Saddle Thoughts

So I'm planning on buying the saddle I used for all of August next weekend. The fitter is convinced he can keep it from sliding with a couple of adjustments and even if it slides a little bit, I think I will still end up with it. 

He's so cool, I hope he lets me wear my shadbelly
on him one day!

It seems crazy to knowingly buy a saddle that isn't perfect, it's not like the saddle isn't expensive... but I was realizing the other day that TC's future is still a bit up in the air. Don't take that the wrong way, that horse has a near permanent place in my life and I am 95% certain I won't sell him. If I do, it will be to someone who I know and who I've leased him to for a year or more. But if he's not going to be comfortable going beyond Third level, I'm probably going to look for a lease option for him or a career change for the pair of us (turn him into my fun trail horse and maybe teach some lessons on him).

I'm fairly certain that the issues we've hit on this last year were caused by the saddle issue and the training program we were subscribed to. I've since rehabbed him from that training program and he's been out of that saddle for a while. This saddle is not going to cause those same issues. It does not have long front gussets, it does not have tree points, and it has enough give to it that he can actually use his shoulders and lift his back. Even if it slides forward, it doesn't crush his shoulders, it just annoys me mostly. This saddle will absolutely rule out the original saddle issue even if it isn't a perfect fit just because of how the saddle is made. 

it's hard to see but this squirrel wants to hang out
in the cool sand in the shade lol

But... there's definitely a chance that there's some other stuff going on that maybe were made worse by the saddle. At the end of the day, the horse isn't purpose bred for this sport and his conformation/lack of tone is very challenging. The upper levels are hard enough on a horse with perfect conformation. Don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer that almost all horses can make it to the Grand Prix. But the question may end up being, is it fair to keep pushing him if he's not entirely comfortable or confident in the work? With how he's been going this week, I see nothing holding him back. I can feel a canter pirouette in there and his mind is so good. However, because we hit the wall we did at the time in his training we did (hitting the collection wall as we head into Fourth level, yikes), it's on the back of my mind. He was never meant to be my next Grand Prix horse after all. 

If that's the case, my plans for him will be to solidify the lower levels and turn him into a bronze medal machine. Lease him out to someone who can love on him and learn from him (he's totally bombproof, easy in all the movements, and super sweet, his only downside is that his gaits are no joke to sit! But I think he'd love to have a junior), either a half lease so I can keep playing with him for fun, or I can full lease him into a program I trust. Horses like him are worth their weight in gold and I've always wanted to give back to the sport with a schoolmaster. I've always planned on doing this when he hits whatever level he tells me is his max level, it'd suck if it was Third level, but who knows!

Because things are so up in the air, I'm not entirely enthused to buy a fully custom saddle that's perfectly fit to me and to him. If he ends up maxing out where we are at right now, the saddle I'm planning on buying would be perfect. I could send it with him to his leaser and not worry that it's going to get bumped or bruised (it's a demo so it's already a bit bruised). If he ends up telling me that he can and will do the FEI levels, I'll keep the saddle I'm buying this year for my next horse (since it can be fit to any horse) and then buy him a fancy full custom saddle!

The sand was hot on top but a bit damp under the
first layer so this guy kept digging himself a little
place to sploot in the shade

So that's my reasoning for buying a "pretty good but not perfect" saddle at this time. The cost of this saddle is half what I'd be getting a full custom saddle for so I may be saving money in the long run, or I could be spending even more on a full custom saddle, but I would have needed to buy a second saddle for my next horse anyway since I'm planning on overlapping my horses by at least a few years. 

Fingers crossed that the fitter can get it to not slide anymore so even if TC makes it to the Grand Prix, I can just keep riding in it! But even if it still slides a little bit, I'll probably still go for it.