Has a few months passed me by or something because I could swear I woke up this morning to summer!I spent most of the day in my t-shirt it was warm and sunny thought I'd died and gone to heaven:0
Roped my poor old mum in to help me have a good old turf out at the farm...well it did mean the GSD could run around to his hearts content with his mate Buster,who BTW is lying beside me wrecked from it all:)))
We started by clearing my feed/storage area restacking my shavings,sweeping the floor and scrubbing all my feed bins etc.Then poo picked flled up the water bath in the field,inbetween throwing sticks for dogs,I tacked AliG up while my mum filled haynets.
I rode AliG in the school while my mum sat in the sun and watch.He was very good and although he 'tried' to act distracted at the kids flying around on the quad I even more determindly insisted he pay attention,which he did!We had a nice little canter towards the end im working on this a bit every time as I find his canter so bouncy in comparison to Polo's im not sitting it very well.
We only did about 20mins but he was pretty sweaty at the end which is hardly suprising with the unexpected heat and him still with a heavy winter coat.
I then took Polo for a hack up the lane with my dogs intow just really to see if he felt any different(I know impatient arent!) and left my mum the task of emptying out the storage box in Polo's stable and hunt for a girth I borrowed from M and forgot to return.He didnt look happy to be tacked up which is a sign he's not feeling great but walked okay and managed to contained his anxiety when the kids flew up the lane on the quad.
Im now going to go off on a tangent here to see if putting thoughts out 'there' will help me make my decision..SO I tried them both in the treed saddle I bought with Ali.It was a nice fit on Ali which is why I bought it in the first place and 'looked' a decent fit on Polo today(its one of those saddles that looks like it will fit a wide range of horse's if that makes sense),incase your wondering I switched to the Fhoenix on Ali when he had one of his little episodes which we now know was caused by riding with scowlie Ellie:).
Im in a bit of a saddle quandary as at the momment I have 3 saddles which virtually add up to £3000's worth of tack.Im wanting to sell the Fhoenix and buy the new Vogue when it comes out as I think its a much better design,hence why I wanted to see how Ali would go back in the treed. I now feel comfortable selling the Fhoenix and putting the money towards the Vogue.
But this will still leave me with the WOW and the treed saddle which seems a bit excessive.
Polo will let you know if he doesnt like a saddle straight away so the treed appeared to get the thumbs up from him.He seemed to develop issues with the Fhoenix last year,scowling when tacked up,very slight amount of atrophy on one side. I had his back checked several times and all was fine there.This behaviour hasnt gone away while using the WOW so im now wondering if he had some niggles going on last summer causing the atrophy that are unrelated to the saddle but he related to discomfort when being ridden?Hope this is making sense:))))
So im 100% decided to sell the fhoenix and get a Vogue knowing Ali is happy in the treed in the mean time but is it worth me keeping the WOW when Polo's probably going to be doing less work now and I could probably use the treed and Vogue on both of them,WOW nowhere near to fitting Ali and probably never will.
I will get the fitter out to double check the treed saddle before I commit to selling anything first....if that hasnt totally confused i'd love to hear what 'you' guys would do.
8 comments:
Oh, dear. I will be useless on this. I have been riding in an Ansur for nearly 8 years now and wouldn't even consider using a treed saddle on my horses.
That being said, I also am and Ansur rep and have found one or two horses that do not like treeless saddles. My theory is that they do not like the extra movement the saddles afford and need more stability from a treed saddle.
I am inclined to tell you to go with your "gut" instinct as to which saddle is best for each horse. I know it may seem expensive, but keep your horses'welfare well ahead of your pocketbook's.
nothing to suggest, nicola, save that 3 saddles is probably too many for two horses :-). you may of course find that polo likes the vogue as well, in which case you could go down to one saddle....
I'd never use a fixed tree saddle again, personally. But most people do, so obviously it's an option. Do you know that you can swap the panels on the WOW for shorter ones, even with a longer seat? So if his back is too short for it at the moment, that should sort it out. Don't underestimate how much he could change as he grows - there's no guarantee the fixed tree will still fit him in a few months.
We've had great weather too!
C
Oh gwad in more of a quandary now!
Its not so much about saving money Jean its more the fact I hate having 'stuff' lying around not getting used..especially when its expensive stuff:))
Three saddle's just seems silly for two horse's just a case of deciding which one's to keep?
The trouble with the Wow Caroline is it would probably need a new head plate then a shorter seat cos he's pretty short backed and then that would involve changing it all over everytime I use it on each of them.Pretty expensive and time consuming!
I rode Polo in a treed saddle for most of his life and he never had a bad back(I just hated the bloody thing)so I wouldnt rule one out.
The reason I was thinking of keeping the treed was as a 2nd saddle the main saddle would be the Vogue which is treeless.So if the treed doesnt fit Ali in 6months it wouldnt be a problem.It is a hand made saddle specifically for the Iberian shape so its not what I'd call a bog standard treed saddle...and its very comfortable!
Im trying to cover all options in my brain and not rule anything out.If I just had Ali to think about the WOW would go and I'd use the treed until I sell the Fhoenix and the Vogue comes out,he clearly likes the treeless.BTW the reason I want to sell the fhoenix now is cos I think when the Vogue is out there will be a flood of fhoenix's on the market which will reduce their value!
If i just had Polo to consider its a bit more complicated,he goes ok in all the saddles but has this attitude when tacking up which is why I bought the WOW.BUT he still gripes on so is the WOW any better?I just dont know..... im starting to go dizzy:)))
the vogue IS out .....so far, i think the fhoenix is still holding it's price - how long that will continue is an interesting thought. i still wish i'd waited a year...
OH I didnt realise Claire its the 17inch I 'think' I want so it that one ready?
Do you know if Muriel has them..does she come out?I'd like to try both size's on Ali before I decide.It looks more compact than the SBS or Fhoenix...
she should have them (check with heather, think there's somehting about it on the saddles bit) and she does come out (came out to me .....) charges for coming out, but then takes it off the price of hte saddle if you order through her. plus, of course, you get a bit of a lesson whilst trying the saddle! which isn't to be argued with at all, i don't think....if you get her out, let me know when and i'll come (if it's a weekend....)
ps, check out the EE front page!
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