>>Silver dapple, Gypsy Vanner<<< Celeste Huston's ranch is near me & I have seen this horse out in pasture. He sure is a head turner!! Apparently his color is quite rare & sought after according to one of my clients who has a Vanner. He looked as wide as a table top & 15h+ to boot. I'll bet there aren't too many saddles besides the Sensation & maybe the Freeform that would let a rider be comfy on that back with a such a wide barrel. When I have gone by her place, I see a lot of the horses being longed & driven, but haven't I seen one under saddle yet.
Oe of my clients here in the Valley has a pinto Gypsy Vanner she imported sight unseen from Ireland. Even though Brian was 14.2h, he was soooo verrry wide that her 6'2", young, very fit male horse trainer had difficulty riding him for any length of time even in the Sensation. I tried to just sit on him once to see what they were experiencing and believe me, I wouldn't be trying that again soon. He was so wide & flat from side to side that you could actually set a dinner for two on his back with room to spare...proably the widest horse I've ever fit for a saddle. I do have a friend who is a late 30ish yoga instructor who finds her Gypsy Vanner comfortable in a Torsion though, so maybe not many of the breed are as wide as the silver dapple or Brian. Kaaren
