I used to have a Barefoot Cheyenne, but I didn't feel secure in it, and I fell off Fanny too many times. I sold it almost brand new, even though I'd owned it for over three years. I lost confidence in getting on her.
I sold my Cheyenne in the spring of 2011 and ordered a Rebecca Treeless saddle, which arrived in Sept. 2011.
The main reason I bought it was because the girth has a "Y" rigging ("V" girth). Fanny has a long back and is very wide. The back of my Cheyenne was popping up and I felt like the whole back of the saddle was swinging from side to side whenever she would turn. The Rebecca saddle doesn't lift or swing because it is held down by the back 'arm' of the "Y".
Also, because of her shape, I had issues with the saddle slipping side to side. Not just the back swinging, but slipping from side to side. I mount from a mounting block, and the saddle would still slip when I got on, no matter how tightly I did the girth.
I feel much more secure in the Rebecca saddle, and Fanny moves much better in it. Perhaps that is because I am a better passenger in this saddle, due to feeling more secure?
I did notice that girthing Fanny is hard, because sometimes trying to squeeze her into the next hole on the girth just got her mad. So I had my new saddle modified by switching the girthing system to a 'western' system, making it easier to find the right tightness. Hope that talking of western saddles is okay in a dressage forum
. I am fighting with softening up the leather cinch straps before I can put it on and actually get in the saddle.
The spanish saddles appeal to me, too
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