New saddle!!!!

The new/ old saddle came on Tuesday!!!!! Very excite!

Got it from a member of the FiSH forum from one of the thousand "Tack for Sale/ I Need Tack" threads. Can't remember the brand, but it's hardly top of the line. Unfortunately, I needed a new saddle right now, as my ass had finally done what it had threatened to do for the last few years, grow too big for my old saddle. Now I could whine and say I got that saddle when I was a skinny, tiny-butted 13 year old, but I choose instead to use it as motivation to lose weight. Regardless, weight loss is a slow process, and I didn't want to be without a saddle. I'm poor, though, and the really nice saddles, even used, were pretty much out of my price range and I'm not about to blow my paltry savings at this stage of the game.

So I bought the saddle. It came in a HUGE box full of packing peanuts, much to the kitty's delight. I was chasing down stray peanuts so she wouldn't eat them. She eats funny things. Bits of lint, splinters of wood, scraps of plastic, I feel like a mom rushing around after a toddler. "What are you eating?!?! Don't eat that!!"

Anyway, so I (in my English riding ignorance) took awhile to figure out how to put the stirrups back on the fenders. I figured it out, but put them on backwards. Oh well, learn by doing, I guess.

Then I took it out to the barn to try out. Set it on the back of my grumpy, shedding an entire matress-worth of hair per day horse. She was no more pissed off than usual, so good sign! Checked the fit, and all seemed good. Fit nicely over the withers, no bridging, back sat evenly, clear trough over spine. Excellent!

So I saddled up. Took several minutes fussing over the stirrup length. Reason #2 for cheapness, the holes on the fenders SUCK. (Reason #1 is that it's part synthetic.) I mean really suck, they don't even fit the buckle. That's OK, I was determined, and got the damn stirrups adjusted and secured. I'm the only one who's going to ride in this saddle, so it doesn't matter if the stirrups are not very adjustable.

Once I was done fiddling with the cinch (first time ever cinching up with a 3-way rigging system), I led my horse around the arena a few times. Tightened the cinch, got an angry face and some pinned ears, but nothing unusual.

Mounted up. Holy shit! Discovered Reason #3 for cheapness. I was sitting on the tree. There is no padding whatsoever in that seat. Stirrups felt good though, and horse seemed content, so I rode anyway. Walk trot canter uphill downhill, horse seemed perfectly happy and thankfully acted like there wasn't a big fat rider on her back squirming around trying and find a comfy seat.

Finally, the big fat rider gave up and decided to buy a butt cushion. There have been great advancements in butt cushion technology, I've heard. Ordered a couple, and we'll see if one (or both together, the seat really is that hard) will work. I hope so.

Even with buying an nice butt cushion, this saddle was heck of a deal. It only has to last until I can find/afford a nice one, and it fits the horse, so I can't complain. I needed something cheap (check), fits my ass (check), fits my horse (check) and isn't falling apart (check). So now I just have to ensure rider comfort, and we're good to go.

I hope my butt cushion comes soon.