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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:12:25 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
Google "Royal King Auto Adjust Saddle". There's several sites that sell them. One of the first sites has a review of them by some magazine. There's a couple out on e-bay right now that are really reasonably priced...
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTO-ADJUST-EXTREME-FLEX-TREE-WESTERN-SADDLE-2-Sizes_W0QQitemZ7228353798QQcategoryZ47293QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUTO-ADJUST-FLEX-TREE-WESTERN-SADDLE-16-PLEASURE-RANCH_W0QQitemZ7204091734QQcategoryZ47293QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Mine was the round skirt in dark mahogany. I just went to get the camera to upload the pics and dang-it if I didn't leave it hanging on a nail on the barn wall last night. I swear I'm losing my mind!
Does the underside look any different then a regular saddle? Can you see the things that adjust?
Becky
That's a very nice looking horse. I'm sorry you lost her.
What are you looking at Fri?
Becky
I actually think it's nicer than most saddles because it has a layer of neoprene cushioning between the leather skirts and the fleece underside. The other thing I like about it is that the stirrup leathers are lined with 2" nylon down their whole length, so they won't stretch. I was impressed.
You can see how narrow it was hanging on this saw-horse it was on, and that's basically how it fit on Grace, but when I put it on Tennessee, the skirts and bars were laying almost parallel to the ground. The gullet is supposed to adjust from 5" to 9", depending on the horse, and I can believe it...
HHMMMMMMMM, I really like the looks of that.
I'm going over to the shop later, depending on how that goes, I'll consider this as my next option.
Do you know why the girl sold the saddle?
Becky
She said she bought it, rode it about 6 times and sold her horse, and I can believe it because the girth was barely dirty.
Oh, man, I forgot to tell you.
Remember yesterday I posted that on the Clinton Anderson show they were going to talk about hoof care. Well it turns out he had a guest speaker and was the guy that wrote the book on Natural Trimming. It was really really interesting.
Both the guy, I can't remember his name but will catch it the next time I watch it, I saved it, and Anderson were saying that horses CAN go barefoot with this method of trimming no matter how much you ride and no matter the terrain. And in fact it can be accomplished better and easier in rough rocky hard terrain then in soft moist swampy.
Now if you want to believe him or not, Clinton Anderson said he started using this method a year ago. They both said you HAVE to put boots on them for awhile. It takes awhile to get the hoof healthy, that during the transition period they will be ouchy on rough ground. Anderson reccommended the type of boots I have.....Anyway, he said just about a month ago he was at a reining competition with a horse he had been trimming like this for a year. There was long gravel road there he took this horse on, barefoot, 3 days in a row, for 30 minutes, at a lope. The horse never took a gimpy step, his hoof never broke, and he was not sore afterwards.
It all sounded good in theory:), like most theories do:).
Becky
This is where they lose me. ~Some~ horses can, those who have good feet, under ~some~ kinds of work, some of the time, and if the owner really puts a lot of work into prepping them. Some of the farrier forum people were saying you have to hand walk them for thirty minutes on pavement every day during the transition. I don't think most people really will follow through on that for some number of months... And during that time the horse can barely do anything else? I don't see the point in trying so hard to go barefoot... If the horse can, like Cyn... or some horses that have never been shod, then great. If the horse hurts without shoes put shoes on 'em. I don't think they should endure sore feet for months because we think it might be good for them in the long run. That's my view anyhow....
Man, it's cold here today. And of course during this cold spell is when we found out that the gauge on our propane tank is off, and even tho it's showing there should be some in it, we are out....buuurrrrrrrrrr, sitting here in the office huddled over an electric space heater. Even Susie is hugging it:)
Propane man is suppose to be here this morning.
Becky
Well, I got the impression they wouldn't get sore, except when riding without boots.
(Remember I'm not saying I agree or disagree:)
They said to look at your horses feet. Cover up with you hand the bottom 2/3, leaving exposed from the coronet band down. What you see is the angle that your horses entire hoof should grow. Now look at part you covered with your hand. Most generally, according to them, the hoof will start to flare out some from that point down. That's from being shod, and it's not a good thing. It means the hoof is not securely attached to the bone underneath, and is allowing the bone to come into too close of contact with the ground. That thins the soles, and consequently makes the horse gimpy.
From studying the way a wild Mustangs foot grows, they have determined all this stuff.
They talked about "tricking" your horses system into thinking it's in the wild. The hoof will grow accordingly to what is needed on it's own. One of the ways to do this, is 1. trim every 4 weeks, in the wild their hoofs are being wore off all the time. 2. put the "mustang" roll on the edge of the hoof wall. it's a misconception that you are taking away support by doing that. This part goes along with that beveled edge on those NB shoes we were talking about last week, same concept.
Becky
Thanks") I'm swaddled in a blanket too:)
Becky
Whoo Hoo, propane guy is already here:)
Becky
I'm looking forward to watching the DVDs Frog sent me. They go into it in depth. Haven't got around to it yet.
Cool, I've got it recorded, I'll have to watch it and see if it's the same guy that has the NB Hoofcare Corner segments on the Dennis Reis show that I watch. I'll bet it is.
It seems like I remember some of those farriers over on that forum badmouthing Clinton Anderson and Pat Parelli for advocating this kinda stuff because they said that most horses couldn't go barefoot. It sounded like sour grapes to me. If everybody went barefoot, they'd be out of a job, or at least a significant part of it. And I'm sure that in order to go barefoot, most horses would have to go through a hoof conditioning period, especially if they're pastured on soft footing like I have around here, where you'd have to ride them every day on hard footing in order to get their feet to toughen up, and most horse owners, myself included, don't have time to do that. Mine will just have to either wear the NB shoes or go barefoot and wear boots when I ride them. The jury's still out on that.
I wouldn't mind giving it try, but I've got several problems with that.
1. I didn't have good luck with the boots staying on, and even tho Clinton Anderson said the Boa Boots worked great for him in rough terrain, I had trouble keeping them on, and he also said they were "inexpensive" HA. maybe for him:)
2. They wont' let you use boots at the competitions I go to, either barefoot or shod. I just really don't want to wait a year waiting on their feet to condition, altho I may have to if I don't get a saddle soon:).
The next best thing I'm thinking is try the shoes like you are saying, which will get their foot trimmed properly according to this method. Then maybe at the end of the season, pull them off and condition thru next winter and see where he's at next spring....
Becky
Everything works fine this morning but I had trouble logging in from home too. Glad it's not just me, I was getting paranoid :)
You'll love having a digital if you get one. They are so easy.
Good luck - you'll find a horse that you just click with, take your time.
I just finished watching the show. I think it is the same guy, he just talked about his 2 day clinics. His first name is Pete??
They just finished discussing how this method helps foundered and navicular horses.
Becky
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