Quest for a Saddle

 "Bring your leg back!"

I hate that phrase. Why? Well, because I hear it all the time and can't do a whole lot about it. My saddle has never fit me well and it pushes me back, thus causing my feet to come forward. Sometimes it is so bad that I kick Ruby's front feet when we are cantering! I finally got so tired of doing that, that I decided to stop being cheap and look for a new saddle. I am glad I did! I have learned a lot about how saddles should fit (both myself and Ruby), the effects a non-fitting saddle can have on both of us, and the difference a good saddle really makes. 

After spending months trying to find a manufactured used saddle that fit:
     a. My tiny butt but super long thighs and
     b. Short but round (and nearly wither-less) pony

I decided that it was time to bite the bullet and make in investment in a custom saddle. Here are my findings so far (I will keep out my negative comments so as not to hurt the company's sales; a saddle that may not have worked for Ruby and I might still work for you!)

Note: my budget for this saddle was $3000-3500; unfortunately, I am not a riding snob that had everything handed to me on a silver platter (damn). With my rent & living expenses+ Ruby's rent & living expenses+ student loans, I needed to find a saddle that fit in this price range (at the most).

I first met with CWD. The 2g saddle was my favorite, but a bit out of my price range ($6700 new). The wait time for one of these saddles is about 20 weeks, so if you know when you would like to have your saddle, get it well in advance! As an engineer, I was not sold on this company’s sell point for this saddle. However, the representative was very friendly and answered my questions. We did not go over the saddle fit on my horse, but compared the saddles on the ground. There was no travel charge for my consultation. My consultant told me that Antares and Devoucoux saddles are made the same way (and follow the same principles) as CWD, so if you like CWD, chances are, you will like those two brands. You can find Antares and Devoucoux saddles used on the CDW website, if you are looking to save some money.

Second was County Saddlery. The representative I had was very patient with me (and my million questions) and went through my saddle step-by-step (on my horse) to show me which points were causing issues with my current saddle fit (way more information than I could absorb at one time). She was very knowledgeable on fitting and (don’t quote me on this) I believe representatives have master saddler certifications (the US version). The saddle I liked was right in my price range: $3300. She was very honest, and even made critiques on her own saddle fits for myself and Ruby. There was no travel charge for my consultation. Wait time for these saddles are approximately 10 weeks. Saddles come with a warranty that states the the saddle can be re-treed or reflocked one year after you receive the saddle (there is still a hefty fee to have this done).

Third was Stackhouse. These saddles have a set price of $5500. They are hand made by David Stackhouse and his partner Lesley. Everything on this saddle is custom fit and made per your preference- tree, flaps, knee rolls, blocks, leather color…, even your keepers. Wait time for these saddles is unbelievable- you will get your saddle in a week (construction starts on Monday, completed Wednesday, and shipped by that Friday). A little over budget, but still in the running simply because I would get this saddle so fast.

Next up is Hastilow. The travel fee to come to my barn in Virginia was about $180, but still less than what I expected! My meeting is next Friday. So far, I have heard good things about this company (from this site), and the representative has been very helpful and super good about finding out exactly what I am looking for so I will not have to pay for any more trips here than is necessary. I am most concerned about saddle fit should mine (or Ruby’s) body change. I was assure that these saddles can be reflocked at any time, and some saddles have interchangeable gullets as well. I will be trying saddles that are within my budget range only. Wait time for these saddles is about 6 weeks.

Update: Hastilow performed a thorough check of my saddle fit (to show me what points were not fitting correctly), took an entire page worth of measurements for both myself and Ruby, fitted about a dozen saddles to Ruby, narrowed the pile down to the ones that fit the best, then decided on three for me to ride with. Wait time for custom saddles is about 6 weeks. The representative was very knowledgeable about saddle fitting, the engineering behind the saddle, and saddle quality codes (UK standards).  

I have spoken with Tad Coffin and Centaur Saddlery, but have not been able to schedule appointments. A friend of mine has a Tad Saddle and highly recommends it- you can get saddles from him within my budget range. However, other saddlers have stated that the Tad saddles are "one size fits all."

Update: Never did hear back from Centaur, but did get some information on Tad Coffin saddles. These saddles do not work for everyone- although you will have a very well made and very comfortable saddle, they are "on size fits all" for the horses. Tad Coffin saddles are "made" to fit by using saddle pads and risers. Unless your horse fits the description/shape for these saddles without the extra padding, you are better off going with a different company that will fit the saddle to your horse. Saddle price starts at about $2,800.

