I got my new western saddle on Thursday at lunch. I had to wait until Friday night to go try it out...
And...guess what??
It fits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was trying not to get my hopes up, because I've had such a hard time with english and western saddles on old Rusty. I rode last night and again this morning. And the best part about the saddle? It fits BOTH of us. I find it comfortable and secure, as well as balanced. It even has short little fenders for my stubby little legs! :-) What a novel feeling!
Now I have no excuse for not getting out and riding more.
A head shot of Rusty in his new bridle. I bought the bridle about a month ago. It is about a 90% match for colour with the saddle - not bad in my opinion. The tooling on the bridle is slightly different than the saddle, but you would have to look really closely to notice. Rusty is patiently putting up with me taking his picture, but he has one ear on the mare in the paddock to his left who was pacing and calling out.
Attempted close-up shot. The brand is Rocking R and was made in Alabama. So far, I'm happy with the quality of the leather and stitching. The guy that owns the shop I bought it from makes his own custom saddles. They cost about 3x what this one did, so I couldn't afford to buy local this time around...
The saddle looks a little small from this angle, but I thought I would post it anyway. It is a cute shot of Rusty and his little poof ball of a forelock. I've been tempted to steal a bit of hair from the other horses to make him a forelock, but haven't gotten around to it yet!
So, the great saddle search of '09 comes to an end. I'm riding again tomorrow and we have a farrier appointment as well. Rusty may even get a bath since it is so hot out now. Happy trails everyone! 
13 comments:
very happy dance indeed... i have 2 specialized saddles which can be customized for whichever equine you're riding ... so i've decided to use the lighter one (15 lbs) on gazi and the other one (17 lbs) for my tb mare... they and i are both deeeelighted!
happy trails
gp and the herd
WooooHoooo!! So glad your saddle drama is no more! :)
Lucky girl, its been rainy here for the last three days and that means it will also be too muddy to ride until later in the week.
Take advantage of your nice weather! lol
YAY! Congrats on your new saddle. It looks awesome on Rusty. He looks comfy. So, next we'll get to see pics of you IN the saddle, too, right?
They sell tail extensions. I wonder if they sell forelock extensions, too. Poor Rusty. He sure does look cute, though :)
~Lisa
WHOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! Many many miles of happy trails to you and Rusty!
We are going to have to go the custom route with Sonny too at some point. *sigh*...
Looks excellent on him! Please pass along an extra smooch from us down here, and an extra mint too!! ;)
Congratulations - finding a saddle that fits both horse and rider is a big challenge - and saddle and bridle are very pretty and match well - and tell Rusty he's a handsome dude!
Congrats and enjoy it well! A saddle is good for a life time so I am sure you will have TONS of great memories in it! My TB Gennyral also has no forelock...I call it "Pony Pattern Baldness". I try and clip his bridle path really far back to give him a comb over. I am so lucky my appy has hair!
Congrats!!! It looks nice! I like the color. Glad to hear it is comfortable for you too.
That's good news. I like the tooling. It does definitely seem like it took the whole year before you found what you needed. It's worth it to sift through the trials and not settle until you find the perfect fit.
It looks good. Here's to many happy rides for both of you now!!
As one who has struggled with saddle fit: woot! I'm sure you are feeling the same relief I did.
What a beautiful saddle!!
Congrats on the new saddle. I find saddle fitting to be stressful and expensive. Glad you got a good fit! It is very pretty. I like the tooling and the color. Nice bridle too. Rusty is a cutie with his wisp of a forelock.
Look at your new gear! How fun. Rusty looks super cute in those pics. I don't know anything about western tack, but it all looks good to me, congrats on finding a saddle.
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