Thornill saddle pics

[cloudy18]

http://www.kodakgallery.com/OwnerShareLanding.jsp?collid=586996432210&UV=392164144048_731386432210

Hope the link works. Ok, tried this saddle today, but I will need to actually pay for it to trial it for three days if I decide to. Wanted to see if you guys think it is worth it. I trotted my poor fat mare more than I ever have, in an indoor ring, and barely got a sweat going bc it's cool out. I haven't posted so much in so long! My legs got a workout.

I liked it. It was comfortable, I felt pretty secure for an English type saddle, and I could still feel her under me, which was really nice. She walked, trotted very nicely except for some typical issues with going away from her beloved friend that we had to bring along, and loped, rather quickly bc since I have had her we only trail ride so she has no decent work/training as far as that goes, and again she was being stupid about her buddy. But even though at one point I lost a stirrup I still felt fine, never insecure. Maybe bc that is kind of common for me.:o

Oh, I know the saddle pad is on stupid, we had it on better the first time and it ended up sliding way back, so then we hiked it up a little too much. Oops. She never got too sweaty, but it looked like she was going to have those damn dry circles again, but I am thinking that is just going to happen no matter what bc her dippy back pushes the saddles forward. But maybe with some padding in the low part of her back.... Again, the big worry besides those circles is wither clearance, although there is more than I had with the Aussie. I can easily get two fingers under the pommel. My husband and I could also get a hand under the sides, and it seemed to make contact along her back. I didn't feel any pinching when I rode and put my hands under the back, but this was hard to check too bc I had ot keep her from bolting back to her friend. If I trail rode it I could probably check this out better.

Anyway, the pics aren't the best bc the saddle pad is in the way, but does anyone have an opinion? If I trial it I can get better photos. Also, the owner wants $750 which I think is kind of high bc I found a new one for $650 online somewhere, plus the girth looks like it isn't quite right, and the leathers are some kind of plastic, although they seemed ok.

[I'm EBO]

Looks like a nice saddle, although I can't really tell much about fit with the pad in the way. If you took pictures with just the saddle on (if the owner would allow it), it would be easier to tell. But, the story is in the sweat marks on the saddle pad. BIG dry spots mean there's no contact, and little round dry spots means its too tight at that little dry spot and is shutting off the nerves.

Is the horse pregnant?

From what I can tell, the horse looks as if the girth groove is pretty far forward. Unless your girth straps are also pretty far forward so that it's a fairly straight drop down, you'll have trouble keeping this saddle from sliding forward. Does Thornhill have those adjustable, V-shaped girthing straps?

[wateryglen]

I have a similar Thornhill and love it. Mine has the same seat and boy oh boy is it comfy after a few hours and the horses like the saddle. Mine is the one with dressage like flaps and sometimes the knee rolls hurt my knees when I shorten up. But yours wouldn't have that problem at all so I want YOUR saddle!! What's the model name? Mine is the Jorges Canaveres Trail saddle or something like that.
The price is about right. Yours would run $1100 at least around here new so your price seems very reasonable to me. Mine is $1300 new and I got it for $600 used only a few times and I thought I'd got a bargain. JMHO!!
Oh I did find the deeper, more padded the seat = the larger the size seat you should get. I ended up with a 19". The fitting is different. I'd normally use a 17.5 or 18 maybe cuz I like the room to flop around! :winkgrin:

[gabz]

Is the horse pregnant?

EBO - if you go to Cloudy's other posts, you can see confo shots of the horse. To me, it appears that the horse has been ridden in poorly fitting saddles for some time - hence she has learned to dip her back away from the saddle. This has created some swayback issues which of course, has caused her belly to drop. She may also have had a few foals along the way????

I think that once Cloudy gets a saddle that fits CLOSE to what is needed and uses some padding to level the back, then the horse can begin to remodel and rebuild her top line, which will help the horse to eventually, pull its belly up / tighten it. Sometimes the combination of carrying foals and having poor saddle fit creates swayback/drop belly condition.

There was a mare I rode for a few years with even MORE sway than this one. One of pads we used on her was a built-up wither pad - except we put it on backwards so that the extra padding was in the deepest part of her back. Another method I've explained to Cloudy is to fold a thin wool pad in half, with the folded edge to the front, and place it over a regular saddle pad. This will level the horse's back out so that the saddle fits sufficiently well enough.

