sidesaddlegirl
Well-Known Member
I went down to the yard today with the intention of measuring Sen up for a new side saddle and taking a photo of my one to put on Ebay.
When I bought my side saddle last year, I had only just started having Sen on loan (well, it's kind of a loan, I help my friend take care of her ponios and I get to be Sen's 2nd mummy) and she was in poor condition. She was thin and had a VERY saggy topline. Needless to say, my saddle bridged badly on her (you could see daylight frm the other side) and so the side saddle had sat in my kitchen tack room all year.
Anyways, I tried on the saddle once more today (1st time since last Feb) and it fit! No bridging, no daylight, nothing! It just goes a smidgen past her last rib but for what I'm going to do with her (just walking and trotting out on hacks down the lane), it's fine. If I decide I want to start doing dressage and serious jumping, then I'll get a 17" instead of a 17 1/2" but for now it's ok.
It was like it was a totally different saddle to last year. I think the change in her conformation is because since I took over the ponios care, I've been riding her a few times a week, fattening her up and building her muscles up (galloping up hills, getting her to use her hind end more instead of travelling on the forehand as she's prone to do).
I didn't have my bridle with me (you don't leave tack at the yard as it gets nicked by yobs passing by from the pub and travellers) so I rode her out down the lane in a headcollar and two lead ropes as "reins". She was a bit confused at first with my lack of right leg but she soon got the hang of it and was going forward with just my left leg. My saddle desperately needs restuffing on the left side so I kept collapsing at the hip but Sen didn't notice and she was VERY relaxed (LOL, so much so that when we got back, she started dozing with the saddle on!). the old man that walks his dog past every morning said I looked very posh!
Sen's 17 and just a happy hack so she's never going to be in top show condition but I'm just so chuffed that my saddle fits her and we can hack out in it. My husband is happy too as now I don't have to go out and buy ANOTHER saddle!
When I bought my side saddle last year, I had only just started having Sen on loan (well, it's kind of a loan, I help my friend take care of her ponios and I get to be Sen's 2nd mummy) and she was in poor condition. She was thin and had a VERY saggy topline. Needless to say, my saddle bridged badly on her (you could see daylight frm the other side) and so the side saddle had sat in my kitchen tack room all year.
Anyways, I tried on the saddle once more today (1st time since last Feb) and it fit! No bridging, no daylight, nothing! It just goes a smidgen past her last rib but for what I'm going to do with her (just walking and trotting out on hacks down the lane), it's fine. If I decide I want to start doing dressage and serious jumping, then I'll get a 17" instead of a 17 1/2" but for now it's ok.
It was like it was a totally different saddle to last year. I think the change in her conformation is because since I took over the ponios care, I've been riding her a few times a week, fattening her up and building her muscles up (galloping up hills, getting her to use her hind end more instead of travelling on the forehand as she's prone to do).
I didn't have my bridle with me (you don't leave tack at the yard as it gets nicked by yobs passing by from the pub and travellers) so I rode her out down the lane in a headcollar and two lead ropes as "reins". She was a bit confused at first with my lack of right leg but she soon got the hang of it and was going forward with just my left leg. My saddle desperately needs restuffing on the left side so I kept collapsing at the hip but Sen didn't notice and she was VERY relaxed (LOL, so much so that when we got back, she started dozing with the saddle on!). the old man that walks his dog past every morning said I looked very posh!
Sen's 17 and just a happy hack so she's never going to be in top show condition but I'm just so chuffed that my saddle fits her and we can hack out in it. My husband is happy too as now I don't have to go out and buy ANOTHER saddle!