Always remember to add the word "horse" when you google the word "bareback". There are some things you can't undo seeing. But check out this dude in his tennis shoes racing his horse bareback. Wow. I can't decide if that's hot or just stupid. He's foreign (I want to say this is from Spain but I can't remember now) so he probably would have a cute accent. At any rate, he's got to have a good seat to stay on at a gallop on a skinny racehorse.
The saddle fitter brought out another truck load of saddles yesterday. I narrowed the selection to three and then down to one saddle. Luckily, my saddle fitter is incredible, and is going to drop off the saddle I liked on Saturday for me to try out for a few days. My main concern is that it works okay with my hip, especially since the last time I trialed a saddle I couldn't walk for a week afterwards. Not good!
Here's the downside....the saddle that I liked is out of my budget range. By a lot. It's completely custom so it can be adjusted to fit me exactly. Narrow twist for my hips? Check. Less stuffing in the back? Check. Higher pommel? Check. Front billet? Yep. Shorter back? Yep. Adjustable tree for if the pony grows? Yep. The saddle can go from narrow to Extra Extra Wide. Which means if I get a new horse, the saddle will likely fit the new horse as well. It may need different adjustments, but the saddle fitter said that she could make this saddle fit *most* horses easily. There's also a 10 year guarantee on the leather. Am I justifying? Probably. Is it working? I think it might be. My husband only blinked twice when I told him.
So let's say this saddle works and I order it. Here comes problem #2. It takes 10-12 weeks and sometimes a bit longer for the saddle to get made and arrive (it's from England). The saddle fitter checked out the saddle I've been riding in and said that it's not the best fit. It's not the worst either, but the bars are pressing on her back a bit. So what to do in the meantime? Hence, the whole bareback thing. But I'm way, way too much of a chicken to try bareback at this point so really that's out.
My husband had an interesting idea. He suggested that I have the saddle fitter help me find a used saddle that fits her decently for the short term. One that has a good resale value. So, let's say I buy a $1200 used hunt seat saddle and then use it until my saddle arrives in July. Then I sell it in July for $900. My husband says that way it's just like we paid $300 to rent a saddle for four months, which isn't a bad deal. Interesting way of looking at it, no?
awe your hubby is so supportive that is so cute. I havnt ridden my horse bareback yet but i have ridden others and it is a nice break to slow down a bit and really feel how they move i found it really helped with me staying long in the legs and holding my upper body properly. But like i said not brave enough to do that on G yet lol.
ReplyDeleteAre you looking into a Schleese? Only one I know of with that adjustable tree. I would say go for it, esp since the hubby is being so supportive.
ReplyDeleteI waited about 9-10 weeks for my County dressage saddle to arrive - well worth the wait. I love it - my horse loves it...win/win.
While I waited for my saddle to arrive, I rode lots of bareback and was able to borrow a jump saddle that fit reasonably well. I normally rode in the jump saddle without the stirrups, because it put me in a non-dressage position. The bareback and stirrup-less work helped my position and seat a lot.
Hey, if hubby says go for it I would totally buy the in-between saddle while waiting for the good one to arrive!
ReplyDeleteI have wanted to ride my boy bareback a few times as well, but like yourself, I just don't think it's a good idea at this point!
bonita of A Riding Habit
I am glad that custom saddle makers are getting smart about adjustable trees. My friend bought a semi custom, waited six- eight weeks and when it came in the saddle no longer fit the pony. We use wintec isabel's for that reason. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI love riding bareback. When I was younger I even barrel raced bareback and jumped. My friend sent me a link to a video of a French costume show in which one rider did not have a costume so he jumped the course in his birthday suit bareback. He only had four faults too.
Ha, Story that is the video link my friend sent me :)I did not know how to post the link though.
ReplyDeleteComment promoting a bareback phase following:
ReplyDeleteI just went through this same thing with the ill fitting saddle wonking out my hips and plaguing my horse. When I finally figured it out - I gave in to bareback until I could find a replacement saddle on ebay. It took a few months. The bareback riding is great for your hips.
For +/- $130, you can get a Thinline bareback pad. It stays put, has an actual girth, and has a surface that's easy to stick to, especially if you wear full seat breeches.
Just sayin' ;)