty as I'd hoped with some shiny silver conchos and a squishy, nubuck seat.  Sure, I had to swap out to a black pommel to test the narrower width Theo needs, but I'll have a matching tooled pommel on it soon.  You really have to look closely and pick it up to tell it's treeless. 

I was so excited when it arrived!  Surely a treeless saddle with three different pommels would fit mi papi!  Then I put it on him and almost cried.  What the hell?  How could a saddle with no tree not fit him?!

It was all over the place!  It didn't sit down on him anywhere!  It was rocking, lifting, too wide even with the skinny pommel, terrible!  Then I took a deep breath.  That's okay because there's no solid tree.  It's a leather tree that needs to learn Theo's shape.  It's been in storage for awhile so it's mostly pancake shaped right now.  It just stuck out away from him rather than wrapping around him.  I cinched it up and took it out for a spin.

First I had to lunge the kite named Theo.  He got a day off and in winter, that's no good.  It was a nice, civilized lunging session until he heard someone outside of the arena.  He had a complete melt down, dragging me across the ring while he snorted, bucked, honked, passaged, and overall looked like an idiot impersonating a stallion.  One of my friends was standing wide eyed at the door by the time I recovered some control over Theo.  She's only seen him packing his leaser around like a good little school pony.  She was not prepared for the other Theo, the one that requires careful handling and a very large personal bubble.  Then another rider came down.  I ended up working Theo around the ring in hand for about ten minutes, running alongside him and doing transitions from the ground to get him refocused.  Thank goodness for my time on the treadmill.

The saddle looked AWFUL.  It just flopped around up there and then the pad started to slide.  I didn't have my cinch tight enough.  The saddle still wasn't touching him at all.  I didn't have it in the right place, it was too far back.  Funny thing about there being no tree, it can sit a bit over his shoulder and it makes no difference.  So long as that pommel is behind the point of his shoulders, it's all good.  I rearranged, tightened the cinch, and swung on.

My hips never complained.  It really does feel like a treed saddle, complete with a twist.  After about ten minutes, I'd forgotten about the differences in the saddle.  I was able to have a solid school including a big, beautiful trot and canter at the end.  Clearly, Theo likes the freedom.  We got to burn through that excess energy in a big, happy, forward way with him taking the contact forward and down.  I love it when I feel like I can push my hands at him in the contact and I wasn't wearing spurs!  My friend stopped her ride long enough to comment that he looked super happy in his new saddle.

I checked my spine clearance and I had all sorts of room.  Wither clearance for days.

A new, better fitting saddle pad is in the mail. 

I like the way it rides.  My leg is right up underneath me and it's a comfy seat.  I think it'll be even better once it breaks in.  Right now it's kind of stiff and squeaky and wants to be pancake shaped and the fenders are killing my ankles.  But after a single ride, I could see a difference in the shape.  I can see how this will become a saddle that is custom fit to Theo's back.  Having the other pommels means I can swap out if his topline explodes with muscle.  Hey, a girl can dream.

I'm cautiously optimistic at this point.  I do have the confidence that comes with not having to worry about the tree fitting.  There's no tree!  I'm a bit gun shy at this point since I thought I'd found 'the one' before, but this is different.  So long as it's not touching his spine, pinching his withers, and is distributing my weight across the panels, it fits.  I palpated Theo's back after a solid 40 minutes under saddle.  Theo chilled and enjoyed his mini-massage. 

We're scheduled for a snowstorm tomorrow, but if I can make it to the barn, I'll take it out for another spin.  I think my mind is made up, but I'll feel more confident after a second look.

Tree? What tree?

This is where the saddle hunt totally leaps off of the rails and runs wild and free across the tundra of New England.  I am getting a treeless saddle to demo.

I can hear the screams of anguish.

I've done the research, viewed the thermographs, read through more debates than any one person should.  Seriously, it's not good for my mental balance.  But when the dust settled and I was left with a challenging shaped horse in need of a western saddle, my desire for him to be comfortable won out over my desire to be traditional.  Yes, there are situations, combinations, and saddles where a treeless saddle is nothing more than a glorified bareback pad and shouldn't have stirrups on it.  Ever.  It's harmful and will leave your horse a mess.  Your entire body weight is slammed into their back at one point, sometimes only a few inches square.  There are also combinations, situations, and saddles where it's better than a treed saddle.

