Saddle Fitting

The saddle fitter came today with her truck full of saddles for me to try.  First she looked at Jackson's back and noticed that 1) he is quite wide and 2) he was a bit sore.  He has a slight curve to his back and Brett's Passier has a flat tree so she suspects it is bridging on his back and causing that bit of soreness.  We put a fleece cooler on Jackson to keep him warm while I tried out saddles on her saddle stand.

  She said she wasn't going to bother with having me try about 60% of them because with his shape, they wouldn't be comfortable.

Inside the saddle van. 

She also told me nothing about each saddle so I could focus on fit and comfort without preconceived ideas.  We narrowed it down to four saddles pretty quickly.  The one used saddle she had in my size, I didn't like at all.  Bummer.  She also bumped me up to a size 18 -- she said because of my long legs but I think it's also the extra groceries I've started carrying around since I passed the 50 year old mark.
Then we took Jackson to the arena and I tried them all out.  She let me ride as long as I wanted in each of them.

Getting a saddle ready to try.  Jackson was very patient.

Waiting for the next saddle.

  The first one was comfortable.  The second one felt strange at first because it had a very deep seat which I am not used to.  But then when I started trotting in it, I liked how I could feel Jackson clearly.  He seemed happy too.  The third saddle was an immediate no.  The fourth a maybe.  I tried number 1, 2 and 4 again.  I eliminated 4 and liked 2 even more.  I tried 1 & 2 for quite a while at sitting trot and canter.  Definitely number 2. 

Here it is!  Custom Everest with long flaps

Then I asked for the damage.  It isn't from their most expensive line.  Yay!!  She said it has a curved spring tree so that is very good for Jackson's back.  It has a single flap so it is very close contact.  ...and it will take 12-14 weeks for my new saddle to arrive from the U.K.  Then I have 10 days to ride in it and decide if I still want it. 
I want it now!

Everybody else was obviously very concerned about all the activity.

Today was quiet otherwise.  Last night I made an easy pasta that we devoured.  The sauce was olive oil, a bit of cream, lemon juice and shallots.  Then I stirred in fresh basil, drizzled each serving with more olive oil, and sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan.

I threw together salads with pears and carrots for the side. 

We opened a bottle of dry Riesling to wash it down.  Tonight, it's leftovers.