Tomorrow morning we’re taking Kasane to have her saddles fitted. It’s been over a year since I purchased the Prestige Venus K monoflap saddle. It was fitted to her when she was butt high and she is now level (even slightly up hill). Because the saddles aren’t quite adjusted properly for her new physique, my…
Since Kasane has been undersaddle, we’ve gradually discovered and corrected several problems. We did a saddle fitting and discovered that my Courbette Magic dressage saddle didn’t fit her at all. Got a new saddle which made a huge difference. Over this past winter, I’ve noticed Kasane moving oddly on her back legs. For example, her…
Today was the second day of the test ride in the Prestige Venus K monoflap. Yesterday when I rode, it was in the small square ring behind the barn. That ring is on a slight incline and not quite large enough to have a straight line for any distance. Kasane did very well in the…
For comparison purposes, here is a picture of Kasane in the Courbette Magic Dressage. I took these pictures to show off the new saddle pad, but they turn out to be pretty good at showing the saddle fit. See how long the saddle panels are? You can tell by where the saddle comes over her…
Here are pictures of the saddle fitting. After the saddle fitter took Kasane’s measurements, we went through most of the saddles in the shop to find one that fit me and had short enough panels for her. Most of the used and new saddles I sat in didn’t fit my seat bones. The Prestige Venus…
Day started early. I was at up at 7:45, tried to go back to sleep, dozed until 8:15. At the barn to meet the farrier by 9:30. Groomed Kasane and Prize and then had their feet trimmed. The farrier said that both of them had great feet, so that is always good news. No thrush…
When the chiropractor came out in early November, she pointed out that Isis’ spine near her withers had sore points. The sore spots were most likely caused by a saddle that didn’t fit properly. I knew my old all purpose saddle (the Zaldi in the image gallery below, first picture) did not fit properly. When…
I rode twice over the weekend in the Courbette Magic dressage saddle. Both times, Isis and I had really good, productive rides. She is more responsive to my leg (longer stirrups, legs in right place… yup). The more I ride in it, the more I like it. One of the ladies at the barn mentioned…
After the riding lesson on Tuesday, I scheduled an extra lesson to fit the dressage saddles I’d located. I want to make sure whichever saddle I choose fits not only me, but also Isis. A new (or used) saddle is a big investment (“cheap” means under $500). Arabians are notoriously hard to fit in saddles…
Some good news at least. I went back to the tack shop last Thursday to pick up a saddle to try on Isis. It’s a wide-tree all purpose Spanish-made Zaldi saddle. Lovingly taken care of by the previous owner. It’s very soft. Unlike the other four saddles I’ve tried on Isis, this one settled perfectly…
Isis is not a dainty mare. She is built like a tank; something inherited from her Crabbet breeding. Her sire takes a regular tree, as did her mother. Isis has to do everything in a special manner, and that means she is difficult to fit with a saddle. At the tack shop the other day,…