Since we brought Ruffi home, we have been searching high and low for a saddle that not only fits her but fits me as a rider. We have borrowed saddles from barn friends but they were either too small in the seat or too forward in the saddle flap.
At one point I purchased a cheap Wintec as a stand in and unfortunately it was pretty uncomfortable for her and was too small of a seat for me.
A different barn friends had a lovely Stubben that no longer fit her gelding and lo and behold, fit Ruffi! But alas, it was too small in the seat. Damn my large ass!
Then I went up to the Northwest Tack Exchange. I tried out a handful of saddles in the store to ensure they would fit me and brought a wither cut out of Miss Mare and compared it against the saddles. One looked like it might be a good fit for us both, so I took it on trial. I had high hopes for it. It seemed to fit on her in the cross ties, and I knew it fit me. Last thing to do was to tack her up and sit in it and check wither clearance……
….and it DIDN”T FIT! I was beside myself! I was a bit depressed and really down. I felt like we were never gonna find a fit. Anything that felt like it would fit was outside my budget and what was in my budget just wouldn’t work out. I scoured Facebook and Craigslist and TackTack Room. EVERYWHERE!
And there it was. On Facebook. 30cm Stubben Romanus. 18″ seat. PERFECT. I messaged the gal and asked if it was still available. AND IT WAS! I told her right there I wanted it. She was able to work out transport towards my direction.
Today I was able to meet up with the transport person, hand over the cash and bring home my new toy!! After bringing it home, cleaning it up and watching the Seahawks lose in the post season, I took it to the barn to try on.
It fit her in the cross ties. It fit me at home when I sat in it. Now just to tack her up and sit in it…..take her up to the arena. Lunged her and noted no discomfort and then stepped up to the mounting block, stepped into the stirrup, swung my leg over and…….
…IT FIT!!!!! She has 2.5 – 3 fingers of wither clearance once I sat in it.
I am so relieved! Now once she gets some supplements in her to help with her tummy and hormones we can hopefully star making some progress.
Happy Riding and Saddle Fitting
A+R