Last Saturday, after reflecting on how good it felt to ride in my Crosby again I decided to ask Shannon if she would let me use my dressage saddle on Cider.  I had used my dressage saddle on Cider many years ago, before I got my Wintec Wide and EZ-Fit saddles.  Cider and I were only making teeny-tiny improvements during our rides the last few months and I was getting frustrated while Cider essentially plodded around the ring.  Shannon and I discussed this a little, and remembering our long ago rides, Shannon was quite willing for me to try this saddle again.

I found my dressage saddle one day consigned at a feed store.  I saw it, saw the wrinkles in the saddle flap and the wearing on the jockeys (the little flap over the stirrup bar), walked away, walked back and started looking under the flap, saw GERMANY, asked the price ($100 USD), looked in my pocket and walked out of the feed store with one German leather dressage saddle and no money in my pocket.  When I cleaned it I noticed that the front billet straps had to be re-stitched, I got that done, and ended up with my very own German dressage saddle for $115 USD!  Since I don’t ride dressage, don’t show and since the creases in the calf-leather covered flaps would not be under my knees, I was pleased even if I had never heard of the brand--Sattlerei beim Kloster Schontal.  As for its width it has a “31” stamped on the billet guard after the serial number, and while it may not be a true hoop tree it seems to fit the wide horses better than my jumping saddles with normal English saddle trees.  Even though it may not be wide enough for the wide horses at Shannon’s farm, when I use the Corrector pad with it the horses seem to find it somewhat acceptable.  So I cleaned my dressage saddle and put my third pair of double-offset Prussian sided stirrups on it, figuring that until it got cool enough for my FITS full seat breeches I needed every bit of extra security I could get.  I dug out an old 44” mohair string girth, since the girth stretches some and the dressage saddle has LONG billet straps with lots of holes I figured it would work out, and brushed off the 18” Corrector I use at Shannon’s stable.  Shannon saddled Cider, tightened the girth (yeah, the girth fit!) and I got up on Cider.

The first few steps of the walk I knew something was different.  My old Cider, the energizer bunny was back!  She strode off at the walk, I hardly had to use my legs to keep her going, and she seemed to be less on her forehand.  Shannon told me that Cider looked MUCH happier and was striding out smoothly; head up, and with her ears forward.  Now technically my dressage saddle fits Cider A LOT WORSE than my EZ-Fit treeless saddle does (the EZ-Fit pommel molds itself to the horse), but Cider did not care, with every step she declared how happy she was to be carrying me in a real English saddle again.  She sprang into her trot, I did not have to use my legs to keep her in the trot, her back stayed supple, and I had so much fun riding her.  Quite the difference from the low impulse slogs she has been giving me, where I had to use leg, leg, leg to keep her going.  The saddle did shift a bit to one side but I had no problem re-centering it, adjusted a stirrup, concentrated on my side-to-side balance and I had no further problems.  Shannon reminded me that Cider moves according to the security of her rider, and with a saddle flap under my calves and my double offset stirrups I was a lot more secure than I had been in the EZ-Fit saddle.  Cider, Shannon and I were all happy.

As Shannon drove me home we discussed my ride, and then I asked Shannon if she minded me just riding Cider with my dressage saddle.  Shannon said that would be fine, I checked that Shannon has good balance, and when I got home I went into my house and essentially gave Shannon my EZ-Fit saddle, the pads, the inserts for the pads, and all my dressage girths, reserving the right to borrow it if I ever ran into a horse with a flat table back.  I even let her have the sheepskin seat saver and the rolled leather grab strap.  Back long ago when I learned I had MS my first thought was that maybe I should try side-saddle for the added security.  But then I remembered that the prime requirement for a side-saddle rider is good balance or the horse’s back suffers severely, and since my faulty balance would not improve I could not ride side-saddle.  I am now adding treeless saddles to the list of saddles that require good balance, the type of balance I don’t have, and from now on I am going to try and ride just in a regular saddle with a tree.

For my lessons I’ve asked Debbie to let me ride Tilly so I can work on my canter, and I told Debbie I did not mind if she rode Tercel while teaching me.  So I got my Crosby Wide Front saddle out, brushed off my 17” Corrector, and dug out my Light Rider bitless bridle so I could ride with my smooth reins instead of the laced reins Debbie has on her Light Rider bitless bridle.  I had gotten some sheepskin ear plugs for Tercel, Debbie put them in but Tercel did NOT like them, put his ears back and after a minute shook one of them out.  Debbie took the other one out and we put the ear bonnet on instead, obviously I have a lot of work ahead of me to get Tercel accepting of ear plugs.  Debbie had no further problems with Tercel.  We went out to the ring, and I felt so confident with Tilly standing still for mounting that I got up on her by myself, one of the advantages of riding an elderly been-there-done-that lesson horse.  Debbie and I walked our horses around the ring for a few minutes, and then I signaled Tilly that I wanted a canter.  After a few strides of “are you SURE?” Tilly gave me a canter on the correct lead.  I kept the canter short, since I had no trouble sitting it I did not have to “get my seat” on her at the canter, but I did have to practice the strike-off more.  So I cantered Tilly 4 more times and she gave me the counter canter only once.  I did have a challenge in keeping her in a canter since, as any self-respecting beginner’s horse, Tilly expects me to ride her properly before she gives me everything I want.  I got tired, ended my ride, and the next morning discovered I had a few muscles in my buttocks that I had forgotten existed in those long years of never sitting at the canter.  I will have to practice the canter a lot more, I want to get where I can influence the canter instead of just riding it.  Like many things I used to be able to do this, I just have to work at it until my body gets it again. 

Friday I got to ride Mia in my Crosby Wide Front.  At no time did Mia cough, and she looks and acts more alert and happier with her life.  I am still just walking her, but I started asking her to extend her walk some.  She responded, and during these more extended walks something absolutely wonderful happened to me, in my Crosby saddle that fits me like a glove, I had my seat properly forward in the saddle, I could sit or go into two-point without any effort, and I was moving WITH Mia, feeling so totally ready for anything she could deal out.  Yeah, I know, I was just walking, but I have not felt this secure walking in years.  In my Stubben, my dressage saddle, the Wintecs and the EZ-Fit saddle I always feel somewhat behind the motion of the horse and that makes my Forward Seat weaker.  On Friday I would not have freaked out if Mia had taken it into her head to swerve and jump over a low jump, a big change since every time one of the horses I ride is aimed at a jump (a really low jump) I feel insecure until we are no longer headed toward the jump.  It felt SO GOOD to get it right, just like I was thirty-five years younger and still able to jump.

It made me feel bold.  Too bad my body won’t cooperate for truly bold riding.

Have a great ride!

Jackie Cochran