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Post by heather on Oct 21, 2008 14:47:28 GMT 1
I bought a variety of pads to test with the treed and treeless saddles Sarah. Including even horrendously expensive ones like the Saddleright! I already had two Korrector pads that we used with treed saddles with great success, with atrophied horses, but only ever under saddles that were flocked to accommodate them so that they didnt make the saddle tighter. In the case of cobalmighty's saddle the Korrector would have made it tighter still and would not have given a fair reading on the Pliance, fair to the Korrector, that is! I checked out the saddle fit, treed and treeless, and was present at all of the testing over one month, not just two days!! Heather
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Post by heather on Oct 21, 2008 14:50:38 GMT 1
And incidentally, when Jill Shephard ( who is not safe near a treed saddle with a knife!! ;D) dropped the panel out of cobalmighty's saddle which she had donated to our 'rogues gallery'- we found that some bright saddler had attached to wedges of solid leather to the cantle end of the tree to try to level up the saddle and raise it at the back.
The panel bore the imprint the full thickness of the wedges, and even now, four years down the line, the panel has still those two imprints. With the riders weight on it too, I dread to think of the pressure points those two wedges must have caused.
Heather
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Post by LuckyRed on Oct 21, 2008 16:59:30 GMT 1
Hi Heather - didn't mean to imply that anything untoward had gone on - just that for the test to be accepted by the sceptics it had to be seen to be 110% fair and above board, including every possible opportunity for the treed saddle to prove itself - ie if they could be persuaded to come along get the Society of Master Saddlers to send a Rep along to check the fit just before the test! (unlikely, I'll agree but that would provide a fair test!)
There truely are times when, as a caring horse owner, I end up with my head in my hands not knowing what to do! I live in a world that can be a bit black and white - military aviation engineering quality assurance standards tend not to be open to much interpretation and I find the problems within the saddle fitting world and the farriery community to be completely bemusing sometimes! Why isn't there an independant system of assurance - the welfare of animals and the safety of the rider is dependant on these things and yet the governing bodies don't seem to be able / willing to carry out scientifically sound reviews or follow up on poor practices within their own organisations!
Grrr!
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Post by heather on Oct 21, 2008 17:11:58 GMT 1
Hi Sarah,
Didnt think you meant anything untowards ;D. Don't get me started on 'independent bodies'!! I am still so much of the opinion that if the horse had a comfortable saddle with a rider who was working in sync with him, applying refined aids which he understood, there would be an awful lot less horse welfare organisations needed to take in so called 'problem horses'!
Heather
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Post by LuckyRed on Oct 22, 2008 11:28:41 GMT 1
You're almost certainly correct with that thought!
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