“Oxnead Appleby (aka Joshua) is a tall Haflinger who stands
at about 15.3hh. I was having issues with Josh going forwards, he was starting
to do mini bucks in transitions and I worked out that he was filling out and
his saddle was the cause. I felt stuck, I had had the saddle checked and it looked to
fit but clearly he was still unhappy and unable to move freely.
My friend came over with her Solution saddle and suggested that we tried it. I was sceptical at first but gave it go. Well, a different horse indeed! No ears back; no bucks and moving forward freely. That was it!
I arranged a Home Consultation Visit from a Solution Saddles
Approved Advisor and I decided on a SMART NATIVE GP for Josh and a SMART POPULAR
GP for my other horse. Since then, it has been plain sailing. Josh
is now six and has changed shape a lot over the past two years and the SMART
saddle has allowed his muscles to grow and strengthen without any
interference. We have lovely comments from dressage judges about how
flexible and soft his movement is.
I love being able to feel the movement through the saddle, which
has improved my balance and riding no end. I find it easy to stay with him,
even when training a young horse which is learning to balance, bend and jump
and things go slightly awry! I am only 5' tall, 7.5 stone and have short legs;
this has made no difference as I am able to use my seat a lot more and feel my
way through.
Josh is now competing
in ODE's at 80 cm and training at 90 cm. His jumping is freely and easily as
he is able to use himself without any restrictions and I don’t worry about the
saddle pinching or digging in. He is so comfortable and confident in his
work that I can really focus on the riding.
As you can see from the photos, we do just about everything
in our SMART saddle - horsemanship clinics, dressage, XC, SJ, hacks, pleasure
rides, hunting. I love the fact that we don't have to have endless saddle
fittings and I can adjust the saddle using shims and balance pads to adapt as
necessary. They are so comfortable, light and easy to use, handle and
ride in.
We are having a great time together! I have absolute confidence in my SMART saddles; next year I am looking forward to moving up to training at 100 cm and having yet more fun!
Sadly I lost my other horse but I was able to put the spare SMART straight on
my loan horse, and away we went!"
Sharon Savory