Troublesome pony back

I was looking at the DP vari-fit saddles when I noticed the word Startrekk at the top of the website.  Huh, I remember that name from my saddle research when I was playing with making Fiona an endurance horse.  I clicked on the name, hit the western link, and stopped dead.  That . . . looks like a totally normal saddle!

I would never guess that saddle is treeless.  It's pretty!  And I've sat in several DP saddles and like the quality of leather they use.  I refreshed my memory and the Startrekks stood out because they're German and they have a 'tree' made of layers of leather to give it stability, structure, weight distribution, and spine clearance.  The pommel is rigid and interchangeable.  There are panels underneath the saddle that can be rearranged to help level the saddle and keep it clear of the spine.  Yes, the stirrups still have a point of greater pressure, but I'm not getting this saddle to gallop cross country up off of his back or jump big fences.  I have a saddle with a tree for that.  I'm getting this to sit on my butt outside of some posting in warm up.  From everything I have found, the Startrekk saddles feel like a treed saddle due to the leather 'tree'.  It even has a twist.

While looking around, I spotted a new Startrekk Commander at a discount.  Lo and behold, the dealer is in Rhode Island.  Hey, that's practically around the corner!  Relatively speaking.  So emails have been bouncing back and forth all day with pictures of Theo.  Soon, soon I will have a demo to slap on mi papi's back.

It weighs less than 20 pounds.  It's genuinely pretty.  It's only 25.5" long.  The seat size is adjustable.  I'll get three pommels to try out to make sure I ride in the correct size.  Maybe?  Maybe this is the solution to my troublesome pony?  And it would be cheaper than the Cashel.

Even with my hip issues, I have no problem riding bareback.  I don't expect the twist to be an issue for me.  And used once/twice a week with limited posting?  I don't expect it to give him any trouble.

I'm not exactly a traditional western rider and my horse is far from a traditional western horse.  Time to think outside the box.

It was supposed to be simple

My saddle saga continues.

The Cashel was a bust.  It fit his withers and shoulders just fine, but it rocked.  Lifted front and back.  I'm sure I could have thrown a special pad on, but what's the point in buying a brand new saddle with a noticeable rock?  It's not like I'm trying to make my horse back sore.  So it was out of it's box for a total of ten minutes.  Back in it went and on Monday, it ships back to the store.  Ugh.

We threw a western saddle that was sitting around on him, but it was a full QH bar and dropped right down on his withers.  In a moment of desperation, I asked the barn manager to let me see her saddle again.  The one I plopped on Theo back when I started shopping and went 'huh, this won't be too hard'.  The random, cheap saddle she got used for her 14.3 hand mustang mare.

It's tiny, probably a 15" seat.  That's a 32" pad underneath it and it looks ridiculous.  It's an Easy Rider from Action Company which is a company that's slowly but surely been gobbling up other saddelries.  It's not a high end saddle.  Probably a barrel saddle that's about the same age as me.

It was picked up cheap and has been sitting, unused, for months.  I set it on Theo's back with no pads and it just dropped into place.  No floating, no rocking, nothing.  Just boom, there it sits.  It might be a hair narrow for him, but everyone that ran their hand under the points went 'no, it feels good, and it's nicely behind his shoulder blade'.  I threw the pad on, tightened up the cinch, and took it for a spin.

The seat is a little small for me, but he sure moves happily in it.  And the barn manager shrugged and said 'use it all you want, you can have it if it works'.  She doesn't currently have a horse and it's a saddle that doesn't fit a lot of stock type horses.

Yes, I'm riding in a halter again.  And I'm holding a foam ice cream cone in my right hand.  I'm still not sure why Trainer A handed it to me.  They use them with kids to help them not turn their hands over while riding, but I was riding left handed .  .  .  Some days I just don't ask.  I mean, it's not like the image of Theo jogging around in a halter and way too big pad under a barrel saddle with me in my lesson attire was going to get any weirder.

Random picture of turkeys we chased slowly down the road during our hack out

So . . . huh.  That was an unexpected twist.  Now I have to really, honestly consider my next move.  I did order up a 28" long, 1/2" thick wool pad to go under the barn manager's saddle so I can use it.  It's nice that the fit is close enough that I want to go for a thinner pad.  If it fits nice with a 3/4" fluffy pad, it's probably going to fit even better with the 1/2" wool felt pad and I won't have that little worry about it being too narrow.  My hands slide right under it just fine with no pad on, so long as I remember the concho is the point of the saddle and get that back behind the point of his shoulder.

