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Saturday, May 19, 2012

saddle test (and the Preakness!)




I tried out another saddle today, a Sensation dressage trail model. A local endurance rider is selling it, I figured it couldn't hurt to try. I didn't hate it on first sitting in it, plus one! It felt different, but not bad. I'm not the best at determining if a saddle fits my horse. For me going around the arena is not a test, so I took it for a real test drive on the trail. Just a silly three mile jaunt, but walk, trot, canter, up and down hills, horse being silly and cantering down a hill (!): it was a good test.

Major seems to move out, no balking. If course he does that with the other saddle that doesn't fit too. He is not a good judge! I felt totally secure. It has a strange stirrup arrangement, that I thought would feel weird, but I never noticed a difference. I felt a bit squeezed though, I think the seat size is too small. After the ride a good sweat pattern, but I don't think enough wither clearance, I would need to play with shimming. It's going back, but I may test ride another, potential is there.

On another note, anyone else watch the Preakness? Watching that finish brought tears to my eyes, the heart of those horses battling it out. And a chance for a Triple Crown! As jaded as I am, (I think it's something like 11 horses who have won the Derby and Preakness and lost the Belmont since 1978) my heart skips at the thought. I've watched every Triple Crown race since I was 10. I have newspaper clippings and notes. I have jockey signatures and a photo of Secretariat winning ("he's running like a tremendous machine!") hanging in my hall, where I can see it every day. I was born the year Secretariat won, and it is something mythic to me, never having seen it, and though I'm a card-carrying pessimist, in this I hold a little hope. Could a horse join the ranks of Citation, and Whirlaway, and Seattle Slew? Part of me wants to see it, though another part likes the mythic qualities of the horses in the past. Either way, in three weeks, I'll be watching.




6 comments:

  1. I have never heard of that brand of saddle before. Is is treeless? IMHO, I would tend to stay away from treeless, The concept is good, but in distance, everything I have seen ends up being a disaster. I didn't see the race, thought about it, wanted to but I have such a problem with the race industries philisophies on the sport I just have a hard time watching. I worked for a short stint on a couple of small tracks when I was in highschool and saw the good, bad and the ugly (on a small scale). It thrills me to see a horse run like that, even makes my heart skip a beat hearing the thundering hooves. They are amazing athletes but I just disagree with how it's done.

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  2. It is a treeless, which I am also skeptical of, but am willing to try different options. Treeless is working well for many endurance people in the region, just like a traditional saddle it's just all about making sure the fit is right. I am the type to try something to see if it works before setting it aside, I've had stranger things work in my life!

    I feel much the same about racing, and watch with trepidation after seeing the ugly. And every year I end up thrilling to it again. It's a drug I can't seem to stop (much like the industry's drug use, which seems far to prevalent).

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  3. Hope the saddle venture is turning out well for you. I bought a Tucker River Plantation off of Ebay one year and it feels GREAT. I bought a pair of caged endurance stirrups for it though at one of the rides I went on. I have only done 2 rides of the 30 mile caliber way back in '08, but I rode about 50-60 miles a week and I never once had a complaint about the saddle. However, it does way in the 23lb range and you maybe be looking for something more lightweight...but one can not beat the "gel cush" seats that the Tucker saddle provides.

    I am hoping to get riding again with the arrival of my young Haflinger next week and plan on a 25 miler for him next year to see how he does.

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    1. I'm still trying out saddles. The Tuckers are nice, but I really prefer a smaller, English style. Plus 23 pounds would kill me!

      Cool about your new guy, haflingers are so cute. I'll show you some trails any time. We can take it slow and easy too.

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  4. omygosh the memory of my one (orienteering) ride in a sensation - it hurt me so bad! i was whining and holding my hand on the pommel so i wouldn't have to be in contact with it. i have never been hurt by a saddle like that. i asked my friend to sit in it for a few minutes and she was cringing forward in pain - i rode in it all day! (perhaps it was this particular model, i don't know, it had some odd cushion things under my thighs.)

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    1. I didn't like the pommel either! Way too huge and uncomfortable! The rest of the saddle was pretty comfy for me, and Major liked it, but damn I hate this saddle fit stuff. I'm going to demo one with a small pommel, though I still think wither clearance will be an issue.

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