Shameless self promotion; Saddle for Sale

Since the decision to go with County, I've decided to lighten my equipment inventory.

My 18-inch Duett Fidelio is for sale for $850.00.

The saddle is 36cm wide, smooth-grain black leather, regular flap with long billets, just recently reflocked and checked by a certified saddler and in excellent condition. It's been kept covered, cleaned and conditioned since I bought it.

This is a great saddle for a wider, more short-backed horses (halfingers, fjords, ect), the panels give plenty of stability and there is extra height on the pommel to give clearance. For rider who needs added security with a medium twist and larger knee rolls (almost thigh blocks).

I liked the way this saddle fit Sinari, but she's once again outgrown her equipment, and we're going on for a custom.

For more information, and more photos drop me a line: tempichange@hotmail.com

101 Things: Number 99: Fitting saddles

As an owner of a "special" fitting horse, I've become more educated over the years about saddles, bridles and fitting the pony's equipment in general. I've spent countless paycheques to fiddle with various aspects of her equipment and finding equipment that fits and works for the two of us.

It's worth every cent too. A well fitting piece of equipment makes our job that much easier. A bad fitting piece of equipment will make any ride a living hell. 

Well fitting saddle is a basic necessity in any sport. However, it seems to be paramount in dressage due to the purposeful, physical development of the equine athlete. The dressage horse changes at every stage of development, to help with that growth, the saddle must change with it.


There are also a plethora of saddles out there, in an infinite amount of seat, tree and flocking combinations to suit tastes and needs.

First the basics: a saddle should be functional.

It should fit the horse and you. It should allow you to keep your position without fighting for it, and allow no restriction in the horse when moving. It should be stable without being static, and should fit the horse while in motion.

Trilogy Saddles has an excellent guide here.

Work with a qualified saddler. Sit in as many saddles as you physically can. Ask your fellow boarders (and your coach!) about theirs, and see if you can't sit and tryout. Take notes on what you felt when you rode in them. Jot the features you liked, and the features you didn't like. Jot what your horse liked and didn't like and how he reacted. If you can have the ride taped.

Educate yourself on flocking. Know the type of wool that is being used, whether it is a long fiber (better quality, doesn't pill), or short fiber (bad, pills and creates pressure points). If there isn't wool, what is inside that saddle? Foam? Air? Aunt Mildred's wig? How does it effect the horse?

Finally, take care of the investment. Clean regularly, condition frequently. Reflock and check the integrity of the tree yearly (more often if you fall off, or the horse has crashed on it).

Snow day!

Playing approved hookey from work never felt so cold! Due to the saddle being in for the reflock, we've been grounded until that glorious piece of black leather makes an expensive reappearance. Until then I'm taking full advantage of the two inches that fell on us last night:

And we're back

The saddle arrived Friday in a plain large, brown box that was lined with foam.

It was already opened by the boy, who probably knew I would tear open the box like an over-exuberant kid on Christmas.

At first blush, it looked way too narrow and I went into panic mode, finding my original tracings, matching them up with my flex tool and comparing the width. I even had nightmares about it running too narrow and Sinari coming up lame from the bad tracings.

Such is the life of a person who has a continually developing, hard-to-fit pony.

After my paranoia was sated after 10 hours of sleep, I took it to the local saddler and had her check it out. Vetted clean for soundness.

Then came the moment of truth, fitting it. I was itching to do it all day Saturday, but I had a few very welcomed company and it was delayed till the very end, but well worth the wait. By the time I opened my truck door, the smell of leather was heavy and heaven.

I threw it over the pony, and let it sit, ran my hands over it, under it, it fit at that point. I girthed it up, no girthy-ness (one of the best signs ever).

And then I girthed it up today with all the fittings and just a clean square pad and rode.

The ride itself was uneventful, Sinari is out of shape (as am I), and it was warm. I was more or less to see her reaction to it under saddle.

While she wasn't exactly forward (the saddle took my leg off), she was super soft in the bridle and deeply engaged, especially on what I consider her weaker side- the left. Lateral work is nice. Ride lasted about twenty minutes with her huffing towards the end.

The only thing I can pick on with the saddle is that it feels like I'm sitting on top instead of into the horse. This could be flocking issues, or the way the seat is designed (the twist) and I might invest in a ThinLine pad to help with adjusting/development issues.

Otherwise, no slipping, no sitting weird, no truly hard sides and no leaning.

Overall, I'm sold.

Halter gnomes

I've learned over the years from hard-to-catch ponies that preparation is half the battle. Mine aren't hard to catch, but they still wear their halters turning turn out.

Then again after being run down a few times or shoved past, the less you have to fiddle about, the better.

So when your in-training-to-become and FEI pony decides to go buck wild and then buck naked, loosing her halter in a large paddock just as the sun is setting, life gets interesting and you learn to make rope halters really fast.

I blame halter gnomes.

I swear every farm has one and is probably the cousin to the dryer-gnome who has a fetish for clean, warm socks.

My horses go out in their leather turn out halters, partly for the above mentioned reason and for various other concerns. One minor exception is May, who goes out without, but that's another story.

So after I put away the pony for the evening, I trekked back out to the now somewhat dark two or three acre paddock and begin the walk in 20 degree and falling weather.

I wasn't successful the first time.

Or the second.

But today in my morning trek, I found it. Perfectly intact, clip still clipped and not a seam broken. Whatever the halter gnome wanted with it, s/he had its way with it and left it for me to find.

And while I'm happy to have the turnout halter back, I wish they would be considerate and hang it up when they're done.