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Hi, I'm new here. Have a 4 1/2 year old I bought last September. Had done some roping but he's now my western dressage horse. I need a saddle. I have a Billy Cook barrel I already had. It's just not a great fit. I've been looking high and low for months and finally given up on even thinking about buying something I can't try on him first. Not much for sale locally that I like and only one tack store in the area that carries much, and mostly roping saddles or ones that I think are way over priced. I have found a few on horsesaddleshop and that looks like the way to go with trial and free shipping. But I'd like some of your thoughts. First, I come from a dressage background so I'm used to a fairly light saddle. My BC is about 25 lbs. I'm trying to stay around 30 lbs for my back's sake. But I also worry about my 15'2" horse carrying a big old saddle and my 150 lbs. My dressage horse was 17 hands! Am I worrying for no reason? I don't dislike synthetic saddles, but I will be showing him so that's not a great look. Also, he has a fairly short back coupled with the fact that he's a tad butt high. A trainer I know said my BC at 24" with a square skirt could be hitting him in the loins (although I don't actually see it doing that while standing there, maybe it is when I bend) and she thinks I should get a longer skirt which would fan up and over the loins. Problem there is, then it's really heavy. I am more a fan of the rounded skirt. Any thoughts or experiences either way? Thanks !
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Also wondered if anyone rides in a wade?
Mary Martin
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Welcome to the forum! The HorseSaddleShop saddle experts can help you choose the best saddle for your needs. You might give them a call when you get a chance. There is a saddle fitting template that can be downloaded to determine what size saddle would be best.
I love watch western dressage! About all my horse and I can do is sidepass. We'd love to see pics and/or videos of your horse!
Karen ~ Trails
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Joe Paint Gelding
Paoli, IN
"My treasures do not sparkle or glitter, they shine in the sun and neigh in the night."
![[Image: th_horse-galloping.gif]](https://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v239/PaintGal/th_horse-galloping.gif)
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Thank you ! I realize now I should have posted this is another forum... oops.
I clicked on the Insert Image, but all I get is this...[img][/img]
Mary Martin
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I found the templates and will give that a go tonight, but I now know there's much more to saddle fitting than just the gullet or bars. Still, I have to start somewhere. As I indicated earlier, when I click the attach Image icon, all I get is [img] [/img]. So I am unable to upload any pictures. Is there another way?
Mary Martin
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To post pics here, they would need to be on photobucket or another online photo sharing site. You could just email the pics to the email in the post by SaddleExpert.
Hope you get it sorted out soon!
Karen ~ Trails
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Joe Paint Gelding
Paoli, IN
"My treasures do not sparkle or glitter, they shine in the sun and neigh in the night."
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You mentioned your concern about weight. The general rule of thumb is that a horse can carry 20% of his body weight. A 15.2hh horse would probably weight at least 1000lbs so that means he could carry 200lbs. IMO, a horse that is in good health and sound could carry a bit more if the rider was balanced and a good rider. Of course, the type of riding would make some diffference. Riding in a an arena would be different that climbing a mountain!
Good luck with your search.
Karen ~ Trails
&
Joe Paint Gelding
Paoli, IN
"My treasures do not sparkle or glitter, they shine in the sun and neigh in the night."
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