I love getting a new saddle but hate trying to figure out the fit. As being in the horse world as anyone would know there are many opinions and little advice. Poor Whisper as loving and as devoted as she is to me. I have tried one too many wrong saddles on her.
Frustrated by poor performance (which is not her fault only my own), moving from a shit private farm to a better boarding stables. (All I can says is don't board out of someone's back yard. No one needs to know anyone else's business, married life, child rearing, religious views or other drama that closely.) Then moved to a new barn and had to begin training all over again. Got set up with an awesome trainer. She does horsemanship and riding training which is fantastic. It's not about the ribbons anymore, I have won a slue of those. It is however about the relationship with my horse. Equestrianism is an art form.I cared more about getting Whisper back to where she was when we boarded at Miramar Stables than anything else. In my first lesson with Karen I discovered that a lot of my problems reside in having the wrong tack. I sold my western Wintec because it wasn't very comfortable. Plus it was made of plastic. It seemed to do the job but I noticed a lot of changes in Whisper and thought I needed something different. Friend gave me a saddle which I liked but didn't properly fit. It's true what they say ignorance is bliss. To test a good saddle there are many things you need to do: Firstly is to feel how much contact your horses back has and by that I mean shoving your hand under that saddle getting to know your horse intimately by felling their back. Also you really need to ride in an arena, not on trail to get the true feeling of the seat. I didn't do any of those and I also did not do my homework.
Karen explained what I was looking for and what I needed to get the right fit. The saddle I had at the time was actually Full Quarter Horse Bars (FQHB) not Semi Quarter Horse Bars (SQHB). The saddle was also made for a quarter horse, not an Arab. What I needed was Arab bars. Like most, for a long time I had not said that I didn't understand this concept. because those who know in the horse world the green horn usually gets mocked. But with Karen I didn't feel like that would happen so I let her know I had no clue what was what. I mean I knew that one was bigger than the other but other than that I was clueless.
When I started lessons with my trainer Karen she did an initial assessment of my gear and showed me why the current saddle was not a good fit for Whisper. From there I went on a manhunt looking for the right fit. From my gathering you either go with a Circle Y or a Simco for Arab saddles because they had a good fit. Billy Cook is also another excellent saddle maker however out of my price range. So I looked online, called consignment shops and hunted tack down on
Tack Trader. In the mean time I rode in my Wintec 2000 English All purpose saddle and hauled the other western saddle to a local consignment shop.
In the meantime I had another session with Karen and we did saddle fitting. We tried n a Simco which she said has worked with a lot of her other Arabian clients.
A little side note here is that I would HIGHLY suggest that if you decided to hire the services of a trainer, in my own experience it is best to have a trainer who:
a) Trains in the seat and equitation you want to advance in.
b)Has knowledge of your horses breed. It does matter and they will know how to handle your Arabian, Saddlebred, Haflinger, Quarter Horse, Warmblood, Andalusian, Appaloosa whatever you choose as your flavor of poison. Because as the saying goes, what works on an Appy will not work on an Arab. Don't train with a Hunter Jumper barn if you want to Rein. It's practically Newtons law.
c) Go by reputation and word of mouth. It will be well worth your money.)
So Karen used her education and experience and put us in a Simco western saddle serial number 4035. Riding Whisper in that saddle had opened up a completely different experience for us. She could move her shoulders, was able to do a perfect shoulders in. I could feel the movement in my seat and I could execute the proper commands to get Whisper to do what I needed.Okay! This is what I was looking for! It was a little bit of a spiritual moment for me.
At that point I began my homework. I looked more closely at Simco's and their build. What was the dimensions of the tree to the seat to the weight and so forth.Once I knew what I was looking for I set off on a search. What I found and only because I have good luck and armed in knowledge in what I was looking for is a Simco Montego Western Saddle. They don't even make these anymore. Mine was new, never on a horse, premium condition and I paid $645.00 for it. Where did I find it? eBay. Would I suggest buy tack on eBay? No. Only go if you know what you are exactly looking for. Do not go to peruse. eBay's reputation for being a fleamarket exceeds themselves is far more than finding awesome deals. But miracles do happen.
I have to still test the saddle on Whisper. Because of the current el Nino weather. Ride time has been limited and I do not want to put my new saddle on a horse caked in horse poop and mud.
I will leave you with this every interesting nugget of info: I found a western saddle fitting
guide that has great information and also printable gullets to try out on your horse. I HIGHLY recommend that you take some time and check it out.
Ok almost midnight. Need to hang the spurs up and get to bed!
Good night all! I hope this information has helped! Please leave me a note and tell me how I did. ;-)
Happy Trails,
Michelle & Whisper!
