“I’ve now owned a SMART™ Dressage
saddle for six months and so far, so good.
I’ve ridden in the saddle almost
every day and my horse hasn’t rejected it. This is unusual.
Generally he likes me to spend at least £2000 on a new saddle, usually the best
and latest technology, only for him to decide he doesn’t actually like it a
couple of weeks later.
Solution Saddles rental service allowed
me to have a SMART™ saddle on trial with
all the accessories for as long as I needed. With my serial saddle
purchasing history, this option was reassuring to say the least and is an
indication that this is a company with real confidence in its own
products.
Although I originally chose to try
SMART™ saddle to prevent yet another costly saddle mistake, what I really
hadn’t expected was that my horse could change so much – bearing in mind that
I’ve had him for nearly 10 years. He is a big moving horse,
but yet, has never had a medium trot to speak of. Although his
sideways movements are good to the left, he always struggled to the
right. I thought this was 95% down to me, 5% down to him. I didn’t
really think it could be the saddle until I tried a SMART™.
Since changing to a SMART™ saddle he
has miraculously developed an extended trot and is able to comfortably half
pass in both directions. He doesn’t change legs in canter any more
(unless I want him to) which was one of his favourite evasions, and he’s stopped
trying to put his head up in downward transitions. I’d like to say it is
because my riding has improved by 95% over the past 6 months but I think this
is highly unlikely.
He’s now completely different to look
at; his back is clearly stronger, the dips behind his withers are filling in,
and each time he changes shape, an Approved Advisor has been available to assist
us if needed.
At a recent fitting we were able to
take out most of the pads and shims which further adjusted the balance of the
saddle, making it even better from my point of view – my horse was already very
comfortable.
From the initial saddle fitting to
the last, nothing has been too much trouble; the customer service has really
been second to none.
I would recommend anyone who is
looking for a new saddle should to try a SMART™. With the excellent trial
packages on offer you’ve really got nothing to lose and potentially a great
deal to gain.
Meanwhile, I’ve booked in for a
dressage test – which will be the first time I’ve been out in public for four
years.
Sally Johnson and Mr Sloth