My New Saddle-WOW - A HAPPY saddle story

[nadasy]

:D
I've had my new saddle for about 3 weeks, and it's so wonderful I can't wait to ride every day. I want to ride for hours-*not sure if Harry would like that* but he LOVES his saddle. He's improved dramatically since we got it. He's more focused, much more free in his shoulders and back. He fluffs along stretching, his ears forward and eyes almost closed. GL I hope he doesn't fall down-:lol:

I've had Lauriche saddles, one dressage and one cross-country since 1988 that have been altered slightly for the 5 horses I've used them on. My young horse, well......it was okay, but there were some obvious fitting issues that just weren't going to be addressed, and so I had a fitting and found he needed something that - would have required total reconstruction -it made more sense to get something that absolutely fit him and would grow as his body developed.

I've been saving for 3 years for this saddle, I sold lots of things to make this happen including my Lauriche Cross-Country which paid for half of it. I am far from being able to afford something like this, but because it would be such a huge improvement in my horses comfort and development and also fit me like a glove, I could not be more pleased. People that know me understand my obsession with making sure my horse is healthy and sound.

http://imageevent.com/nadasy43/harrysshoes

[nadasy]

Bump up please.

[buck22]

wow, what a fascinating photographic journey you've put together. What kind of saddle is that may I ask? Its lovely and unusual (sorry if I'm missing the obvious, its a 'wow' saddle?)

[butlerfamilyzoo]

Yes, its a WOW. :)

I envy you. I miss mine very much, but my mare decided the configuration i had did not agree with her any more and i couldnt afford to change it, nor find the help i needed at the time TO change it as i wasnt sure what different panels she needed.

Everyone who ever sat in mine in the 4yrs i owned it has bought one. They have mixed reviews here, but MAN i loved mine!

[nadasy]

I really appreciate the feedback and sorry it didn't work out for your mare. I think what led me to this particular saddle was the flexible tree that moved with the horse, particularly because my Harry wasn't comfortable lifting and moving through the shoulders with my other saddle.

Thinking back on my first saddle in the late 50's, it was a bear of a saddle-Smith-Worthington, but I loved it, and it worked nicely. I have basically stuck with the English and German saddles until I met Andy Foster in the late 80's when I was able to get him to come to our Hunt and give an in depth demo on saddle fitting. That produced 10 sales for him. I loved my Lauriche's but they just did not work for Harry.

In my humble opinion, any time you start the search for the saddle that will work for you, it becomes an exhaustive, in depth, learning experience, almost like A levels in a subject. So much to learn and absorb, so many things to consider, and it's such a personal quest.

In all, with having a demo 3 years ago, you can see how long it took me. :lol: but then I'm really on a seniors restricted budget and was never pressured to take the plunge. The proof was the almost instantaneous freedom I felt, and my horse felt with the final fitting of all the components.

It probably is a saddle that will not be cost effective for someone with multiple horses unless they have deep pockets and a good sponsor-:winkgrin:

You can get so many panels, headplates, seats, and flaps, you could essentially have a saddle to fit lots of different horse confirmations, but it would not have been practical for me when I was competing one at Prelim, one at Training, and bringing along a draft cross...........fortunately my other saddles were just fine.

I guess at my age, I have more time to really study things as opposed to making a quick decision on my equipment. I have found that taking the time to chronicle my lessons, studies and work - horse or business related - has been a critical tool to bridge the gaps along the way.

[butlerfamilyzoo]

I hear you, My mare was VERY free in her movement with the WOW until she had a year off due to my pregnancy and she "matured" into a totally different back shape. She will NOT even take a step in a fixed tree saddle. She now has a Startrekk treeless. I think the WOW spoiled her. :)

The configuration i had actually fit MANY horses/ponies. So i do think you can "get lucky" with a wow. I used mine on roughly 15-20 different horses/ponies while training resale prospects. A friend of mine had a different panel configuration that i used on the others mine wouldnt fit. But alas, even hers did not work on my cob mare anymore.

At least she's happy with the Startrekk, was losing hope i would ever find something she liked again.

Happy riding in your WOW!

[SprinklerBandit]

Thanks for the pictures. I've never seen one of those up close before, but I have read about them.

My girl decided she wanted a treeless saddle, and that was the end of that. It was expensive, but I couldn't argue with the way she moved in it.

[Lgd1]

I love mine too :D

Both of my girls have one, and my old girl's will be going onto her daughter next year - I've just change the flaps and seat to giant highs/x-deep in preparation :lol: her duaghter is VERY athletic