This doesn't help my saddle hunt in terms of finding a match since the saddlery no longer exists.  And I'd like to get a saddle that I can post comfortably in, this saddle is a little too small for that.  I'm going to talk to the saddle fitter again and see what her next suggested move is.  But at the same time, I am getting tired of paying for shipping to keep returning saddles.  If I exchange for another saddle, no restocking fee.  If I don't?  5% restocking fee.  So that's also weighing in to the decision, since this little saddle is hard as a board.  It's not perfect.  But it's free, and it's here, and it appears to fit.

I may just eat the restocking fee and let myself have a break from the saddle shopping and shipping.  Ride in this one for a bit, see if Theo likes it.  It's not a bad saddle.  And it'll encourage me to stay on my diet . . . 

The saga of the saddle

Just a quick update on my saddle shopping.  While I was visiting my friend and playing dress up with my horse, a Dale Martin Ranch Cutter fit Theo surprisingly well.  It had enough room for his shoulders but didn't lay on his withers.  Flare through the shoulders, something something my horse is a freak.

The downside?  That thing is a monster.  At least 40 pounds and long enough to almost touch Theo's hip.  Way too much saddle for my use.  Even when Theo gets to meet cattle this summer (cow camp in June!), it won't be a roping or cutting exercise.  They said I could go in my dressage saddle if I want.  I couldn't lift this dang saddle on my own.  It was pathetic.  I needed help and poor Theo had to stand there while I struggled to get the thing clear of his withers.

But the tree seemed to suit him.  I didn't see any Dale Martin saddles that were short enough for Theo while being appropriate for western dressage.  The barrel saddles were short enough, but feet way out in front.  Bummer.  But they do make a line of saddles on the same Axis tree called Cashel.

Skirt is only 26" long and it weighs 25 pounds.  Score!  It has nice flare in the shoulders while keeping the gullet at 6.5" wide.  This should help with the problem where the wide tree had too wide of a gullet but the medium tree had too narrow of a shoulder angle.

Fun fact!  In a western saddle, when you move up to wide, the whole gullet gets a half inch wider.  Sit down on the withers much?

It's not nearly as fancy.  I'll admit to being sad to not have that rich, mahogany color and all of that beautiful tooling.  The tree is not a fancy flex anything.  The fenders are not preturned.  This is meant to be a saddle you go out and ride in.  It will definitely serve my purpose and if Theo is happy, I'm happy.  It should be going in the mail today or tomorrow.  And it's about $700 cheaper than the Circle Y.

But then I was on horsesaddleshop today while bored at work and what do I see?  New models of Dale Martin including this beauty.

OMG WANT.  And it's a shorter skirt.  And only weighs 28 lbs because it's a single skirt (I'm learning all sorts of new things).  UGGGGGH.  But it's a $3K saddle and capable of holding up through team roping.  That's a lot of saddle.  I should really figure out if I like this western dressage thing before I invest in that beauty, right?  Or maybe I can find one used?

I'm currently convincing myself to try the Cashel that is already ON THE WAY and see how I like it.  And if I like it?  Then try this western dressage thing.  The Cashel's have decent resale value, it can be the down payment on the Dale Martin upgrade if I decide I need it.  I mean, I already know I need it, but I should see if Theo needs it by trying the tree on him for awhile. 

The seat is blue and quilted.  I'm so in love.

Hide my credit card.

Team work

Today I had my very first western dressage clinic.  And I was in my regular old dressage gear.  I threw the demo saddle on my very nice (expensive) 7/8 wool felt pad and all of a sudden, I could totally see that it just didn't fit him.  Just nope.

Too wide and diving down in front.  With the fluffy pad and his fluffy self out of the way, it suddenly became very evident that the front was not okay and it was sitting on the top of the bars as opposed to spreading his weight across all of the bars.  And I finally figured out what was wrong with both of the saddles!  He needs more flare/blocking at the front of his saddle so his shoulder can sweep underneath.  It wasn't a tight tree, it was the front of the skirt not having the right shape to let his shoulder go underneath.

So with great sadness, I put the demo saddle back in my car.  It goes back on Monday.  I threw my dressage tack in the trailer and set out for my clinic.

My truck was well behaved and the twenty minute trailer ride went off without problems.  My friend stole me and Theo away to the tack room to try on saddles.  It's so much easier to learn something like this when you have friends that will let you ransack their tack room.  It takes a team to manage a horse.

