Saddle Questions - what type?
Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2012 9:23 pm
I posted this on another site, thought I'd post here too - always helpful to get lots of opinions!
So, I have some questions about saddles, but I should give a little background first:
In February 2011 my wife was diagnosed with colon cancer - stage 4, it had already spread to her liver. 45 is too young to have colon cancer - usually it's not something they look for until you're 50. It's been a rough road, but although her liver is inoperable, with chemo and radiation it's been knocked back to where she's doing pretty well and is feeling pretty well too. I went to a field trial back in August where there were rental horses available, and I got the idea that as my wife loves horses, maybe we could go trail riding. It would be something fun my wife & I could do together.
I've got lots of experience mucking stalls, and I had been under a horse once - pulled and re-shoed a horse under the supervision of a farrier friend (which made it abundantly clear I was not made to be a farrier) but I'd never ridden before. When I suggested to my wife we rent some horses and go trail riding, she said, "You are not going trail riding until you take some lessons first."
So we started taking western riding lessons together back in August. Although she was a little rusty at first, my wife is an English rider with some jumping experience. She's been a horse girl since her first lesson when she was 7, and she got her first horse at 12, so she has really been enjoying getting back into riding. I'm having a good time too, and just wish we'd started riding together sooner.
"Horse therapy" has done her worlds of good. We were thinking about getting a horse we could both use, and we were talking about a TWH so I could use it in trials. We were going to take a trip in the next couple of weeks to try out some TWHs with a trail ride outfit to see how she liked them, and also get a feel for trooper saddles.
But opportunity knocked, and we've ended up getting a very nice 14.2h 15 year old quarter horse mix gelding for her. An experienced trail horse, he is dead calm, steady, and bomb proof. He has a nice smooth jog and canter. My wife fell in love with him instantly, and I could not say no. He's the perfect horse for her and she's just tickled pink, I haven't seen her smile this much in a long time. He's probably a little small for me, but that's OK - he's her horse and it's not about me anyway.
We'll get the horse this Saturday, but we have no tack, no gear, no nothing - which brings me around to my saddle questions...
Are trooper saddles better suited to gaited horses, and if so should we just get a western saddle for my wife?
Are troopers more comfortable than western saddles? What are the advantages of one over the other?
If we get her a trooper, what size? My wife is 5' tall, and I'm 6' - from what I've seen troopers are 16" or 18", would we both be able to use an 18"?
I'll add that an endurance saddle was suggested as an option, and we might have a lead on a nearly new used one.
Thanks for any help/suggestions!
Hey, and why not - if anyone has a used saddle in good shape they wouldn't mind parting with, let me know!
So, I have some questions about saddles, but I should give a little background first:
In February 2011 my wife was diagnosed with colon cancer - stage 4, it had already spread to her liver. 45 is too young to have colon cancer - usually it's not something they look for until you're 50. It's been a rough road, but although her liver is inoperable, with chemo and radiation it's been knocked back to where she's doing pretty well and is feeling pretty well too. I went to a field trial back in August where there were rental horses available, and I got the idea that as my wife loves horses, maybe we could go trail riding. It would be something fun my wife & I could do together.
I've got lots of experience mucking stalls, and I had been under a horse once - pulled and re-shoed a horse under the supervision of a farrier friend (which made it abundantly clear I was not made to be a farrier) but I'd never ridden before. When I suggested to my wife we rent some horses and go trail riding, she said, "You are not going trail riding until you take some lessons first."
So we started taking western riding lessons together back in August. Although she was a little rusty at first, my wife is an English rider with some jumping experience. She's been a horse girl since her first lesson when she was 7, and she got her first horse at 12, so she has really been enjoying getting back into riding. I'm having a good time too, and just wish we'd started riding together sooner.
"Horse therapy" has done her worlds of good. We were thinking about getting a horse we could both use, and we were talking about a TWH so I could use it in trials. We were going to take a trip in the next couple of weeks to try out some TWHs with a trail ride outfit to see how she liked them, and also get a feel for trooper saddles.
But opportunity knocked, and we've ended up getting a very nice 14.2h 15 year old quarter horse mix gelding for her. An experienced trail horse, he is dead calm, steady, and bomb proof. He has a nice smooth jog and canter. My wife fell in love with him instantly, and I could not say no. He's the perfect horse for her and she's just tickled pink, I haven't seen her smile this much in a long time. He's probably a little small for me, but that's OK - he's her horse and it's not about me anyway.
We'll get the horse this Saturday, but we have no tack, no gear, no nothing - which brings me around to my saddle questions...
Are trooper saddles better suited to gaited horses, and if so should we just get a western saddle for my wife?
Are troopers more comfortable than western saddles? What are the advantages of one over the other?
If we get her a trooper, what size? My wife is 5' tall, and I'm 6' - from what I've seen troopers are 16" or 18", would we both be able to use an 18"?
I'll add that an endurance saddle was suggested as an option, and we might have a lead on a nearly new used one.
Thanks for any help/suggestions!
Hey, and why not - if anyone has a used saddle in good shape they wouldn't mind parting with, let me know!