This message is from: Diana Calder <dcal...@gmail.com>
For saddle - we've had good luck with Australian saddles. One was an eBay purchase (maker unknown) that I pretty much got lucky with, fitwise. The other is a Down Under Longreach Endurance<http://www.downunderweb.com/store/Saddles_Aussie_DownUnder.html>. Down Under Saddlery http://www.downunderweb.com recommended a couple of options, based on the withers tracings that I faxed them. They will custom-fit but a standard fit turned out just fine for both my Fjords. We use both a breastcollar and a crupper, just in case, but I don't think either has ever actually had to "earn its keep". We use wool pads from Down Under with the saddles. We have Down Under's wool seat-savers on both saddles. The Longreach gets more use than the no-name because it's a bigger seat size and has been a better fit for both my dad and me in recent years but I could probably comfortably use the other one again. Both are leather but the Longreach is much lighter and easier to handle. The girth on it is different and buckles English-style. I love the security of Aussie saddles - I'm not a great rider by any means but I've never felt in any danger of coming out of the saddle during Donnie's ten-feet-sideways startle when a pheasant flies out of the fencerow into his face - if I'd been in a bareback pad during one of those, I'd have been on the ground. For bitless bridles - I've used a Nurtural Bitless Bridle with both of our Fjords a few times - one of our local carriage club members organized a demo and we bought one when we attended. Donnie went quite well in it during a time when he just wouldn't stop playing with (and getting his tongue over) a bit of any type. Once he got past that little phase, we didn't use the bitless again. We drive more than ride and it wasn't worth the hassle of getting permission to use it in driving classes and we didn't want to use something at home that we couldn't at a show. We just didn't see a big enough difference in bitless versus bitted to make it worthwhile. If you're interested, I'd be willing to sell it - it's basically like-new because it had so little usage (maybe 20-30 times?). On 16 June 2013 19:51, Rovena Kessinger <ro_k...@yahoo.com> wrote: > This message is from: Rovena Kessinger <ro_k...@yahoo.com> > > > I've been reading the saddle info. How about bridles? I want a bitless > one. > I have one of those cross-over ones that I converted to side-pull, but it > was > too small for my fjord's massive head. Does anybody use any kind of > bitless > bridles that works well and fits? I could just use a rope halter but I've > like to have a leather one. > > I'm not riding him yet. I have a treeless saddle that I think is going to > work. I have a bareback pad but the strap won't reach. > > Important FjordHorse List Links: > Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e > FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw > FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw FH_L Shirts: http://tinyurl.com/8yky94l