The massive ranch cutter from Martin actually fit him, but was so heavy I couldn't lift it up high enough to get it on him.  It was also quite long on him and I wasn't comfortable with that.  The best fit was a Cedar Ridge saddle that was a gaited type saddle custom made for a big shoulder, more narrow horse.  Of course he would want a custom saddle.  Ugggh.  We had a Circle Y barrel saddle on him, but it was too wide. 

Poor Theo was very annoyed by the ridiculous number of saddles.  I let him pull his lead rope in his mouth and gnaw on it to deal with his frustrations.  I can't complain when that's all it took.

I almost forgot to go to my lesson because we were having so much fun trying saddles on him.  My lesson wasn't quite a western dressage lesson.  Frankly, my clinician saw a more advanced pair dressed for dressage and plunged into collection and lateral stuff.  We had a discussion about French dressage versus German dressage and how western dressage is based on French dressage.  I'll have to make a blog post about those two theories.

It was fun and I'll probably ride with her again, but I don't know anything more about whether or not I can do western dressage well.  I do have some fun new exercises to get him started on collection.  She wants us to start bringing his frame up, but focusing on keeping that softness in his jaw and harmony.  We worked hard on his lightness, getting him to move off of a light touch.  It was a lot of fun when he started hopping forward off of a small touch of the spur.

After my lesson, more saddles!  And this time I got some pictures since these were interesting.  Adjustable width western saddles?  I didn't know that was a thing.  Apparently DP Saddlery does Flex Fit western saddles.

That little hole on the swell takes a hex key and you can adjust the width of the gullet.  We dialed in the width just for fun on this one, it took about ten seconds.  It did fit him well, and it's attractive, but is it $3K nice?  I'm not sure.  The leather isn't as nice as the Circle Y saddles I've been trying.  Nothing wrong with it, but not making me grab the check book.

I also threw the DP Saddlery hybrid on.  It's called the Quantum.  I was so curious, I hopped on to take a feel.

That is the first and most likely last time I'll sit on a horse without a helmet.  But it wasn't a planned ride, clearly.  I just wanted to put my butt in the saddle for a minute.  The seat is hard, as western saddles tend to be.  And the saddle is . . . ugly.  I mean there's nothing wrong with it, but the shape is just unattractive to me.  It has english style panels complete with flocking underneath, which appeals to me because I could have it adjusted, but I didn't like the shape of the panels.  Too round.  I also had a hard time getting settled in this saddle, I couldn't find my spot.  It fits Theo well, but I wasn't sold.  If I'm going to ride western, I want to ride western!  The horn was also insanely high and I was having trouble with that.

So I'm going to talk to the saddle shop on Monday about my next attempt.  I'm currently thinking this one:

Let's see if the gaited tree and lack of neoprene on the bottom makes him a happier pony.

Stranger in a strange land

AKA How the fuck is a western saddle supposed to fit????

I dreamed about this last night.  I watched youtube videos about western saddle fit for HOURS.  How can this be so hard?  I can fit english saddles without breaking a sweat.  I figured a saddle was a saddle and that I'd have enough basic knowledge to fit this saddle with at least some confidence.  I can tell if an english saddle is good within a couple of minutes.  Wither clearance, shoulder angle, rocking, bridging, balance.  Done.  I should be able to do that on a western saddle, surely.

NOPE.

Let's discuss some details of western saddles I never realized. 

One:  No flocking.  I never really realized that there is no flocking on a western saddle.  That means the little tweaks and adjustments I'm used to are impossible.  Instead, you use your saddle pad.  That 1" saddle pad that feels ridiculously thick?  It's taking the place of the 1" + of flocking under your english saddle.  Your saddle pad is a crucial part of the saddle fitting equation.  Uhhhhhh, what?  My english saddle brain is spazzing out.  Theo's jump saddle is so well fitted I could use it with no pad at all and a loose girth with no real problems.  It's not going anywhere.  Now I'm learning about getting close and then fine tuning with the right saddle pad.

Not a good pad, likes to try to escape

Two:  Saddle pads are not frivolous and easily changed.  These things are beefy and do not fold or bend easily.  They are expensive.  They don't go in the wash.  You don't collect a dozen just 'cause.  You have a saddle pad that is broken in to your horse's back and saddle.  You use that pad.  Done.  You might put a show blanket on top for fancy occasions, but it's very thin and just for show.  My brain hurts.