Heh, Heh, taking group lessons on a variety of horses and hanging around for other groups... it's amazing what a person can learn.

[gabz]

I was quite excited when I saw the side views... but the view of the front of the saddle leaves me just a little concerned.

However, doing some imaginative padding might raise it just enough. a 3-day trial might be helpful.

Looks like a great saddle overall.

[cloudy18]

wateryglen, is this the same? The flaps look somehwat different, but not sure.

http://www.trinitytack.com/EnglishTrailEnduranceGaitedSaddles.htm

It's listed as a 17" but the flap on the billets says 18". It is a good size, I think, bc I like a little room to move around. It was very comfy, I'd want to trail ride in it to see how I like it with hills, but it has to be better than the bareback pad. I am getting better balance using it, but it can't be nice for the horse (who is definitely not pregnant:winkgrin:). Also, today while at a standstill the thing rolled and dumped me. I can walk, trot, lope up hills, and then get plopped off at a standstill. And there was no warning, where I though "Uh oh", I just looked down to see if Cloudy was itching her leg or grazing and bam, on the ground.

gabz, I think (and HOPE) that maybe if I pad right, to fill in her dip, then it might come up more. I just don't want to create a pressure spot somewhere. I put husband's western on her today to see how it fit, tho' I knew it didn't, and there wasn't much clearance with that, plus it was way too long , and bridged, and pinched her shoulders at the top and then flared out at the bottom of the shoulders. Makes this look great. I hope to try it out this week maybe with some padding and a decent ride.

[gabz]

YIKES!! (ABout the falling off sideways)... :eek:

I'm not sure how you were taught to girth a horse, but here's what I learned and still do....

Saddle horse, snug girth. walk horse 10 - 20 steps, tighten girth.

Walk horse in a circle or 10 - 20 steps, retighten. Then pull each front leg out to the front. I grab behind the knee to stretch the legs. This removes any wrinkled skin that could gall.

Just before mounting, I check the girth again. As I'm sure you are aware - horses will expand their bellies when saddling. My father used to poke them behind the girth with his thumbnail. I prefer the walking.

When I'm at the trail head - I am just amazed at how many folks simply tighten the girth all at one time, mount up and go off. Of course, I've also seen some of the issues horses have with that too. ;)

Good luck.

[wateryglen]

OOOOOHHHHHH! Be careful!!! Rolling undersaddle is a sign of a saddle that's hurting a horse!!! Had a used saddle I bought once turn out to have a broken tree and I found out when the horse would try to go down!! :eek: You'll need to dissect the reason for going down IMHO!

And I'm wondering if my saddle is an older model (bought about 5 yrs ago and was still in their catalog & website at that time so..) but to compare with yours = same seat/different flap. Put a dressage flap and that's mine. And the knee role is way up to the front of the flap so it's not under your leg but in front of it like some models of dressage saddles. But the name's the same. That price is fabulous for these saddles. I think they are good values! Not cheaply made!

[gabz]

OH... did I misunderstand? I was picturing the saddle rolling to the side?
or did the horse roll?

[GallopingGrape]

Cloudy... this is one of the saddles I recommended to you a while back. Excellent saddle, well made, priced right. It will last forever. Good luck~

[gabz]

Cloudy... this is one of the saddles I recommended to you a while back. Excellent saddle, well made, priced right. It will last forever. Good luck~

But what about the fit? Did you check the photos?

[cloudy18]

It was a bareback pad that rolled, not a saddle. I do cinch a little, putter around doing other things, pull legs forward to release any pinches, and retighten. Also keep an eye on it during the ride. But this is a cheapo saddle pad and I don't tighten it til her eyes bulge, so it probably was just loose enough, plus it had been raining on us, so maybe that didn't help. It was just an unlucky accident bc bareback pads are...bareback pads. I also don't think it is that comfortable for her.

I finally heard back from a saddle fitter w/in driving distance, his wife emailed me to tell me she'd call me for more info and to set up a meeting (Yay), so when I talk to her I am going to mention this saddle and see if I should bring it, if that is possible. He is probably more Western orientated, but I don't care as long as it fits, I just thought this one has a better chance than anything so far, and I like it. If I trial it I will get better pics.