Okay, so you all know Freya and her saddle problems. I'm looking down every route now, and this little option is a possibility, just for short term, but I wanted to know if anyone else had any experience with these... I can ride Freya bareback, with absolutely no fuss from her, so maybe this is the way to go?? However, I don't think the judges would be too impressed with me if I entered any showing or dressage classes in one of these.... And of course.. No knee roll. Which I need for jumping etc. So yeah. Any info on these would be greatly appreciated. They look mighty comfortable!!
Anna x
25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First)
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 09 Jul 2013 : 07:41:12 AM Jackie - LOL!
Martha and Kath, I've tried a non slip pad, and didn't make any difference to Freya... Martha, If you think something isn't right, I would imagine you're right, you're the one who rides her and knows her. Gut instinct is worth a lot more than credentials on a piece of paper. They don't ride our horses, so don't feel the way they go. I know they are Masters / professionals, before someone jumps on me for that... But I think mine has proved that, that doesn't always give the exact results xxx
martha615
Posted - 09 Jul 2013 : 07:35:07 AM Kath,
Thanks for the suggestion. A non-slip pad is a good idea, though I first better make sure the saddle really fits. Perhaps my saddle is fine....I am just skeptical!
jackiedo
Posted - 09 Jul 2013 : 06:21:09 AM well, it seems to come highly recommended - if this guy can't get it right who can? quote from web An innovation engineered by CHRIST.
Not in a stressy way. We can do anything with her, but she does worry about little things. She hates tractors, buses, big lorries.... But we avoid those quite easily.. She likes to eat. If she has nothing to eat, or you have nothing to give her when you enter her field, be prepared to flee for your life.
No, I would say it is not stress related. Just back related. Keep her warm, and in work and we are all good. When she tore her annular ligament, the vets didn't know what the best course of action would be. Box rest isn't good for her, she gets stiff after three days, but she had to stay still. So Complete box rest for one week, then box rest with one short walk midday for 5 minutes of grazing, and then she was allowed out as much as she liked [in hand of course] for grazing... So I think we did 20 minutes/half an hour morning midday and evening for three weeks, then we could get back on her all being well. Got back on her, and because it was a little chilly and she hadn't been out for so long, She has me off within 30 seconds. Planted, back came up and rocketed skyward. Off I came, landed hard enough to wind me [and landed on my poor poor tail bone... again!] and she let me back on and was then fine. That was mid March, so that was the last time she had an attack. I'd quite like to keep it that way! Her back does come up when we get on, not every time, and not always weather dependent, but she broke her back!! Not saddle related or anything we know for sure. It just takes her 3 minutes or so to chill, and then she's fine. She used to have cortaflex, but now she's on in the pink senior, hi-fi lite, garlic and a lo cal feed I can't remember right now. But no cereals as you said!
saddlebred
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 11:58:38 AM Yes, been there done all of that. Mine used to tie up when her back got wet so I always rode her in a waterproof rain sheet and kept her back dry at all times
Bits of her have been sent to Bristol and Liverpool with all the biopsy's etc. It makes you paranoid because it is so painful for them and Jazz's results were off the scale as well!
Anyway, (touches would frantically). Our pattern seems to have been broken and I can treat her like a "normal" horse now. No attack for 4 years and I only ride a couple of times a week so it would show up if still there. I am convinced the Selenevite and electrolyte salts have been the difference. She is also on just a handful of Stamm30 and hifi light so that she has no cereals in her feed at all.
Is your horse highly strung? It is meant to be stress related. Jazz is a stressed Eric :) yet strangely all of her attacks have happened at home - usually related to her back getting wet or seeing a gelding that she thought was sexy!
I hope your horse grows out of it. Horrible condition.
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 11:53:08 AM I had to ring them yesterday to say that myself and Kelly [friend who has *cough*obese*cough* Welsh BxC] will not be needing them back out. She asked why, and I said, you can't find me a new saddle and told me mine didn't fit Freya properly, but that it 'would do'. Not good enough!! She wasn't impressed and told me so, but equally, I've filed a complaint to the Master Saddlers Guild of East Anglia. The way myself and Kelly were treated was not professional, nor were her comments about Kelly's size. Kelly is 5ft9 and Saffi [fat welsh] is 12.3hh. She has had him since she was 11, and will never part with him! As Welsh ponies go, he is really too long for his breed, but rides bigger, is a weight carrier, and they manage rather well together. Kelly was told she was being cruel and Saffi would do better with a much smaller rider. We were then charged £32.50 for a 'check'. I was told my saddle was too big for Freya, but would do, and Kelly was told hers is too narrow for him, but if he isn't complaining, then why splash out and buy a new one? Just so unimpressed with the way she conducted herself.
What I don't understand is how she can do that and then make a secondary appointment for us both, and then do the same thing again?? So I cancelled and explained myself without getting cross or losing my cool. Antonia Wills is coming out to us both next week, so hoping that she will be able to help us! Lets hope she knows how to speak to her clients!!