New (expensive) pad

Three:  Western saddles are long.  So long.  Usually the whole 'not off the last rib' thing is something I don't have to worry about too much.  That is no longer the case.  My short backed horse is a problem in this dimension.  I have a 16" saddle and I'm watching his loins very closely.  I'm having a lot of trouble with pulling my saddle too far forward because I'm so worried about how long it is.  And directly related to this, where the hell is the front of my saddle?  I know its that concho, but I cannot seem to get this thing settled right where it belongs.

Pretty sure this is shoved right up on his shoulders

Four:  Freaking heavy = difficulty in checking the fit.  It's actually really hard to work my hands up under there to check for clearance and bridging.  Is it evenly squashing my hand the whole way?  I dunno, I lost blood flow to my fingers up at the shoulders.  It's also really hard to get my pad up into the gullet because it's also heavy and trying to lift the whole rig on a 16h horse is enough to make my bad shoulder send up distress flares.  I need a stool.  I wish I was joking.

Booty shot (using a stool)

Five:  Flex tree means the cinch loosens after mounting.  The saddle settles bit more when I climb on.  I can't figure out how to tighten my cinch from the saddle.  You can see where this would be problematic.  Slipping saddle pads are my life right now.  And when I tighten it up enough to keep my pad sorta in place?  Theo hates me and I end up with it tight over his shoulders (also see point number three about putting it too far forward because I'm worried about his loins).

Seriously, how could this thing ever be tight on his shoulders?

I still haven't made up my mind about this saddle.  I have a new saddle pad on the way to see if having a nice, thick, wool felt saddle pad fixes the slipping issues.  Theo's back is pain free and he's moving well, so I'm not too worried about him for these test rides.  I carefully palpated his back last night after riding and he just made happy faces and dozed, enjoying his massage.  I'm worried that I'll sink a bunch of money in a new saddle and then a month from now find out it's making him lame.  Because that's how these things work.  And there are no western saddle fitters in my area at all.

Wither clearance?  What's that?

In an attempt to preserve my sanity, I'm taking Theo, his new saddle, and his new pad to my Saturday clinic early so I can have multiple western riders help me out with determining whether or not this saddle is okay for him.  My friend from my drives to SC with the princess is now the barn manager for this facility, so she's offered to pull out a bunch of pads and help me.  By all accounts, the saddle sits too low over his withers, but it's got the right angle for his shoulders.  I get on and off, it doesn't move.  No rock or roll or slide.  Walk, trot, canter, it doesn't move.  I ride with or without stirrups without a problem.  Not very good at cinching my girth yet, saddle doesn't move.  Saddle pad disappears, but the saddle stays put.

The more narrow saddle fit his withers better but was pressing in on his shoulders (too narrow an angle, didn't follow his shoulders). 

 Medium tree that I took no pictures of because I was convinced it was too narrow

Or at least I thought it was.  Maybe it was too far forward and I should have kept it?  UGH.

I've also sent an email and a million pictures to the saddle expert I've been working with.  That poor woman will be earning her commission the hard way on this sale.

Pony-noia

I'm working on finding a clever term for ammy adult horse owner paranoia.  Ammy-noia?  AAHOP?  There's got to be clever term in there somewhere.  I'm currently using Pony-noia.  I have always suffered from Pony-noia and the fact that Theo is both sound (KNOCK ON WOOD) and lazy as all hell seems to bring it out in me.

I also think he reads this blog.

Doodling during work meetings for the win

Vet visits don't appear to be on his agenda.  I went out to get him yesterday and he gave a big ol' head toss before trotting up the field to greet me.  Uphill, uneven ground, totally even and happy to do it.  Well okay then.  Put his spiffy new western saddle on and took him to the indoor for some work and to have his saddle fit checked.

He was downright lofty at some points.  Cantered without giving me a lot of havoc, still a bit resistant to those left hand circles but it was more of a 'ugh, mom, this is hard, can't I do a bigger circle?' then anything.  He really seems to like his new saddle, he moved very nicely in it.  No resistance, no tension in his back.  I'm losing my stirrups every time I turn around, but that seems to be a fenders thing.  They're pre-turned, but pre-turned for someone with normal length legs.  I shortened them up and boom, not broken in the right way for my little legs.  I'm supposed to use a broom to turn the fenders while my saddle is on a saddle rack overnight to speed up the break in process.