I have asked each saddler I have met with about their opinions on the other saddlers I will meet. Everyone was very professional but honest about it- giving both pros and cons for their competition. Again, I will not share what I was told, as I consider this information confidential. Also, each saddler I have spoken with has been very gracious in terms of payment plans. Down payments are typically $1000, but if you need some extra time to pay off the rest, most saddlers will be more than happy to make arrangements with you. I also made a point to ask each saddler about the re-sale value of their saddles. If I find one I love but can’t afford right now, I can buy a similar saddle for less with the same saddler and resell in a few years, or trade in. Most saddles (if you take care of them) seem to hold their value pretty well (minus about $800-$1000).

Hope this helps anyone else who is looking! Any more suggestions/comments/arguments (for or against) are always welcome.

Update: I have chosen the Hastilow Saddle! Great price, lifetime warranty, exchangeable tree pieces, first re-flocking is free, fits Ruby perfectly, fits my awkward frame perfectly, reasonable wait time for custom saddles (6 weeks), many color and style options,  decent customer service, AND Hastilow is one of the few Master Saddlers in the United States- what's to dislike? Giving the saddle 90 days of riding to break it in, but so far everything has gone really well with this saddle.

Dan's First Lesson- Significant Others and Riding

"Did you ask him to trot??"

Honestly, I got lucky- I found a boyfriend who was at least a little curious about riding horses. Looking back at fellow barn girls, I can't say I remember seeing boyfriends/husbands on a horse except on a few rare occasions- if they came to the barn at all. I do know that a lot of my old barn buddies claimed that "riding is my thing and baseball/golf/hunting/whatever is his" but come on, I can't be the only equestrian female out there that fantasizes about horseback picnics... One little bit of interest and I am all for Dan learning how to ride!

I forced Connie to multitask today- I took a lesson with Dan so that he wouldn't be riding around with me staring at him and struggling to keep my mouth shut (yeah, I'm one of those people who twitches when I see someone else ride...sometimes I even "ride" for them by leaning or  pulling my invisible reins).

Anyway, I decided to stay occupied and keep out of his way. Connie's assessment was thus: "He is just like my husband! He has no fear and even sits the same way Jeff does!" This meant that when we were walking around the round pen getting used to the horses, Dan decided that walking was too boring and started trotting around. Ha. So cute. I ride English (obviously), but Dan wants to learn Western and be a "manly man" or whatever. I don't really care what discipline he chooses, as long as he can one day ride Ruby for me!

I love you Dan!!!

 Dan in his first lesson 

riding Jimmy!

 Thanks to my sister Julia for these pictures!

Trot Pole Exercise: Jumping on the Curve

"Ruby wants to be a barrel racer"

The exercise for this week was as follows (ignore my shoddy paint skills- I realized I couldn't draw this out using just 8's and o's like I usually do):

These started off as poles and were raised to crossrails as the lesson progressed. First, trot the pole/jump on the top rail. Next, trot the pole/jump on the top rail and then add the next pole on the side rail. Finally, do the pole/jump on the top rail, the pole on the side rail, then the bending line to your corner. Change direction. Pay attention to your diagonals, and try to keep your horse balanced through these turns (which were actually pretty tight in my riding ring). To keep your horse interested, make different patterns with these poles/jumps (if you do the same thing over and over, you AND your horse might get a little burnt out). This exercise is very simple, but is a great way to get your horse used to going over jumps that are not in a straight line. With Ruby, the challenge was to keep her calm coming out of the side jump going to the bending line (she will rush the bending line and lean through her turn).


You and your horse should both be relaxed when going over these poles. For over-thinkers/over-analyzers, keep looking up and ahead- the more you focus on the pole, the tighter you will get! You can tell here that I am a bit stiff and am not following with my hands. It is important to relax so your horse can do the same!








To the right is a great picture of Ruby- this is how I want her to look: she is relaxed, her head is down, and she is extending over the pole.








This lesson was uneventful (according to our standards). No lesson next week because of travel plans, but I'm sure Connie has another interesting exercise up her sleeve! As much as I hate trotting around all lesson (and trotting jumps- I find that very difficult as I want to get ahead of Ruby when we come up to the jump!), I know this is getting Ruby fit. She sweats less and less and is able to keep energy up longer now.

Keeping Up with your Tack!

Merry Christmas to Everyone! Hope you and your four-legged friend(s) enjoyed the holidays. Ruby got plenty of presents, including cookies, that she almost didn't get after this lesson...

"Do you have any duct tape?"

