This message is from: laura fisher <laura_fishe...@hotmail.com> Dear DeeAnna,
Thank you for your response. I did not know there were that many trees. Considering the breadth of them I am afraid I would have to travel the entire United States, with my horse in tow, to find a saddle that would fit me and my horse. I printed your reply for future reference. Out in the boon docks as I am, up until I became active on the internet,( yuck) I have had to rely on personal experience. (or my reaching out to a forum). My experience with saddles, is with dressage saddles, and circle y flex 's ( and other saddles over the years-no named). I thought that a fjord might have special needs because unlike any other horse I have ridden- my mare has a trot that goes with a break-neck -like speed I have never seen or experienced... it feels like I am going to topple over her while she tries not to canter. I would have to really exaggerate my position backwards to not move forward. I have owned horses since I was a kid and I hope I have improved from the fetal position by now, especially with all those darn dressage lessons. I would say I am an intermediate rider. I have an independent seat. I do not know much about western saddle padding, having moved out here from the east coast, but in the dressage and three day event barn I boarded in, I saw many kinds of padding placement to compensate for saddle and rider. In the western world I have seen what is called a wither pad. I assumed it was to raise the saddle off the withers. I could be wrong because I never asked anybody I just read the label. I guess I was really asking whether anyone else experienced this, and if they had what did they do. I do not mean to hurt my horse, but you are right, done poorly any saddle /rider combination if not fit right, can go badly. I didn't give it a thought that it would go badly because I know how to fit a saddle. But I have never owned a fjord. If people are telling me there is no anatomical difference between a fjord and other "horses" then I will toss my lists of questions into the air and figure she is like any other horse. I was just trying to explore and come up with a solution to a wonderful animal that behaves and handles differently. She is fantastic! Otherwise, I will spend however long it takes me to get her supple enough to make clean trot /canter transitions and hope that will make the problem go away. But in the meantime, on the trail, with other horses that may get her excited, I was hoping I could position the saddle ( or buy a saddle) so that I could ride out that trot as I would any other horses I have owned: Arab, quarter horses, appy/draft, morgan, - and feel more comfortable in the saddle, riding at what might potentially be a break neck trotting speed. Safety stops aside...Accidents do happen. Happy trails :) Sincerely, Laura ;) > Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2009 18:39:42 -0500 > From: coy...@acrec.com > To: fjordhorse@angus.mystery.com > Subject: Re: Laura: another question > > This message is from: "coy...@acrec.com" <coy...@acrec.com> > > Saddles with different tree widths don't necessarily look especially > different. And even if you could see the difference from the front or > back in a photo, that doesn't tell you anything about the fit in the > middle of the saddle. Trained hands are required to correctly evaluate > saddle fit. > > And, on that note, it's not "regular" tree vs. full quarter horse bars. > The term "regular" is not used in the saddle industry, as far as I am > aware. There are Arab trees, full quarter horse bars, semi quarter horse > bars, draft trees, wide trees, extra wide trees, etc. -- no standardized > terminology and no standardized tree shapes. You have to evaluate the > fit of a particular tree on your specific horse, rather than trust to > the names. > > > Also, considering the regular bar saddle fits, can a wedge be put in front... > > Think about it -- you have a pair of shoes that fit great. If the shoes > fit without an insole, they fit WITHOUT THE INSOLE. Pretty much the same > for a saddle. Yes, you can pad a too big saddle to fit better, but it > makes no sense to put more padding under a "just right" or too small saddle. > > If you feel like you are falling forward, saddle fit might ... or might > not ... be the problem. Assuming it's the saddle -- look at where your > saddle is placed -- too far back perhaps? The low part of the seat > should be about where the lowest part of the horse's back is. > > Is the saddle the right size for you? If the seat is too big or too > small or if the shape is not right for your anatomy, that can affect how > you sit. > > Another issue is stirrup placement -- they might be placed incorrectly > for you. Stirrup placement is usually fixed and probably won't be > something that you can change. > > Going away from saddle issues, have someone evaluate your posture in the > saddle -- do you sit in your saddle like you do in a chair? Do you curl > your body forward due to inexperience and tension? If so, your posture > is probably at fault. Ears, shoulder, hips and heels should all be in a > line. > > If you are an inexperienced rider, it's a pretty safe bet that some -- > and maybe most -- of your "falling forward" feeling is coming from your > posture. A good instructor and time in the saddle are the best fix for > this issue. > > --DeeAnna > > Important FjordHorse List Links: > Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e > FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw > Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/171222986/direct/01/ Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