I also can't sit the canter in a western saddle right now. The western trainer thought it was freaking hilarious.  She's watched me ride for a year and I usually look very competent.  Some would even say advanced.  Suddenly I could not sit the canter to save my life.  The saddle is trying to suck me down into the 'pocket' where I'm supposed to be, but I'm fighting it because . . . I'm a spaz?  I dunno, but it results in some rather fantastically bad cantering.  She coached me into it, but I felt like I was laying back in a recliner.  So.  Freaking.  Weird.  Sure, a western pleasure lope I've done, but Theo's fairly active canter?  It's a bit different.

But it's so pretty.  And comfy.

The western trainer hopped on for a bit to take a feel of the saddle.  She really likes it and thinks it fits him well.  We had a disappearing saddle pad problem, but it was a cheapie pad from Tractor Supply I picked up because . . . well, there's no western tack shops in southern NH.  By halfway through the ride, I had to hop off and readjust.  Part of it was my cinch was to loose.  I tend to ride with my girth on the loose side, but that's not a good idea with a cinch and a 3/4" pad, I'm finding out.  I'm also playing with the rigging.  There's three ways to do the rigging (how the girth attaches) and I'm experimenting to see what papi likes best.  The front ring seems too far forward and pulls the shoulders down on him.  The back ring seems pretty far back on him.  I think I'm going to go for inbetween.  7/8?  I have no idea, I am so lost.

Western trainer is dropping off a thick wool pad for me to try out.  The one from Tractor Supply has that fake fleece on the bottom and is very slippery.  I know slipping pads is a sign of saddle fit issues, but a thicker pad should handle it.  Western saddles don't have flocking, so my only option is to take the best fitting tree I can find and then customize the padding, aka the saddle pad.  I've still got some time on my demo if it turns out to be a problem, but right now, I think it's a winner.

And when western trainer hopped on my horse, no spurs, no whip, and put him to work?  Mi papi shrugged and went to work.  Walk, trot, canter with a connection and a halt that she thoroughly approved of.  Even showed off his excellent turn on the forehand.  Turn on the haunches?  Eh, sloppy, but he did offer with minimal fussing.  She really enjoyed him and thought he was unusually well broke for an English horse.  She thinks western dressage will suit him, since he'll be rewarded for his generally laid back attitude.  I'm hoping that going into the ring with the goal of chill as opposed to trying to make him electric will solve some of our spooking and bronc-ing issues.

I was very proud watching him go for someone that's never ridden him before and has a very different background.  And he looked very sound and even and happy.  So I'm going to tell my Pony-noia to chill for a bit.  Instead of telling myself that his stifles are blown and he's going to be retired, I'm adding some SmartMuscle Recovery to his supplements to help him recover from work and writing up a schedule to gradually build his canter back up.  Clearly pony does not want injections.

The western saddle blues

AKA I do not know what I'm doing.

Theo's new western saddle showed up and man oh man, it's pretty.  Even the hubby stopped to comment on how attractive it is when it came out of the box.

The walnut color really suits him and the round skirt is better for his teeny weenie back.  So attractive?  Check!  And those stirrups are up short enough for me, so the fenders will, in fact, fit.  Which is a huge relief since I was thinking I would need custom cut fenders.  I did run them up as short as they would go and they were actually too short.  I'm three holes from the top.  Yay?  I'm calling that a yay.

Side note, if you're changing the length of the stirrup on a Circle Y saddle, the outside bit slides up to reveal the part that goes in the holes.  This took me fifteen minutes and some googling to figure out.  My previous western saddle had a buckle.  I flipped the stirrup over and saw no buckle, just a leather covered metal thing that went all the way around.  Took some fiddling to figure out that I slide it up and out of the way.  Then adjust to the hole I want and slide it back down till it kind of clicks into place.  Spiffy, but confusing if you've never seen it before.

Don't even get me started on my struggles with the cinch.  More cinch lessons are coming.

Fit?  Hell if I know.  You'd think I'd have a clue, but nope.  I took a lot of pictures and I'll set a second opinion on Sunday.  Initial feelings without the pad were 'yay, it has the right angle on his shoulders!'.

It's actually pretty similar to the angle on his jump saddle.

That also shows how freaking huge this saddle is compared to what I'm used to.  My second thought (after omg this thing weighs a ton) was 'oh, no, his withers'.

I can get exactly one finger in there.  It's definitely too low.  Enough room side to side and back, but at the highest point, it's definitely too close.  But the pad I was borrowing is a cut back, I decided to try that out.

Huh, look at that.  It's a standard 3/4" pad and I could fit my whole hand under there even when I was in the saddle.  So apparently not that big of a deal. 