Pop
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 11:30:58 AM Shame about your Saddle Fitters black eye AnnaMaisy.
(oops sorry, I think I'm seeing into the future and that 'eye' hasn't happened yet, but it will, no doubt there lol)
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 10:51:59 AM Freya had a gel pad riser, back when we were doing work, and it did seem to stop the saddle from sliding forward, you're right... Not sure how far we would all get trying to put cruppers on! I mentioned the width of her spine to my saddle fitter [EX saddle fitter now] and she told me I basically didn't know what I was talking about. She also told me that Freya was looking rather thin. She isn't. She's covered and a little bit soft now, but she is definitely not skinny!!
kath
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 10:36:17 AM Something else to beware of is gullet width as Arabs had such wide spinal processes - i have fallen foul of this before!
Martha, re saddle slipping. I used to have the same problem with Gus before he lost a lot of weight (ie when he was a tubby baby!). I used a gel pad under the saddle which stopped it slipping - it was from Shires and was only about 15-20 quid. I was at the point of putting a crupper on him (!) but this solved our issues
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 10:27:28 AM No better than my last night out, went off to a village pub on Sunday evening and ended up helping in the garden skinning rabbits. I'm good at it apparently... But maybe one too many ports left me feeling rather ill LOL!! [Not made up, somehow becomes a regular occurrence in our villages... And being a country bumpkin is good fun!]
Pop
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 10:08:28 AM Oh yes, terrible after a night out. The other night I was out on the town, Tea and Biscuits and a talk on 'Carp fishing for Beginners' and I was done in
(P.S. didn't really, I made that up)
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 09:30:33 AM Lol, Pop, I know that feeling! Also come after a night out!! xx
Pop
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 08:42:05 AM I get it, sometimes Tuesdays as well, can be Wednesdays or Thursday. Oh yes, and Fridays as well
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 05 Jul 2013 : 08:29:01 AM How interesting that you have experience with the wonderful Azurtoria as well. Splash had an accident jumping with myself about 4 years ago now, resulting in a rotational fall. Fortunately, we both walked away, but about 6 months later and countless referrals, we got Splash referred to Queen's Royal Veterinary Hospital in Cambridge, and upon further examination, they discovered she has broken two vertebrae and although it had healed up fine, it had left her with the tendon running along the centre of the spine weaker and thinner than before the accident. They also did two muscle biopsies because she had strange levels of amino acids. Not the usual number expected before and after work. First time results came back, the vets were shocked, and the second time they were better but not normal, and then the third, they were fine... The fourth, they were awful again. We were called in and we discussed her problems, and it was only when my DAD [tries to be horsey for me and mum] mentioned the Hunters feeling poorly after a weekend hunting did the ball drop. Monday Morning Sickness... The link for Splash is weather. 1st Results - Wet and Windy, 2nd Results - Warm but Windy, 3rd Results - Hot but no wind and 4th Results - Wet and Windy again. Azurtoria, but the hot blood type, presumably the same as Arabs, TBs, Warmbloods, KWPNS get. Which is why they didn't pick up on it. They had been looking for the type of results Draft horses would give. Anyway, hers is managed by daily work, at least an hour, and wearing a rug at all times if it is under 17 degrees Celsius. And then she has her fly sheet on anyway. Keeping her back warm helps so much, but also, no sugar, and restricted grazing. Warm her up for at least 20 minutes in walk before doing anything, and cool her down extra well in cooler weather. The winter is the worst for her, Hot towels on her back for ten minutes, then tack up and replace them, then wrapped up in two exercise sheets during our ride. POOR PONY!!
Sorry, I know I went off on one, but we don't know anyone else who knows the joys of Monday Morning Sickness!!
Anna xx
saddlebred
Posted - 04 Jul 2013 : 9:01:31 PM Hi Annamaisy Paul Jones is a make of Saddle - the Paul Jones saddle company is based in Walsall, West Midlands.
I only mentioned it because my saddler has been in business for nearly 50 years and she says that this is the saddle that she uses for difficult to fit short backed horses.
Interestingly Jazz suffered from Azoturia as well (actually termed Chronic Exertional Rhabdomyolysis). She hasn't now had an attack for 4 years. I give her a scoop of Selevite E and a scoop of Electrosalts every day.
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 04 Jul 2013 : 2:03:04 PM Fine with me! I'm a leather snob lol xx
zaminda1
Posted - 04 Jul 2013 : 1:57:46 PM One point to consider is I have known a few difficult to fit arabs, and not a single one of those is able to wear a wintec!! The shape just wasn't right. Thats how I ended up with a thorowgood, as did my friend. She also has a strada though. She has had the mare 11 years, and has had probably twice as many saddles!!
