I think we found a saddle 🤞

[Jessey]

I really blinking hope so! I went with a cavaletti dressage, it’s brand new but sold as second hand so got a bargain on it, though I didn’t know that when I picked it out of the line up!

It was another saddler today with 5 more saddles to try, he’s definitely chunked up, she fitted him as a wide in most saddles but needed xw in gfs!

The chunky monkeys were nice, but we both preferred the cavaletti by a hair so went with it, I have until Sunday to change my mind which is reassuring

I would have gone out for a more in depth test this evening after she left but we have some desperately needed and long awaited rain! So it will wait until tomorrow.

 

[carthorse]

Everything crossed for you!

 

[newforest]

Everything crossed for you as well.
We had torrential wind and rain last night, so maybe we passed it on to you.

 

[Jessey]

Really positive ride last night, Monkey was calm and willing and he is neither of those things if a saddle isn’t quite right!

We had the best canters we’ve had in a while, no bucking, forward and it’s the first time in a long time I had to stop him (he’s just been giving up lately).

But there’s always something, the saddle skirt rubbed the back of my thigh where it joins the seat, but it’s new stiff leather so I’m really hoping with a significant dose of balm it will soften and stop that nonsense!

 

[carthorse]

As you say, the Cavaletti leather is quite stiff. Until it softens would a seat saver help? Or maybe some thick tights or cycling shorts under your jods so you have another layer to reduce the friction? If you talk to your saddle fitter it may even be that a very small tweak would put you in a slightly different position so it doesn't catch - many years ago I had similar with an otherwise perfect saddle and the saddle opened the stirrup bar a fraction which altered how the leathr hung (nothing you could see) and the problem was gone.

 

[Jessey]

Yeah, I have her booked to come back in 4 weeks for a check anyway, so if it is still bothering me by then I will talk to her. In the mean time, I have a selection of seat savers I can try and thicker jods rather than tights will likely help. It's not terrible, I did 1 1/4 hours last night and no ill effects this morning, I could just feel it, mostly when rising trot and using those muscles! Once I have made my final decision I will get on with conditioning it, I might even oil that specific bit to get it to soften fast.