Making Some Progress

I contacted the saddle fitter/maker that I had been told about. He was very polite and helpful on the phone and offered to come out and fit Rusty this weekend! (He also knows my barn owner somehow, so that helped!). I just got home from my session with him and I have a saddle on order!

Turns out that Rusty needs semi-QH bars. The guy put a few bare trees on Rusty and very patiently explained to me how they fit/didn't fit and why. It was very informative. So, I bit the bullet and order a semi-custom saddle from a company he deals with in Alabama called Rocking R Saddles. The saddle was only a couple of hundred more than the Billy Cook (which has been sent back), so that damage wasn't too bad. I have been so frustrated with saddle searching and testing, so this visit came at a good time. The only kicker is that I have to wait about 3 months to get the saddle. Oh well - my guy guarantees the fit, so it will be worth the wait.

I've ordered the trail saddle in the chestnut colour shown in the slightly crappy picture on the left. It will have a black suede seat instead of the reddish one pictured. I was even able to order short fenders for my stubby little legs. That makes me very happy, for some strange reason. lol

There is some floral tooling on the saddle, but not all over the whole saddle. There are 3 silver conchos and a silver brand badge, so I have a tiny bit of bling. I was tempted to order one with more silver, but that just seemed very silly for someone that will probably never show! I just need (hahaha - I don't really need, more like want!!) to order a nice chestnut bridle to match. My justification for ordering another bridle is that I'm riding Rusty with two different bits, depending on what we are working on and I'm getting tired of taking my bridle apart each time. So, I'll have one bridle for the loose ring snaffle and another for his western bit.

I managed to sneak in a short ride after the saddle fitter left. It was super windy outside, but Rusty didn't bat an eye. We did a fair bit of cantering, which is really great for me. My confidence is back up to about 85% and my balance is catching up fast. I really feel like I am doing a better job at being consisten with my cues as well. We are getting the left lead canter from a jog most of the time and the right one is coming along. My balance is all wonky to the right, so I really have to focus on that alot. It is nice to feel like I'm making a bit of progress, regardless of how small.