View from the back:

Flex tree, so when I sit down it sits down.  Spine clearance even when I'm in the saddle, ran my fingers under the back to check.  Really can't figure out how to check for bridging with a saddle this heavy.  My attempts really pissed mi papi off since I had to wedge my fingers up under there like I was hunting for buried treasure.  I'll have to get it checked by some people that actually know what they're doing.  I'm so lost.

I took it for a spin and Theo didn't buck me off or tell me to go pound sand, so that's a good sign.  Fingers went over his shoulders without being crushed, so the wide seems to be the right call even if it requires the use of a cut back pad.

We toddled around enough for me to try it in all three gaits.  I feel very balanced in the trot, potentially in the back seat a bit at the canter.  That may be me fighting the wider twist that I'm not used to yet.  I've got ten days to see what's fit, what's saddle, and what's me.  I thought it was comfy and was very happy to have stirrups that fit me.  We did some work on his turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, and reinback so we can start working on the idea that randomly offering things to avoid the steps he doesn't like isn't a good option.  I had no spurs and no real plan, so we only worked for about 20 minutes, toddled a bit outside, and called it a day.  It's a holiday after all.

So it fits better than the medium, but not sure if it actually fits well enough to keep.  I've got my friend that knows western saddles available on Sunday and it sounds like I might have a western dressage clinic next weekend.  That will give me some experienced eyes to check and see if this is a winner.

I hope so, it's very pretty.

Definition of insanity

I keep doing the same thing, expecting a different result.  I'm insane.  In this case I'm saddle shopping and I keep thinking it's going to go smoothly.  HA.

After my struggles with Smartpak and coming to the realization that my hard to fit horse needed more models to pick from, I branched out and started looking at other dealers of western saddles.  I stumbled onto horsesaddleshop.com.  Since I'm specifically looking at Circle Y saddles, they're an obvious pick since they have hundreds of saddles.  And a ten day demo program!

They also have an option to email back and forth with a non-brand specific saddle person to help you pick out a saddle.  Their reviews are excellent and I found their expert to be very responsive.

This beauty is ordered and on it's way to me.

We're going to try a wide and see if that works for mi papi's shoulders.  He's a tricky fit with his beastly shoulders and high withers, so fingers crossed.  If it doesn't?  Back into the mail and we send out the gaited version that may better suit his short back, giganto shoulders, and high withers.  The nice part is that they have all of these models in stock and ready to go.  The expert thinks this saddle with a cut back pad has a good chance of working for him.  I think it's pretty, that's all I've got for a contribution.

Since it looks like my transmission survived the incident and I only need the cooler replaced, I still get to buy pretty things.  I really need a source of motivation now that the snow is starting to fly.  Buying tack = motivation, right?

And I get to buy a matching bridle!  And colorful saddle pads!  And a breast collar!  I don't need a breast collar but come on, if I'm going to dress him up, I might as well go all the way.  My outfit is still a complete mystery to me.  Helmet, obviously, but the rest?  I dunno.  There's a lot of spandex and rhinestones out there and I'm . . . not as svelte as I used to be.  Hm.

Saddle shopping hell, trip 3

I do NOT know why I thought shopping for a western saddle would be easier than my dressage or jump saddles.  At least my horse is shaped like a dressage horse and isn't freaky looking at a jump show.  When I took Theo to his Vitor clinic, it was at a working cow ranch.  Everyone thought Theo was gigantic.  Everyone.  That should have been an indicator to me that he's not the typical western disciplines type.

He doesn't exactly look like a QH or a Paint.

Still cute.

It seemed simpler since there was just the two options:  semi or QH bars.  And clearly, with those withers, he needs a semi-QH bars tree.  Clearly.  Easy peasy.

So my saddle showed up and I, with great excitement, tacked my poor dressage horse up.  And realized I still can't tie a cinch to save my life.  Fortunately someone that knows western tack was there to help me check fit and help me get my tack on safely.  With her help, I was able to get things cinched up and hop on for a few minutes.  I'd already ridden him in a lesson, so it was strictly a test ride.  No need for a bridle.  We jogged and loped around with just a lead rope to let me steer.

The saddle fit me well and fit his back well, but was too tight on his shoulders.  I put my fingers under the front edge of the saddle and got a rather painful squeeze.  Damn it.  Such a pretty saddle, but no dice for the magnificence that is mi papi.  Back it goes to Smartpak.

