some things are worth melting for

Sometime in the last week, during one of these ridiculously cold days where time seems to stop and blur together all at once.... one of these past days, Charlie finally had his saddle fitting appointment!

On the agenda was:

- Reflocking my Bates Caprilli jump saddle
- Evaluating Austen's Barnsby dressage saddle that I have on loan
- Evaluating trainer P's custom Hulsebos dressage saddle also on loan

it looks like it was custom made for a large TB bc..... it was haha

It was a new fitter for me (the third I've worked with throughout the history of this blog.... let it be known that I am a skeptic now about this profession), a County rep. She took a good long look at my jump saddle while sitting on Charlie with no girth or pads, and asked me if I had any shimmable half pads.

So I pulled out my Prolite half pad, currently configured with small front shims (that I've been using for both of my saddles in slightly different configurations throughout the past year with Charlie). She liked the look of it with the front shims, but wondered if it needed lift in back too.

strapped on and ready for another test ride

Once it was girthed up tho, she came to the same conclusion as me: this saddle is a pretty decent fit on the horse with the corrective padding. The seat is balanced, there aren't any pressure points, and the horse seems happy.

I've personally not noticed nearly the same degree of movement ("chattering" I think it's called) while jumping with this saddle on Charlie that was always a pervasive issue with Isabel, and Charlie hasn't seemed to be bugged by this one like he was with my dressage saddle.

The fitter was also on board with my fuzzy girth choices. It seems like a lot of fitters can have somewhat strong opinions about style and type of girth... but, well. Charlie requires soft fuzzy and flexible girths in no uncertain terms, and I take my orders from him. This fitter had no concerns about that tho, which was nice.

So, the Bates jump saddle lives on, and Charlie is not at present being offered for sale lol. The rep went ahead and got that saddle freshly flocked (esp with a mind toward improving its clearance) and we moved on to assessing the two trial dressage saddles.

hard to take pictures from the ground bc it sits above my head lol

First up was Austen's Barnsby, which I had not yet gotten a chance to ride in myself. I had worried that the channel was a little narrow in places, but the fitter didn't seem concerned about that. It was a touch wide up front, tho that seemed like it could be corrected with the same shimming configuration as my jump saddle. There wasn't a ton of clearance, but the fitter wasn't really put off by it.

We opted to just go ahead and throw the Hulsebos up there for the purposes of comparison and.... basically the fitter was like, "Oh. Yea. This is your saddle."

Lol.... I guess it's a pretty good fit as is, no half pads or shims needed (tho we did experiment a little bit with my sheepskin and Success Equestrian gummy half pad). She particularly likes the front gussets on the saddle, and basically admitted that Hulsebos is one of County's biggest competitors in that they have some very similar design features.

extremely bundled up against the frigid temperatures lol

The story with this saddle is that trainer P had it custom made for her thoroughbred, who has since passed away. It was her first Hulsebos saddle and she's gone on to get a whole bunch more custom made for her and her horses - both jump and dressage saddles. She... loves this saddlery. Brita bought one of her customs last year and has been fully converted as well.

The only issue here was that this particular saddle has a lot of sentimental value to P. Being both her beloved horse's, and her first. It's also valuable in that it's a somewhat hard to find style that's particularly well suited to big thoroughbreds. Tho, conveniently for me, P doesn't have any horses matching that description at present. Whereas, ya know. I *do.*

droolcicles!!!! also, stay tuned tomorrow for a post dedicated to my thoughts on riding in extremely cold weather!

So it took a little convincing, but she consented to sell it to me (tho I will happily give her first right of refusal should I ever decide to part with it). Yay!!

It's a very different type of saddle from what I'm used to - my Bates was kinda a starter dressage saddle: very plain, minimal blocks, slippery leather and kind of an open seat. I did well enough with it - never felt like I was fighting it - but it certainly never did me any favors.

The Hulsebos, on the other hand, has a bit more to say about my position. The shape of the seat combined with the blocks naturally puts my pelvis in a bit more of a level position (rather than my typical tipped-forward seat).

The big rear panels (built for a horse with a peaked back, instead of flat) create a really interesting dynamic in how I feel Charlie moving beneath me. I can actually feel each of his hind legs independently now, and can also feel a bit more of my own asymmetry when it comes to sitting more to the right. In fact, when I put my normal dressage stirrups on this saddle I immediately realized how uneven they had been for.... well, a long time now haha.

Similarly, despite it being somewhat of a giant saddle relative to the Bates, my lower leg actually feels closer to the horse. And I can also more easily feel when my leg is draped loosely down vs clinging against Charlie's side, as dressage trainer C is constantly telling me to stop doing.

yep, i'd take that plunge lol

Charlie, for his part, seems happy in the saddle - tho we'll need a bigger girth (only his Ovation Gel Body Form style will do!! I mistakenly put something else on him when mine was too snug a fit and he.... he did not approve, let's just say that lol.).

I'm eager to get some more miles in the saddle tho - even if it's just really light w-t-c rides while we try to survive the freezing cold weather while staying in some semblance of routine. And I may or may not need to consider trimming down ye olde ass size since mine is definitely not the same size as trainer P's, for whom this saddle was built lol. New year, new me, right?? Kidding, sorta.

Anyway tho. There are a couple other elements of Charlie's wardrobe that I'm evaluating during this off season too - like I have a new bit coming in to play with. And obvi I'll be keeping an eye on how things go as we get used to this saddle, since sometimes it can take a little while for issues to appear.

I'm optimistic tho. This is officially my first real, substantial tack purchase for Charlie, considering everything else is handed down. And this is what the off season is all about, right? Finding new and exciting things to think about when we kinda can't really do anything else bc of the weather. Are you looking into any fun tack (or other) purchases right now? Or otherwise taking inventory and stock of all your gear in anticipation of future warmer weather??