Halle-freakin'-lujah!

At the moment I'm doing the happy dance. How ever short lived this may be or even long term, I finally found a saddle to fit my pony. The number 7 must really be a lucky one.

I had always relied on working a horse in tack and looking for dry spots later on to tell if a saddle fit like it should. Until I recently found something much quicker and easier thru a friend at the barn, no work or waiting required. Baby powder is about as fast, cheap and easy as it gets. They have it at the $1 stores so it don't break the bank and as far as fast and easy goes.... The horse doesn't have to work, let alone break a sweat. Simply sprinkle a generous layer of powder on the horses back and set the saddle on them.

This first saddle is a close contact I have had for several years. Everyone kept saying Mazy looks like she has a wide back so I thought this one would work best. Baby powder clearly shows otherwise. Powder shows where the saddle fits, no powder means no contact.

This second saddle is a dressage saddle I was borrowing. The powder shows it fitting a bit better but still bridging in the middle as lack of powder between front and back. So annoying and frustrating.  

Third saddle is another borrowed dressage saddle, originally purchased to replace the previous one mentioned. They never did sell the previous one obviously, because they liked riding it and just kept going back to it. This one they actually did put out on consignment and long story later, finally got it back. Wouldn't you know, it fits far better than anything else we tried so far. Yes I may try buying it later on if it still fits.... Baby horse issues.

So there you have it. The fast, cheap and easy way to check saddle fit. It doesn't take any special skills or equipment. Western saddles are a bit trickier since they have the fleece underside but using colored chalk or any sort of colored powder should give the same results.  Good luck saddle fitting!