I'm going to order up this saddle's very close sibling that comes in a round skirt since the saddle looks big on Theo's short back.  I'm also going to try a wide to see if we can give his shoulders some room without dropping the pommel right on his withers.  If that doesn't work, I have to start branching out.  There's a gaited version of the tree with extra room in the shoulders . . .

I hate saddle shopping.

Still alive

And nothing dramatic going on in my life!  I went home to Minnesota for my scheduled visit, went for some nice walks, and helped out while my mom recovers from a knee replacement surgery.  The only downside to this vacation was a complete lack of papi.

Minneopa State Park

Now I'm home and preparing for my next road trip.  This one will feature mi papi time!  We're heading to our Mary Wanless clinic on the 10th.  Oh, the joys of having my own trailer.  I was able to just sign up and not worry about arranging for a ride.  We'll have three days of torture.  This time I'm staying at a local hotel rather than driving back and forth.  I'm going in with the goal of getting a strategy and or image to deal with my collapsing left side.  This also means I need to get my trailer cleaned and packed this weekend.  I might have been dumb and bought a ticket to a distillery showcase on the evening of the 9th.  Hungover dressage clinic?  Sure, that'll be fine.

I'm still working on that super basic idea of not letting my hobby start to suck.  We've been doing jumping lessons, both me and his leaser.  Papi is a fan.  It's sad that he's still got an 11' stride, but that's just how papi does and I'm used to it.  He likes to touch the ground as many times as possible between jumps.  He'll do a grid at 12', but a line?  He wants that extra thinking time, kthx.  But he looks really good and is learning to not brace his neck between fences.

We still have zero selfie skills

I'm also fitting him for his western saddle.  After watching obsessive amounts of video on western dressage, we're going for it.  One of our local shows (30 min away) is doing recognized western dressage next year and bringing in a clinician over the winter.  Woohoo!  I think the emphasis on obedience rather than huge gaits will suit him.  Jog and lope are still hard work, but the fact he wants to take his time about it is a benefit rather than a problem.  I still have to get him well up in front of my leg, but his little strides won't be such a problem.  He's definitely a semi-QH bars boy and it appears I need a 15.5" seat.  And a 32" cinch.  And probably custom cut fenders for my stubby little legs.

Big saddle that looks very tiny on my boy, still weighs a ton lifting it over my head

I do have a bitch about the saddle shopping process.  I researched, put saddles on him, and picked out my saddle.  The Circle Y Performance Monarch with Flex2.  If I'm going to get a saddle, I'm going to get a nice dang saddle.  I like the Flex2 concept and the cutaway skirt.  It shouldn't put me into a massive chair seat, either.  It was made with western dressage in mind.  But used western saddles in New England are kind of sparse.  No one sells this dang saddle used!  Which is usually a good sign, people seem to keep them and love them.  So I decided to just bite the bullet and ordered up my test ride through SmartPak, along with some Baker blankets for Theo's trip.

So pretty, not sure what's up with the strings

Wouldn't you know it, my favorite company that never ever lets me down is dropping the ball hard.  My blankets were scheduled to ship yesterday.  Nothing.  My saddle that was in stock when I went to bed last night and is scheduled to ship tomorrow in my confirmation?  Suddenly out of stock and may not be available until the end of the month.  I've got different 'back in stock' dates on different pages.  I called customer service in a bit of a snit because I need to make sure I can ride as much as possible in those five days.  I can't be playing 'guess when the saddle is going to show' for a month.  And I need those blankets!

I've been assured the blankets are going out today or tomorrow.  Surely, they're going out, don't worry, you'll have them in plenty of time.  I've been hearing  a lot of horror stories recently about SmartPak shipping and it's not giving me confidence.  I'm supposed to hear from the Test Ride person when she gets back tomorrow so I can find out when this dang saddle is supposed to show.  I can get the saddle right from Circle Y for the same price, but I'm hesitating.  I'm discovering that western saddles are an absolute do not ride in it if you want to return it, so I don't want to change companies.  I want to know I can try it out and still return the dang thing.

My mom's kitten

It's just shocking after years of stellar service to have them drop the ball so hard.  My last order was slow, but I thought it was a one off.  Ugh.

I guess I'll have to wait until after our clinic to try out the new gear.  No one wants to wait for shiny new tack to show up.  It's the worst.  I'll distract myself by doing a fall clean up this weekend.  I need shiny clean tack for the clinic and people are starting to talk about the condition of my locker.  There may be a dead body back there.

Not the most welcoming sight outside of the barn.  Happy Halloween!