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 04 Jul 2013 : 1:38:45 PM Martha... My saddle is too narrow at the withers. But not further along the back. When I look at the gullet, it is very narrow - I can't fit my fist in between the front part of the gullet, and on a narrow saddle I can?? Freya's Ideal is a Medium Narrow. So either it has been so well used it has given? Can that happen on an old tree?? I don't know, I'm not a saddler, but I might become one after all this just so I can help other poor folk!! Seriously considering it!
I've contacted Antonia Wills, as she can do made to measure, stocks all types and models, and is local to me. After that [if we don't find anything] I'll be following up on an email to Lavinia too.
I've still got my fingers crossed for wither the Bates pony, Bates caprilli or Kent and Masters Teen saddle. Maybe it's optimistic of me, but there you go! xx
martha615
Posted - 04 Jul 2013 : 12:12:49 PM I agree with what Judith is saying -- the angle isn't the only thing (if it were, we wouldn't need saddlers!).
Also, you have to look at the length of the saddle. Some horses get much winder toward the back of the saddle and the gullet may or may not be wide enough toward the back. The shape of the back of the saddle is also very important.
Can i just say I am similarly FED UP with my saddle problems with Esme! Everything slips! My Sensation (treeless) still slipped no matter what I did with a girth, and I tried four. I can ride my welsh in it with any of those girths, but my arab in none of them.
Now, my Ideal doesn't seem so "ideal". It has dropped since I first bought it and the saddle can come out and reflock it -- that's normal enough -- but I think it is too narrow at her wither and I bet I end up selling it. Do you hear the smell of money burning? That would be my money...
I just sent a request to Lavinia Mitchell to come assess this horse for a saddle. It isn't that I think my current saddler is incompetent at all, only that we may have to think out of the box on this.
If anyone wants a nice 17.5" wide fit Ideal GP saddle that is almost new (brown leather) there may be one for sale soon through me.....
PS. as some of you know I had a serious fall a few months ago -- when I looked up from the ground I saw that Esme's saddle was practically under her. I wonder if the saddle began slipping and that is why she spooked??? I can't remember now. Anyway, this stuff is important.
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 03 Jul 2013 : 08:38:57 AM Splash is in a normal saddle no interchangeable anything lol, Wide fit, and although she does come up and down in weight, she doesn't change shape on her template, and when it needs anything doing to it, a lovely lady from Barnsby comes out to see her. I guess we've just been lucky with her!!
Judith S
Posted - 03 Jul 2013 : 08:35:49 AM For a big-shouldered horse the interchangeable gullets can be limited as they only adjust the angle, not the overall width which is what you need.
AnnaMaisy25
Posted - 03 Jul 2013 : 08:16:01 AM I've never heard of Paul Jones, anyone know where he is based? Or is it just a make of saddle, rather than an actual person? Splash is an 'off the rack' pony, although she takes a 17.5" deep seat Barnsby GP, and she is only 14.1 and a cob, and short coupled.... Her shoulders are enormous. We have always been lucky with her, but the shoulders are what causes her problems. The fitter she gets, the more muscle she gains, then the harder we have to work her... And then she gets fitter. It's an impossible circle. She has 'hot blood Azurtoria'. So she must be exercised for at least an hour everyday, and she isn't a plod. Completely off topic, I know, but just amazes me that she can wear any saddle even though she has had so many problems. Thanks Saddlebred, I'll be looking them up! xx
saddlebred
Posted - 02 Jul 2013 : 8:16:40 PM Ive just looked my saddle up and it is Paul Jones. They make their saddles on the premises in Walsall and they advertise about 12 different types and say that they can do a bespoke service. It might be worth giving them a ring?
My saddler says that the Paul Jones is the best one for fitting close coupled horses. Mine was about £600 but that was 4 or 5 years ago!
good luck with whatever you decide. It is such a lovely feeling when you finally get one that fits a difficult shape. My other two girls can wear "off the peg" so I found it a bit of shock to have so much difficulty with Jazz and because she is highly strung the pinching created behavioural problems as well. No pinching = very happy Jazz and no issues now :)
saddlebred
Posted - 02 Jul 2013 : 8:08:51 PM My short coupled, no withered, wide PBA ended up in a Peter Jones/Paul Jones GP which has been fab and wasn't overly expensive.
I would say that your saddler is taking liberties though. My saddler always leaves me with 4 or 5 to try for as many weeks as I want. She has also done straight swaps for me when they no longer fit so I have never lost any money on all my various saddles.
I guess there aren't that many genuine people around these day :(
Judith S
Posted - 02 Jul 2013 : 7:00:02 PM
Originally posted by SuziQ
I would also avoid cair as it isnt adjustable and for young ponies you can end uop with it breaching..its a total gimmick..'riding on air'!
Precisely - once air is enclosed and compressed it acts exactly like a solid.
[Not made up, somehow becomes a regular occurrence in our villages... And being a country bumpkin is good fun!]
