Saddle trees & other saddle questions

From: Sarah Davidson

Hi, Jessica,

Well, I think I'm getting on the right track in my goals of eventually doing combined training (you may remember my earlier question about hunt seat vs. xc position). I've found a CT instructor and have a possible informal half lease in the works. Now I feel like I need to get more serious about buying a saddle. I'm looking for a used one.

I've decided that I want either a jumping or all-purpose jumping oriented saddle, and in a year or so I'll try to find a used dressage saddle. I'm looking for a saddle which will carry me through the jumping and xc portions of beg novice and novice events, and hopefully through training level although this may be some time away.

So far I've tried a Collegiate close contact (maybe the graduate?) & the Collegiate event, the Crosby Prix de Nations, the Stubben Siegfried (VSS, I think), and the Pessoa A/O with small knee rolls. Of all these, I really love the fit and comfort of the A/O. I currently have a used one on trial. I felt like the Collegiate event saddle just had too much padding and knee rolls and the seat felt too deep to me. What I like about the Pessoa is that the seat is a little deeper than the other close contacts, and it has knee rolls but they aren't too big. The seat is cushy and wide and stable. It also puts my leg in the right position (my hunter/jumper trainer really liked this saddle for me). The horse I tried it on tried to buck me off several times, and I felt really secure in it in a "crisis" situation, so it passed that test!

So my questions are:

I have heard the Pessoa has a stainless steel tree, and that this might not be desirable in terms of horse comfort. What kind of trees should I look for and avoid?

What other similar type saddles (specific models) should I try? I know you like Courbettes, do they have a model which sounds suitable for me? (I'm returning the one I have on trial because I need a larger seat size, so I'm still open to other suggestions)

Is it reasonable to expect to use a close contact saddle through training level xc? At what point would I really need an event saddle? Again, I don't really like those deep seats and big knee rolls.

Thanks a lot, Jessica, like everyone else I'm really enjoying your mailing list!

Sarah

Hi Sarah, and thank you, I'm glad that you're enjoying horse-sense. These are all good questions about saddles; I'll answer them as best I can in this letter, and I also encourage you to look through the horse-sense archives, because there's quite a lot of material there (indexed) about saddles and saddle-fit.

Saddle trees: there's nothing wrong with a stainless steel tree. Some saddle trees are made from wood, usually layered, laminated wood. Others are made from fiberglass -- and the wood and fiberglass trees are almost always steel-reinforced! Still others are made from stainless steel -- it all depends on the manufacturer. Whatever the materials, though, in a good saddle, the tree will include a strong front arch that keeps the tree from spreading and dropping onto the horse's withers. It will also include steel springs to hold the pommel and cantle in place, so that they don't both rise away from the horse's back when a rider sits in the center of the saddle. Some trees are rigid, some are spring-trees, some are flexible (like the Courbette steel-spring fiberglass trees). Don't be put off by any material used by a good, reputable saddlery -- the Pessoa seems to be quite a good saddle, and if it fits your horse and you, that's what matters most. Steel sounds as though it would be hard, but consider the fact that most well-made shoes and boots incorporate a steel shank... ;-)

As far as Courbettes are concerned, that saddlery, like Stuebben, makes so many models with so many options that it would be difficult to find a person who couldn't find an ideal saddle among the many choices available. If you like close-contact jumping saddles, you might try a Courbette Stylist -- it's very much like riding bareback with stirrups, there is NOTHING in your way. But look at several brands, and several types within any given brand. I could tell you which specific models of Courbettes I own, but you need to find the type and make of saddle that YOU like best, and the models I prefer (narrow twist, wide seat) might not appeal to you. Human conformation varies a lot -- as do our preferences.

The newer eventing saddles are being made with smaller knee rolls and slightly shallower seats, so you may be able to find one that you like better than the deeper models that were popular a few years ago. You can ride Beginner Novice and Novice courses in just about anything, including a close-contact saddle, but by the time you get to Training Level, you'll be much happier in something that offers a little more support.

Your horse will be happier in an eventing saddle anyway -- close-contact jumping saddles were never meant for cross-country riding. They are designed for show-ring use, and the rider is meant to spend most of her time OUT of the saddle, in two-point. And these saddles are meant for riders who go into the ring, ride their round, and dismount -- NOT for riders who are trotting and cantering and jumping around a one- or two-mile course of cross-country fences. For eventing, you and your horse will both be better off if your saddle is designed for cross-country use.

You want to be able to sit in your saddle with a clear conscience... But, as I said, you can buy an eventing saddle that fits your horse comfortably and allows him to perform to the best of his ability and training, without necessarily forcing yourself to put up with a deep soft seat and enormous knee rolls. A Courbette or Stuebben VSD model will allow you to compete comfortably in all three phases of events through Training Level. Above that level, when the jumps are more challenging and the courses more demanding, you would probably prefer to have a VSS model for the endurance and show jumping phases, and a dressage D model (or your VSD model!) for the dressage phase. Most of the event riders I work with find that up to -- and sometimes through -- Training Level, they can get by with ONE saddle as long as it's a well-made, well-balanced eventing model. By the time most of them are competing at Training Level, and DEFINITELY by the time they move up to Preliminary, they usually find that they need a dressage saddle as well.

It sounds to me as though the Pessoa suits you very well. My questions would be these: first, will it allow you to ride your dressage tests (and school them) comfortably and correctly? Jumping saddles often do NOT allow you to sit correctly, or the horse to move correctly under you, for dressage. Second, will the fit, balance, and PSI of a close-contact jumping saddle allow your horse's back to be comfortable over the long term? And third, if the Pessoa is perfect for you and your horse, and you love it, and it's affordable, can you manage it AND a second saddle (perhaps another used one, but a VSD model that would let you do your dressage and cross-country in comfort)? The nice thing about buying a good saddle is that it won't lose its value. Cheap saddles are incredibly hard to sell second-hand, but good ones tend to sell quickly, and they hold their value. Saddle prices keep going up and up -- I'm sure you've noticed! -- and you can often use a saddle for several years, and then sell it for the price you paid for it originally. One of my students recently bought a used saddle from someone who charged her the same amount the saddle had cost new. The seller got a good deal -- several years of riding in the saddle for nothing. But my student got a good deal too, because the current model of that same saddle retails for almost five hundred dollars MORE than the price she paid for the used one. And it's a good saddle, well-maintained, and should last her for another forty years!

Have fun with the horse-sense archives, and let me know what saddle (or saddles) you end up with!

Jessica

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