Connie set up the following exercise for me for this week

     oo                       oo                      oo

I did not get any pictures of this lesson (unfortunately) but I am going to try to describe in words how this worked:

The jumps were set up in a line in the middle of the ring. This is essentially nothing more than a serpentine: approach the first jump to the far left (the one near the gate of the ring in my case), come down the jump, make a half circle to go up the jump in the middle, make another half circle, and come down the last jump to the far right (the far end of the ring for me). To switch things up, make serpentines and circles with this exercise- this can be done going either direction. Seems simple right? With a fit and limber horse, yes. With a tight, out-of-shape, airhead -no.

I anticipated Ruby running out on me the first time we went over this simply because she did it to me last week over the first obstacle. Sometimes, however, the anticipation is what gets you in trouble. Anyway, here is what happened: "trot, trot, trot, HOLYSHITthereISsomethingTHERE!"

In this case, I can't blame Ruby too much for what happened- she simply was not paying any attention whatsoever to what I was asking her to do. It almost seemed like she was off in Rubyland and was startled by the fact that there was a pole in front of her. Unlike last week where she slammed on the brakes and ran out just to be an ass, she saw this jump and had a heart attack...and jumped 6 feet to the left. Unfortunately, I did not go with her (at least I did manage to land on my feet!).
     For those who are wondering, I fell off, held onto my reins, and talked to her until she calmed down. I then stepped away from her, asked her to come toward me, patted her head, asked her to back up (I did this a few times just to make sure she was entirely focused and listening to me), and then led her over the jump at the trot. With Ruby, it is very important that I get her to focus on me as soon as I can when she spooks (and her IQ hits 0). I got back on her (Connie went to my car and grabbed some electrical tape I had in there), taped my reins back up, and finished the lesson with no more issues.

Worst part of the lesson: through the process of having a meltdown and trying to calm her down, my reins snapped in half. Why? Oh yeah, because I hate cleaning tack and they were nice and dry. As much of a hassle as it can be, keep up with your tack! There are many different brands of saddle soap, oils, and conditioners. Some riders will clean their tack after every ride. Although this might be a good idea, I realistically will only clean my tack once a month or so. As far as oils go, I highly recommend Neatsfoot oil. For saddle soap and conditioner, I have always used Oakwood Saddle Soap and Conditioner. It cleans, hydrates, and conditions the leather without leaving any sort of residue, so you ride on the saddle after cleaning without worrying about ruining your breeches. The conditioner also makes the leather more supple, and has actually helped with areas that were already drying out or cracked.

My new reins are in the mail.

Darting Out...

"Was that even worth refusing??!"

Exercise for December 8-15 is as follows:

                                 8
                       8                  8
                           
                                 8 
These are our "circle jumps." As is consistent with gymnastic good practice, start off with four trot poles placed in a circle; these were placed on a circle approximately 20 feet in diameter. The main focus of this exercise is to ask your horse to jump at a bend and to hit the middle of each jump on the circle. Once you have trotted the circle successfully, raise the poles to jumps. I recommend (based on Connie's advice) jumping these one at a time at the trot, then two at a time at the trot, then trotting all four jumps in the circle at once. If you feel you have enough control and consistency, go ahead and canter this in the same sequence: one jump, two jumps, entire circle. When changing direction, I repeat the one, two, four jump sequence.

Although I have done this exercise in the past, it was more difficult this time for three reasons: the diameter of this circle was smaller than what I have done in the past, Ruby is still not quite where I want her to be (fitness-wise), and Ruby HATES white poles (we are still working on that).

So what was the biggest lesson I learned riding this? Yeah, don't expect your horse to simply go over everything- STEER! Ruby is usually pretty good about going over the jump once I point her to it (as long as I have leg on), but she decided to run out on me this time...

What causes a horse to run out? STEERING ISSUES! If I had to choose between refusing and running out, I would prefer her to run out, since it means it is an issue with my riding and not a behavioral issue with her (as refusing usually is). Note to self: use leg AND hands. Ruby does not like when I "get in her  face," so I tend to keep my hands quiet.. too quiet.

Part one: Slamming on the breaks. At first I though she was going to flat out refuse the jump. This is actually pretty easy to "ride out"- just sit up!

 Part two: The dart. Ruby can be super quick and darting out to the side is always a pain in the ass. Again, force yourself to sit up and move with the horse (for me, this meant bracing with tons of right leg!). It's funny that I can be a lazy rider, but when something like this happens, my leg position is actually pretty decent.

 Part three: GET OVER IT! If your horse refuses or darts out like this, IMMEDIATELY take your horse right back over the jump- it doesn't have to be pretty, just get over it (a difficult concept to grasp for a perfectionist, but Connie has helped me learn how to handle these events really well). Ruby darted right (odd for her, she usually chooses to go left), and I circled her back to the jump. Technically, you want to circle the horse opposite the direction he/she darted, but I think I was so startled I just thought "YOU ARE GOING OVER NOW" and missed that point. Here we are going right back to it. As you can tell from my face, I was not pleased, but she did go over it with no issues the second time.

