Finding The One

Touch the car?!?! The chosen one, pre-oiling

I guess I have to keep the horse now since I purchased a saddle that fits him... 

Goggles and I have agreed to like a Custom Monte Carlo. This saga started way back over the summer when I decided I didn't like how my Forestier Boekelo sat on him. And after all our drama with getting the saddle to fit Ben, I was very reluctant to go with that brand again. Because they are foam paneled, each change takes 6 weeks to adjust and there are shipping costs as well as the cost of changing the panel. With this in mind, I tried out quite a few saddles from HighLine/FineLine tack. They were gracious and looked at pictures and listened to my feedback on each saddle before suggesting another. But the only thing that sat well on him was an Antares that made me feel incredibly unbalanced. Plus I live close to Ocala, the horse capital of the world, you'd, uh, think there would be options local to us. 

It's a very nice looking saddle post-heavy oil, also super light weight. Flap is a +2  meaning it is a forward flap which is perfect for my leg length (longer upper leg than lower leg)

After our Tobias trial, we had the Custom rep out to assess Goggles and me. She knows JT well and so she essentially set them on Goggles to make sure the fit was passable and then dropped off the three jump saddles she had for me to play. I was left with an 18" Envy, a older 17" Monte Carlo from a sponsored rider, and a brand new 17.5" Monte Carlo. The Envy is their new budget line. It was not my cup of tea, it just felt like it shoved my leg into the wrong position and then held it there. The 17" older Monte Carlo was too small for my leg, but I quite enjoyed the 17.5". I rode in it multiple times and jumped Ben in it. Both JT and I liked it, and it passed the tests from Frank Tobias and passed my own assessment of not sitting too close to his withers, laterally or dorsally, even without a half pad. I feel every bit as secure as in the Boekelo, evidenced by sticking with him no prob over some exuberant jumps over the weekend. It is wool flocked and has an adjustable tree so we will be able to continue to fit it to his back as he grows. 

Sorry about my lack of release good sir, leg is stable though!

The rep recommended buying a demo saddle rather than ordering brand new. She said because they are hand made, even made to the same specs it will feel different. Don't have to tell me twice lol. 

Burgundy piping isn't what I would've chosen, but I don't hate it. And it is so subtle that you really have to be looking to see it. 

Bonus is that even brand new, it was part of the demo sale, and was cheaper than my moderately used Forestiers were. The rep will come out and assess it every 6-12 months and make any needed changes. He got chiropracted on Wednesday and while his vet didn't assess the saddle on him, she did palpate his back and withers and didn't get any soreness in the area of the saddle. YAY! She also said his neck felt SO GOOD we didn't need to shockwave him!! He had good ROM and no pain in his neck even before adjustment. He was pretty locked and uneven in his pelvis and TL junction, especially on the right side, which might explain some of the right lead tail wringing and porpoising he has been doing lately.