something's gotta give

Sooooooo......... Ugh. I've been bemoaning the questionable fit of my Bates saddle on Isabel for almost the entire time I've owned it (since February, for those keeping score at home). The fitter has been out 3 times since okaying the purchase, and at our last fitting she pretty much said the saddle was the wrong shape for the horse.

Reeeeeally wish I knew that before I bought (and fell in love with) the saddle.

"does this saddle make my butt look big?!?" - emma
"it's not the saddle, hon" - isabel

I have been a little bit in denial... maybe hoping we could limp along with shimmed half pads and more frequent chiro appointments. But our last lesson with Dan made it abundantly clear that this situation isn't working when the mare was SERIOUSLY back sore afterwards.

looking fairly nicely balanced, sans girth

Good good good mare that she is, she didn't quit on me in the lesson... But all those chip strides and stutter steps before the fences definitely led to the saddle jamming into her withers again and again, and she paid the price for it. Ugh. I feel terrible.

still looks ok with the girth on

Meaning I'm back to exploring options. I just can't in good conscience keep making her work through pain like that. So brace yourself for more posts in the coming days/weeks that will look a lot like this one: full out analysis of a whooooole bunch of different saddles (or, maybe, just a few until I find the perfect glass slipper).

appears to have good clearance, tho once on it got a little snug on her spine

First up, I asked Kaitlyn if I could try out the Philippe Fontaine Lyon she just picked up. Which happens to be a 16.5" wide tree saddle. Which those of you who were around for round one might recognizes as NOT AT ALL the specs I want for Isabel. Well... desperate times, desperate measures, blah blah blah.

left side: not girthed up. right side: with girth

The thing is, finding a narrow saddle has been so difficult - and if the fit isn't just quiiiite right there's no room in there for corrective padding. So I'm thinking that maybe something a little wider can be padded up to fit? Idk. Really I'm grasping at straws here. But I kinda liked the way it sat on her all the same.

ready for action!!! (and please disregard that hole i rubbed into my long-suffering mare's side.. ugh....)

I walked around for a long time and ultimately decided that we needed a little more clearance down the gullet, so I hastily stuck my Success Equestrian no-slip half pad in there. Things still looked fairly decently balanced so we got to work.

still ok?

I actually felt surprisingly good in the saddle. Could fit my whole hand between my butt and the rear of the seat, and my knees didn't poke over the edge of the flap. Close, but not quite. Leather is super grippy tho, and there's a bunch of big ol' blocks so I felt snug enough (nothing compares to my Bates tho!).

i like that the saddle doesn't come as far back on her spine

We flatted around for a while and Isabel felt really phenomenal. Really loose and relaxed and swinging. She's been doing pretty well lately anyway, so I can't really attribute that to the saddle. But at one point we were powering down the long side in our current approximation of an extended trot (whatever that is) and she was soft and round and getting a bit of suspension in her step. I don't think she'd feel that good if something were pinching.

toes forward please!!

I asked another rider in the ring to snap a quick video of us hopping over an oxer for further review. I, personally, felt good in the saddle. But what did it look like?

Verdict? Still not really clear. There's motion in the saddle over the fence - particularly right at takeoff, which is the point at which the Bates moves the most too.

you can see the rear of the saddle is ever-so-slightly lifted off Izzy's back

It's not clear if the saddle is actually 'rocking,' per se, or if I just didn't have the girth on tight enough (billets are not broken in yet). So idk.

sweat patterns are different from the bates. not 'perfect' but the dry spot is smaller and in a slightly different spot

I don't think it's a perfect fit for either of us, but it might be better than the Bates. Kaitlyn has very generously allowed me to ride in it for a little while, so I'll try to get some input from the various trainers. Plus I'll hopefully be able to get a sense of how Isabel's back feels after riding in this for a little while vs. the Bates.

Fontaine (left) gullet is wider up front than the Bates (right), and narrower in back

Meanwhile another saddle is coming in for a trial on Tuesday so you can expect a similar rundown. Ugh. Saddle shopping fucking sucks.