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Comment by Barbara Chapel on June 1, 2009 at 4:32pm

That is certainly great news about Nuke. So glad to hear.
I have talked to a Dressage teacher who is willing to take me on,(once my shoulder heals) to be my coach. She is very well known around here and has not only 30 yrs teaching experiece but the papers to prove it. I am excited to start under her wing. She is a friendly, great sense of humor and all around a talented woman. We clicked right away. She is pricer then most but I feel that she has the credentials that I wanted. Now, I am reading a book about Dressage by Walter zettl. Amazing! I saw a Dressage competition yesterday and was very impressed. I think I am hooked LOL!.

Comment by Jan Jollymour on May 31, 2009 at 8:05pm

Hi, ladies!

I thought I'd send along a little update on Nuke. Christa and I drove to the coast last Tuesday and picked him up. It was a long day, 5 hours down, an hour and a half there talking to the surgeon and going over his various protocols, and 5 hours home again. Nuke was very happy to see us, and kicked all the way home in the trailer as he usually does (not like the deathly quiet emergency trip we made to get him to the surgery). He's eating everything in sight, and is gaining weight every day. Today we clipped his legs etc., pulled his mane, and generally tidied him up so he looks like himself. He's handgrazed on lush pasture 2 hours per day in two sessions, and has so far managed to twice roll himself into the fence separating his tiny hospital paddock from the larger pasture. His hospital paddock is 4 times bigger than his stall, in which he never gets cast, but he's keeping me on my toes! I have to do a urine collection tomorrow for his next scheduled urinalysis, but his drinking has slowed down and his urine looks and smells more normal, so I think his kidney function is normalizing. He's back to spooking and being a general idiot while grazing, so he's feeling well and like himself.

Thanks to all of you for your support and interest!

Comment by Catherin McMillan on May 31, 2009 at 6:30pm

thanks Jan guess I knew you where talking about a western saddle but wasnt 100% sure

Comment by Shirley on May 30, 2009 at 10:55am

Jan makes a good point about the weight of saddles. The Crates was one of the lightest if not the lightest western saddle I found except the Bob Marshall but there is no weight for a tree with that. Another lady at my barn tried my Crates (among many other brands) and went out and bought one just like it in another color. She wanted a leather saddle rather then the fabric type which she'd bought cause they were cheap and light weight. She has fibromyalgia but has no problem with the weight of the Crates. Weight is a big deal for many people.

Comment by Shirley on May 30, 2009 at 10:47am

The Crates saddle has a different tree then most other western saddles. I am pretty sure that the saddle fitting lady (that sold many brands) said that the Crates tree is designed to distribute the weight also. If anyone is interested they should double check. I use a sheepskin cush cause my saddle seat is smooth leather and I feel less slip with the sheepskin plus the padding is extra comfy. Works great for me.
Bob Marshal also has the treeless line. I had one and loved it cause I could feel everything the horse was doing...extremely close contact. I sold it for the same reason. After riding with the nice equitation seat in my show saddle I liked that better and realized that feeling everything my horse did was not helping my nervousness when riding. It was about as close to bareback as you can get except for the bareback pads. I don't think those are safe unless you are a very experienced, with a really good seat. Try to keep your saddle shopping fun, it can get confusing with soooo many good options out there and there are many diverse preferences for various reasons. If you get a group of 10 people together, I doubt you'd find many dublicated saddles. I brought home several to try before I actually purchased my Crates.

Comment by Jan Jollymour on May 30, 2009 at 10:16am

Hi, Catherin:

Sorry - I grew up on a cattle ranch in the BC southern interior, so I made an assumption which Is shouldn't have made! I mean what many people would call a "western saddle". An Australian stock saddle has the same problem as most English saddles - the rider's weight is concentrated on a small area, rather than being distributed over a large area. Endurance saddles are constructed so that the weight-bearing surface of the saddle is larger too, with the same results as a stock saddle and without so much size/weight being added by the saddle.

Comment by Catherin McMillan on May 30, 2009 at 4:45am

are you talking about an australian stock saddle Jan??? or an american style saddle. bit confused as to me a stock saddle it the aussie version, which is a great saddle for teaching kids to ride in with the big knee pads to help old them in

Comment by Jan Jollymour on May 29, 2009 at 9:43pm

I have to say that if you're up for really long trail rides nothing much beats a stock saddle. Your weight is distributed over a great deal more back muscle, and the use of a rear cinch and breastplate keeps things where they belong. There's no question in my mind that it's much more comfortable for your horse in the long term. That said, you couldn't pay me to spend a day in a stock saddle again without a seat saver! I find my well padded custom made (they're no more expensive than a good dressage saddle off the rack) so comfortable I don't want to ride in anything else.

I think Eileen's trooper style saddle is accomplishing the same thing without the added leather in the skirt etc. There's probably a lot more air flow as well, keeping backs cooler.

As I said in the saddle pad discussion, I use a Grooma AiRider pad, and they come in squares/rectangles for use with western saddles. They really help to keep horses' backs cool, and they work like a gel pad for riders - dual benefits!

Comment by Eileen on May 29, 2009 at 7:53pm

If you are thinking western maybe it would be worth your while to try a cut back western used for barrel racing mostly, but I am thinking that the weight would be easier for you to lift. The weight issue is one of the reasons that I opted for the trooper style saddle. Much lighter in weight than the huge heavy typical western saddles.

Comment by Horsey Heather on May 29, 2009 at 4:21pm

I am also interested in this saddle discussion. I have always ridden English and currently trail ride in my dressage saddle. It is a Tristan which is a very close contact...not all the extra padding some dressage saddles have. As my bones get older, I am thinking a western saddle might be more comfy for the trail. My worry is lifting one and placing it on the horse's back, they are so heavy! Fortunately I have a small horse, but he has a short back. I tried a synthetic one...and he ended up bucking every time we trotted. Guess the saddle did not suit him, as stopping is the issue, never going. Any tips would be appreciated.

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