tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post2115045907869655770..comments2024-03-26T17:31:58.290-07:00Comments on 'Fraidy Cat Eventing: saddle fitting: a tale of two watches?emmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-86693757371695458542015-11-06T07:08:53.550-08:002015-11-06T07:08:53.550-08:00thanks for the link! my never-ending saddle saga h...thanks for the link! my never-ending saddle saga has more or less ground to a halt while i'm out of commission, but that won't last forever!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-45429226703922374432015-11-06T03:23:45.867-08:002015-11-06T03:23:45.867-08:00Emma, I don't know if you read Mel's blog,...Emma, I don't know if you read Mel's blog, but she just posted this last night and I thought of you: http://bootsandsaddles4mel.com/blog/2015/saddles-riders-and-science/<br />Mel is a recent vet school grad who has done endurance for a long time and has completed Tevis a couple of times on her Arab mare Farley. She is an awesome scientific source for all horse info and I thought you would enjoy her most recent post, if only as food for thought. :)<br /><br />Continuing to send you healing thoughts for your leg! You have such an admirable, positive attitude! Nicole Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09817619834026667737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-14014129523785287622015-10-19T13:47:57.565-07:002015-10-19T13:47:57.565-07:00sounds good :)sounds good :)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-84844112230939855322015-10-19T13:47:14.058-07:002015-10-19T13:47:14.058-07:00ok - not committed yet but will keep you posted!ok - not committed yet but will keep you posted!SarahWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182449850066338574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-26467989115389560042015-10-19T13:44:07.653-07:002015-10-19T13:44:07.653-07:00hm, no test needed at present (my fitter has a cou...hm, no test needed at present (my fitter has a couple that i can ride in) unless you're already pretty committed to the idea of selling. feel free to email me any specs or considerations at fraidycat.eventing at gmail.com!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-86136430302986082762015-10-19T13:42:49.495-07:002015-10-19T13:42:49.495-07:00well then by all means keep me posted ;)well then by all means keep me posted ;)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-63001967967038615972015-10-19T13:42:24.077-07:002015-10-19T13:42:24.077-07:00Let me know if you need a test-saddle, I've be...Let me know if you need a test-saddle, I've been riding in my dressage saddle since it fits better and wouldn't mind at all letting you borrow it for awhile. SarahWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182449850066338574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-74621148893443454522015-10-19T13:41:15.330-07:002015-10-19T13:41:15.330-07:00I love this saddle and if I end up with a differen...I love this saddle and if I end up with a different brand, I will HAPPILY discuss selling it to you! That would be awesome. SarahWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182449850066338574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-82542780632537851102015-10-19T13:12:15.354-07:002015-10-19T13:12:15.354-07:00awwww boo :( actually tho - if you end up wanting ...awwww boo :( actually tho - if you end up wanting to sell your T8 let me know. i might potentially be interested. this fitter just started working with that particular saddle and tried one on isabel and it looked pretty good. obviously i'm not wishing this fate on anybody else... but perhaps there's an opportunity for mutual benefit? lolzemmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-60765037170899177202015-10-19T13:08:47.827-07:002015-10-19T13:08:47.827-07:00I do not envy you. I've been taking a long har...I do not envy you. I've been taking a long hard look at my jumping saddle and am slowly coming to the (gasp, sob, why God why?!) conclusion that I'm going to need a new saddle. Dassah goes in the xw plate in our Thorowgood T8 but I think the actual plate shape is wrong for her. I've got a w plate that I occasionally pull out to re-test on her but I think I might be looking at more than just a different plate. <br /><br />*throws self on floor and commences epic tantrum. SarahWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182449850066338574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-27452143384290859872015-10-19T12:47:57.144-07:002015-10-19T12:47:57.144-07:00i love the topic of saddle fit, but hate that it&#...i love the topic of saddle fit, but hate that it's constantly revolving around our own lack there of. ugh. haha. but yea the 'wider is better than narrower' idea does seem to be the common wisdom. hopefully it works out!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-36079050877707519622015-10-19T12:47:02.621-07:002015-10-19T12:47:02.621-07:00ugh sometimes i *hate* having much to think about ...ugh sometimes i *hate* having much to think about lol. fingers crossed that saddle fit isn't what's impeding Murray's back development bc this is seriously such a pain in my ass. but i'm also really seriously hoping that this change (in addition to some diet adjustments) will start making a difference for isabelemmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-67006890155636185592015-10-18T10:37:43.186-07:002015-10-18T10:37:43.186-07:00This is fascinating- I don't get to talk saddl...This is fascinating- I don't get to talk saddles with the store's fitter very often because he's always on the road with the dressage trailer. I've always thought wider is preferable to narrower, since you can add padding. Looking forward to hearing how this develops!Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07140631127593549541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-49397868418372209442015-10-18T09:35:54.873-07:002015-10-18T09:35:54.873-07:00I found reading this post and all the comments VER...I found reading this post and all the comments VERY informative. Because Murray is not too sensitive about saddle fit (thank GOODNESS because he's a sissy about everything else!) I've always counted myself quite lucky. But now I'm wondering if a lack of back muscle development, despite a LOT of good work over the last few years, could be due to a slightly ill-fitting saddle. Very interesting. Much to think about.Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13834098473974912416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-66388852518443000852015-10-16T11:51:21.095-07:002015-10-16T11:51:21.095-07:00haha collective agreement within the horse world r...haha collective agreement within the horse world really would be something, wouldn't it? but then again it would probably be much too boring without all the drama ;)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-50464492649781264482015-10-16T11:40:29.260-07:002015-10-16T11:40:29.260-07:00Gah, sorry to hear about the run-around with the s...Gah, sorry to hear about the run-around with the saddle. It's frustrating that there isn't a collective agreement on things. But, with the horse world you are never going to get people to agree on anything.<br /><br />I don't think the saddle looks that bad now - it was certainly too narrow for her before. I don't think that the "after" picture you posted is that bad!Cathrynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15652933884652697666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-40535744091409303502015-10-16T11:07:56.352-07:002015-10-16T11:07:56.352-07:00ugh i think we are all doomed to the fate of being...ugh i think we are all doomed to the fate of being overly anxious (to a certain degree) about saddle fit bc really, the whole thing is so very not scientific and kind of a crap shoot anyway, i think. hopefully i'll end up at the place where so many others already are: something that seems to work out well enough such that horse and rider are both happy. by no means am i pursuing perfection (tho that would be nice too haha)emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-49590077654727876212015-10-16T11:06:30.082-07:002015-10-16T11:06:30.082-07:00i'm super reassured to read that - esp to hear...i'm super reassured to read that - esp to hear that he's been developing muscle along his back so quickly. one of the things that has me squinting sideways at the current MW setup is the amount of clearance down the gullet channel - but perhaps that will improve the same way yours did. fingers crossed!!!emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-20406121941433547082015-10-16T11:03:54.733-07:002015-10-16T11:03:54.733-07:00I always cringe a little reading your saddle fitti...I always cringe a little reading your saddle fitting posts because I instantly want to second guess everything about my own horse's saddles. I'm not envious of your position at all. Trying to figure out a tricky saddle fit sounds terrifying. Carlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17308477892024999793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-1164349154405108442015-10-16T10:20:54.909-07:002015-10-16T10:20:54.909-07:00I haven't written yet about my CWD experience ...I haven't written yet about my CWD experience (I should but I feel like I want to reach a certain amount of time with it first) but I think you will find it interest. Stampede was going in a Butet with a 4" medium tree with extra paneling in front to accommodate his mega wither. His CWD is a 4.5" medium tree and has an insane amount of added foam paneling to accommodate his wither. My first few rides with the new panels the front of my saddle kept getting lower to the point where I could barely get 2 fingers in anymore and I was getting scared even though Stampede was still not showing discomfort. Fast forward a couple months and he has muscled so much I'm now concerned I will need to have some foam removed as I can fit 3 fingers. My rep is going to stop out next time she's in the area which shouldn't be long after QH Congress is over.<br />Basically I think if you find the right mix you will see a change in her back muscles pretty quickly. I honestly didn't feel a huge difference in my horse movement-wise (okay besides him not trying to kill me by spooking at everything) but his back tells the whole story. <br />Good luck with your saddle stuff. I feel like I'll spend the rest of Stampede's working life overanalyzing his saddle fit!Stampy and the Brainhttp://www.stampyandthebrain.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-14098165132801979002015-10-16T09:45:25.121-07:002015-10-16T09:45:25.121-07:00that's very true - and actually this first fit...that's very true - and actually this first fitter has significantly more experience than the second, but the second may prove to have a better approach for isabel in particular. funny how that works!<br /><br />and i can promise you that i will NOT fall down the rabbit hole. i am investing in this subject and determined to find a solution for the mare (and have been since last winter) but it has never, and will never, keep me from actually riding the damn horse. i know far too many people who are forever saddle shopping and never riding. that is not me. nope nope nope. emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-65059996288565254672015-10-16T09:42:06.002-07:002015-10-16T09:42:06.002-07:00The saddle fitter only has what they were taught a...The saddle fitter only has what they were taught and what they have observed over the years. And horses like people have their own opinions about what they do and don't like. I have heard stories about horses that hate "correctly" fitting saddles but like something that theoretically should not fit. I think you and Izzy are on the right track and fingers crossed that you don't spiral down the rabbit hole of crazy like I have :)EventingSaddlebredStylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07610596082916022402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-31098735761252343712015-10-16T09:28:37.233-07:002015-10-16T09:28:37.233-07:00frustrating indeeeeeeed. ugh so frustrating. but y...frustrating indeeeeeeed. ugh so frustrating. but yea hopefully we're finally moving in the right direction! emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-74312682736201429572015-10-16T09:27:56.305-07:002015-10-16T09:27:56.305-07:00to be very honest, your journey with Boca has neve...to be very honest, your journey with Boca has never been very far from my mind during this whole process. at least in isabel's case it's always been pretty clear that she's back sore. it's just taken me a while to get to trying this particular solution (not that we haven't been trying myriad other approaches ugh...). but yea - i think you hit the nail on the head with the idea that the fitter was 'married to certain concepts that did not work for my horse'. emmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05686949099663199382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-932439930694780998.post-4392539050771268472015-10-16T09:27:04.330-07:002015-10-16T09:27:04.330-07:00Well, that's frustrating. But I echo many of t...Well, that's frustrating. But I echo many of the people above and think possibly this new fitter will serve you and Iz better! Katehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092098198949213494noreply@blogger.com