 "Calming poles:" I keep a series of trot poles in the ring at all times, in case Ruby starts to get strong. When cantering the circle, this is especially useful, as she has to come back to the trot after cantering the circle in order to get through the poles. The more we have to focus on, the better Ruby and I tend to do. Connie started us out with just these three poles, but added more and ended up using five.

Thanks to Dan, my amazing boyfriend, for getting these shots for me!

Trot Pole Exercise: Prevent Rushing

"make a circle at the end"

This week's exercise was thus:

o    o    o    8 (one stride) 8 (two stride) 8

At first, all of these were simply poles. As we worked through the exercise, the last 3 parts were taken up into jumps- again, starting small and building up into verticals. Ruby HATES white poles for whatever reason, so the challenge is to get her to go over without looking straight down each time she gets ready to go over one.

The first time through, keeping the exercise at poles. The key here is to keep constant leg, look up, and aim for the center of the poles (and keep my lag back, which I seem to have forgotten here...)

To keep Ruby from freaking out, Connie sets the jumps up one at a time instead of moving all three components up at once.  I had Ruby trot the exercise, acting as if the jump was no different than the pole the previous run through

Although I wanted Ruby to trot the final exercise (we are working on muscle building, so trot work is better for us), but I do not punish her for jumping. As long as she is engaged from behind, I slow her after and continue through the line. 

This week was not much different than last week. Ruby has a tendency to rush after the last element in these gymnastics. The second we clear the last component, I begin to ask her for a circle. In the past, this has helped deal with rushing a TON!

Trot Pole Exercise: Controlling Pace

"wait, wait, wait, squeeze"

Since staring with Connie back in October 2011, I have been exposed to many different training exercises (also called gymnastics) in order to help Ruby with control, bending, rounding, and muscle building. I have been working with Ruby for the past week on the following simple gymnastic (Connie usually sets up a gymnastic that I use for a week, or for about 3 riding sessions, and then set up a new one):

o     o     o     o     8 (one stride) 8

(Imagine you are looking at the gymnastic from the side- the o's represent trot poles, and the 8's represent jumps)

For the first ride through, I trotted this starting with the line of trot poles. The key here is to keep a steady pace so the horse can make it to the jumps with ease and in stride. At first, these jumps were 18" cross-rails, so I asked Ruby to trot over them as if they were the same as the ground poles. Once we could do this without any hesitations or mistakes, I changed direction and asked her to do the poles starting with the cross-rails. After getting both directions at the trot, the jumps were raised to verticals; about 2'. For this part of the gymnastic, I asked her to trot into the poles and then jump the first vertical, trot, and jump the second vertical. Ruby jumps with a squeeze. We then worked with this until I had her trot into the poles, jump the first vertical, one stride, jump the second vertical. This variation is fairly simple: keep leg on, look up, steer straight, and Ruby goes right on over.

The other direction, however...

Going the opposite direction (cantering the left lead), I asked Ruby to canter into the vertical, one stride, jump the second vertical, then trot the poles. If your horse is anything like Ruby, he/she will have a lot of momentum coming into the first vertical, a little less coming into the second, but still too much if you do not hold back for the poles. Asking Ruby to canter, jump, then trot was difficult, but we were able to figure things out after a few tries. Ruby and I both seem to perform better when we have more to do. I usually have trot poles in a circle placed at one (if not both) end(s) of the ring. If we get too forward or she starts moving with her head too high, I ask her to trot her poles on the circle. This helps with bending and encourages her to relax and stretch down (think "long and low")- I highly recommend using these circles!

When doing a bounce, the rider should stay in two-point position between jumps. I find one strides a little more awkward, especially if your hose is known to refuse. For Ruby, I usually jump, sit a slightly taller two-point, then jump. This keeps me from snapping up, but allows me more control than staying in a full two-point.

 When doing pole work, I ride in a half seat. If your horse is slow or not pushing from behind, I would sit these exercises in a full seat until your horse learns to accept your weight

 Eyes up! Most horses will hesitate or even refuse if you look down at your poles

I personally LOVE gymnastics/grid work. The exercises I do with Ruby can get pretty complex, but I don't usually ask her to school much over 2'6" with the occasional 3'-3'3" jumping course. As Connie always says "if your horse can do the low jumps, she can do the high jumps." Despite how much I disagreed with this at first, I am now learning that this is actually true.