This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Beth Pulsifer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I'm a newcomer to the Fjord world and I think I'm getting hooked...:)
Funny how that happens! > I need some information on saddle fit.. I have a wide tree dressage > saddle and hoped it would fit my new Fjord mare [...] > it looked like it sat just perfect [...] However when I > lunged her in it it rode way up on her neck. [...] She > doesn't have much for withers... Yup, sounds like a Fjord, alright. My first equine was a donkey, which gave me a good foundation for addressing the conformational challenges that Fjords can present. In the donkey and mule world, it is quite common for saddles to have either a crupper or breeching, to keep the saddle from drifting forward over the withers onto the neck. The problem is wide ribs, and no withers---too often if the saddle does stay in place, it's because the tree "catches" on the animal's shoulderblades---not good. I added cruppers to all 3 of the saddles that I had for my Fjords (the Western one required having a saddlemaker add a D to attach the crupper to; the 2 OrthoFlex hybrids each came with a D for a crupper). We rode in steep country a lot, and our geldings seemed to appreciate having their saddles "tied down" in back, so they stayed where they belonged. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
