My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
The size of a saddle tree makes a huge difference in saddle fit. Readers will remember that recently I bought a saddle on eBay that didn’t work out at all. One of the issues was that the tree, which was described as medium to medium wide, was way too narrow for Freedom. When I challenged […]
Read MoreI’ve bought and sold a lot of saddles on eBay. It’s my way of feeding my “addiction”. I’ve written before on how to avoid getting scammed on eBay, but truth be told, even I buy the occasional lemon. Recently a saddle caught my eye that I thought I might use for hacking out. As someone […]
Read MoreWhen you get a new saddle you assume that it will come out of the box with the wool flocking soft and pliant, ready to mold to the shape of your horse’s back. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. It seems like some manufacturers stuff so much wool into those panels that they are hard […]
Read MoreI was looking at saddles on eBay — my favorite form of window shopping — and I came across an auction for a saddle that was a dead ringer of the first saddle I ever owned: A Hartley Galaxie. I bought the saddle when I was 14 using babysitting money. My recollection was that it […]
Read MoreI frequently see horses with their saddles placed too far forward. This photo represents a most extreme case, and to be fair, was used in an ad to sell a saddle so we can only hope that no one ever rode the horse with the saddle placed like this! You can easily imagine how uncomfortable […]
Read MoreI spent Thursday at the Equine Affaire exhibition in West Springfield, Mass. It’s the third year I’ve gone and the third year that I haven’t had the chance to see any of the demonstrations! I spent most of my time at the CANTER New England booth and was pleased by the amount of interest people […]
Read MoreAlmost every week I see horse owners asking in on-line forums whether or not their saddle fits their horse or, knowing that the saddle doesn’t fit, asking what type of padding can be used to make it fit. Saddle fit is both an art and a science. By working with a saddle fitter regularly, you […]
Read MoreI’m continually amazed by how much money people spend on saddles that don’t fit. I frequently see saddles that sit right on a horse’s spine or that are so narrow that they look perched above a horse’s back. Sometimes there are several pads under the saddle. I’m sure the rider’s intention was to make […]
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