I'm not sure how many people caught the thread (or how many will even read this), but I learned yet another important lesson this past week: saddle fit is vital for a sound, happy horse, and follow your gut. If you think your saddle doesn't fit, and your trainer says it doesn't, get it check out. Your gut is more often right than not, which was the case in my situation.
Young and naive in many ways when I purchased Abby, I trusted my trainer to find a saddle for me, something I wasn't quite educated in. Sure enough, a woman at her barn was selling her older Crosby saddle. It was well priced and in pretty good condition. We tried it on my rather high withered Abby, and my trainer decided that it fit "well enough", and that using a shaped pad would keep pressure off of her withers. Not knowing any better, I agreed. Surely she knows what she's talking about, right? In the last two years, I've watched my mare's performance deteriorate. Poor saddle fit (pinching her withers and eventually sliding back) combined with a basically novice rider (read previous posts about how much I haven't learned, and all of the mistakes I've read...poor Abby!) has led to soreness, stubbornness, and sourness in my girl. Thankfully, I'm being reeducated, and Abby's had some time off.
The Crosby will soon be for sale, and I will be trying out new saddles, which will hopefully fit. I'm planning on looking at Bates AP and Bates Close Contact as my top two choices (although between them, I'm not sure yet). I've only had three lessons at the new place, but I've already learned soooooo much! I guess you could say that I've finally learned the basics, LOL! I think I may start jumping soon (yay!) and already my position and technique has improved thousand fold. I'm so excited to hop up on Abby again and show her what a different rider I am. I'm sure she'll be a much happier horse