Just had to drop you a note to tell you how happy we are with our new saddles!  

We have been searching for a saddle for my husband’s Appendix QH for over 2 years and over 15 saddles tried with no luck, and plenty of pain for the poor guy as well as Dave not being comfortable in some of them - So, after ranting on Facebook to my International Aging Horsewomen page I received many emails about many different saddle fitters to use - and decided that I would give Colin a try after a few recommendations from some ladies who swore by the bareback saddle they had purchased.  So I spent a while texting and talking on the phone to Colin about Earl and husband’s riding issues and decided we would go with an Aussie stock saddle - Husband has always been a fan of them and this was an easy choice. We did the tracings, took pictures and Colin had us done faster than a lizard drinking (to quote a fellow Aussie Steve Irwin).  We waited patiently and when it arrived we took it to the horse straight away to try it out.  We also purchased the saddle pad Colin developed as well as the chest plate and it all fit great.  The true test was when my husband David got in the saddle and it didn’t shift, or move and Earl didn’t seem to mind.  We did a trial run in the paddock and then I gave it a whirl and I could feel Earl, who is a nice soft touch and what a difference!  Now 3 weeks later we have been out on the trail and he’s a better horse!  No head tossing on the way home or halfway out because he was in pain, he’s happy, relaxed, and Dave is enjoying his horse so much more!

Now for the second part of this story - My pony has also acting up for a while; he would stop on the trail and turn around to come home, or just putz along on the trail, and I’d have to tap him with my dressage whip to ask him to keep moving - at a snails pace no less - so I decided it was time to try out the bareback saddle that was recommended by a few of the ladies on the International Aging Horsewomen Facebook page and boy am I glad I did!

We measured the pony, got the saddle ordered and 2 weeks later we have a saddle that is 16 pounds and I love it! I am 5’ tall and my pony is 13.2 and I have arthritis in my shoulder so hefting a heavy saddle is literally a pain.  We saddled up the pony and got the leathers adjusted and I wasn’t sure I would like this new saddle - it was too close, I could feel the pony like I was riding bareback and the leathers were like riding in an English saddle which I hadn’t done in quite a while, but I continued to give it a go.  I texted my concerns to Colin and got some good answers, so the next day I cut the leathers (much too long for my short legs lol) and left a bit to tuck into the keepers, cinched up my pony as Colin told me to do and got in the saddle - and it was like night and day!  I had forgotten how much my Western saddle had hurt my seat bones when I rode and this was like sitting on a cushy seat and I could feel the pony and ask with my legs rather than my hands - so out we went for a nice 1 hour ride!  What a nice day we had!  Donkey, my pony,  responded to my legs, went without pushing or tapping with the whip and was a joy to ride again!  Earl was great as well and where we would normally have an issue when we turned around on the trail we had nothing but well behaved and happy horses! We couldn’t be happier! 

We’ve been dealing with unhappy, ill fitted horse saddles and we knew it was the issue but spent countless hours traveling back and forth to tack shops getting saddles that did not fit our  horses correctly.  The saddle makes all the difference in their performance and mental state when you get out to ride.  Once again last night, Sunday, we tacked up at 6PM to go for a nice ride and the boys had pep in their step on the trail, no dragging butt to move out, but heads up, ready to go and paying attention and happily, squeezing my pony to go and off he went! 

We are amazed and so happy with Colin and his products and will happily recommend them to whoever asks!  Thank you Colin for all your help and information - I’ve been riding for 20 + years and I still learn new things every day about them!  Colin is a wealth of knowledge and my husband loves his new Aussie (he loved the Man from Snowy River) saddle!  Our horses, Earl and Donkey thank you too!