''I
haven’t been lucky enough to have horses all my life, so was thrilled when I got my
lovely Fell pony 'Wanda'. I had to use a saddle with an adjustable gullet
as we knew that she would change shape as she hadn’t done a lot previously. A
saddle fitter came out and suggested that as she is short-backed and very wide,
she needed an XW gullet plate and a cob fit saddle, but the smallest size I
could get was a 17” which was a little bit too long, but the only real option at
the time.
As she progressed I
got a saddle fitter out again and bought a traditional wide fit working hunter
style saddle which seemed OK, but, after a few months when the physio checked her, she noticed that she had some muscle wastage to her lower back that was being
caused by the saddle.
The barefoot trimmer we had begun to use also said that
he felt that the uneven wear on her front hooves was due to the saddle not
fitting correctly which was affecting her gait pattern. I began to look for a
better saddle for her but this proved very difficult as, despite having a lot of
advice and 3 different traditional saddle fitters out, none of the saddles
seemed to fit properly - they all either slipped forwards or sideways, were too
tight or were not comfortable for me.
I had thought about
trying a treeless saddle but had heard mixed reports and
also as I am just a ‘happy hacker’ I thought they might not be supportive
enough for me. I did more research
on the internet and came across the Solution Saddles website. I was very
impressed with the saddle design and the fact that while the SMART saddles looked more like
a traditional saddle, they were completely treeless and adaptable to any width
of horse or pony. I contacted them and arranged a trial visit.
The home consultation visit was
like a breath of fresh air after the previous trials I had with traditional
saddle fitters. The SMART Approved Advisor brought several different saddles for us to try and when
we decided which was the most appropriate, I had the opportunity to keep and try
the saddle to do what I normally do in real life (lots of hacking and a bit of
schooling); I didn’t have to commit to buying a saddle after only being able
to try it for half an hour in the school.
The customer services team were
extremely helpful, supportive and patient during the trial period, gave me lots
of good advice and even allowed me to extend the trial period to try a
different saddle when I felt that my original choice had not been quite right.
It did take me a while to get used to the dressage length girth and tightening
it up once mounted but even I have been able to manage that with practice!
I was a bit nervous
about how it would feel having only ever ridden in treed saddles, but I was
amazed at how secure and comfortable I felt while still being able to actually
feel Wanda moving properly for the first time. Wanda now feels like she is
walking actively rather than tip toeing as she was before. We have had the
saddle about 6 weeks now and even my instructor has commented that she is
lifting her back better as she is able to use her muscles properly.
The cost of the
saddle did seem a lot compared to the other saddles I had tried but the fact
that it is an excellent quality UK-made saddle, and won’t need
constant adjusting/reflocking, meant that it would be cost effective in the
long term. I also won’t have the hassle and expense of
buying/selling/part-exchanging saddles as I have had to do until now. The
fact that the SMART NATIVE VSD saddle is quite lightweight in comparison to a treed saddle is a bonus
as well when having to lift it in and out of the car and carry it to the yard
every day.
Now that we have at
last got a saddle that works for both Wanda and me, I am looking forward to
improving my riding and Wanda’s schooling, and maybe might even try something a
bit more adventurous than hacking in the future! To sum up I would say that SMART saddles are not just sports saddles, but are very versatile and
suitable for a wide range of horses and riders.''
- Janet Milroy, Yorkshire
