Anybody tried one of these yet?
http://www.buytack.com/products/saddles/act/20554.htm
My new horse was ridden in a regular Abetta endurance and they fit her well but I don’t find them very comfy in the seat. I’m hoping the memory foam helps that!
Hay
I think this is my saddle exactly. I just bought and I like it. The seat is very cushy and the saddle fits my horse well. I had a tack store fit us both and of what she brought to the farm, this one was the best.
One thing and I’m new to the western ways…(English over 40 years) is those nylon straps to tie the saddle on with the knot. I have a leather on for the off side which straps into the buckle however on the right is a nylon strap that I need to tie the knot. The nylon slips.
On another thread a poster suggested replacing the nylon with leather and then doing something with it. I’ll have to reread her post. So this nylon loosens as you ride and then the saddle slips all over. So fix that and it’s great. Only weighs about 7 lbs!!! Wait the web siite says 16 lbs, well, it does feel lighter than that…Also, I paid about $550 for mine so those prices are pretty good HOWEVER I am glad I spent the extra to have the store out to fit the horse.
Also don’t get the turny things for the stirrups, mine broke within 2 months and they were $60 bucks!!!
If you buy a girth with a single buckel on one side and a double roller on the other side it works better. The single buckel is used on the off side and the double roller, it too has a single tung but the first pass of the near billet goes over the top roller and the second wrap goes over the lower roller, the one with the tung. Use a hot nail, soldering iron, anything hot to burn the holes in the nylon billet where you want them.
I hate knots under my leg and by having holes you know when the saddle is at the required tightness.
On a side note when setting up the pillet on the off side there is a special way of doing it. Fold the stap in half around the single buckle, place the 2 cut ends together and pass them through the saddle ring outside to inside, bring the 2 cut ends back down to the buckle and place then through the buckle and place the tung in a convenient hole.
This gives you 4 wraps of the off billet and shortens it to the correct length.
The nylon ‘latigos’ they ship with those saddles are hard, thin, and cheap feeling. I replaced mine with a better grade of nylon on the offside (rigged as Shadow described…run one end through the girth ring, then hold the ends together so the hole line up…run those ends through the saddle’s off cinch ring, down to the girth, up through it toward you…and buckle it. If you have your western cinch on correctly there’s a little sleeve there to tuck those floppy ends down into).
On the NEAR side, I use leather latigos and I find I really like the Weaver girths with the roller buckles.
I have to replace my straps about every 1 1/2-2 years. They wear through where they pass through the saddle ring. The good part is they are cheap enough. I bought a roll of this material and I just replace when I see I am wearing through. This is about 3000-4000 miles so most should not have a problem. I only burn holes in the area I use regularly. If I for some reason need it for another horse for a one off ride I just tie the knot.
Do NOT use seat belt material. It lasts all of about a month. The replacement billets are far heavier then seat belt material.
Glad to hear the seat is comfy! I have one on order, can’t wait to try it out. Have you ridden in it when it’s cold? Just wondering if the foam stiffens up.
I use one of these on the near side so that I can tighten the cinch while still in the saddle. 
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html?pgguid=30e07ff7-7b6a-11d5-a192-00b0d0204ae5
I use one of these in the off-billet to help ensure I don’t over-tighten:
http://www.cashelcompany.com/productdetails.aspx?C=5&SC=17&ProductID=8744
ok, so I am weird, but I have not had any trouble with the abetta nylon latigos. I despise leather and have MORE trouble getting it to cooperate with my arhtritic fingers. My riding buddy is always advising I get a quick cinch cam type device and I keep telling her pulling the latigo to get it tight is the LEAST of my difficulties when tacking up. Face me with English girth buckles and I’m almost in tears, have practically no finger/grasp strength to manipulate them.
Cant wait to see what my 60s and 70s will be like, with this level of decripitude in my mid 50s… Thanks Shadow 14 for the advice on securing the off billet, this has always been a mystery to me!
[QUOTE=jeano;3675316]
Thanks Shadow 14 for the advice on securing the off billet, this has always been a mystery to me![/QUOTE]
Your welcome
Norval
Hay
Previous poster said: “I use one of these in the off-billet to help ensure I don’t over-tighten:
http://www.cashelcompany.com/product...ProductID=8744”
The above might be really handy, thanks for posting this…
Well I tried out the Trinity today and it was great! The seat was super comfy.
Nice secure feeling but I could still feel my horse very well.
Hay
Cool!
I’m thinking about getting an Abetta as an extra saddle. Didn’t someone here change the stirrups to english stirrups? I tried to find the thread, but it must be too old.
How was it done? Was the saddle taken to a repair shop or can it be done by myself?
I’ve only heard good things about the Abetta endurance model.
Erin
[QUOTE=Malda;3692436]
I’m thinking about getting an Abetta as an extra saddle. Didn’t someone here change the stirrups to english stirrups? I tried to find the thread, but it must be too old.
How was it done? Was the saddle taken to a repair shop or can it be done by myself?
I’ve only heard good things about the Abetta endurance model.
Erin[/QUOTE]
Moi!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Jet/jet_saddle4.jpg
There’s a bar space under the seat flap thing. I threaded my stirrup leathers up there. Wasn’t totally easy though. Took a bit of pulling.
I’m thinking of getting a treeless saddle, but aren’t exactly too sure yet. Gotta try a demo maybe, see how it works. But that memory foam seat sure looks nice, and would be an improvement over my current Abetta.
I just got an Abetta endurance with the wide QH flex tree. It is comfortable and it is WIIIDDDEEEE! I don’t LOVE the stirrups, but I think I will switch them to English one’s now!
I like my English leathers on my Abetta. I can shorten 'em if we’re doing ring work, drop them down a hole if we’re on the trail. And they’re easy to keep my leg in place.
Dreamswept, are those just regular “enduro” type billets or did you have the saddle modified in some way?
I had been thinking of trying an enduro-type rigging with it but I didn’t know if the back ring was functional or decorative.
What stirrups do you have? They look like the wide comfort type, but different than the standard ones that came with the Trinity.
I have no problems with the nylon latigos and billets that come with the Abettas. I used mine for years and they stayed soft and never wore through. On one of my Abettas, I put english leathers and irons on it and that worked great. It’s very easy to do also. For the super long off-billet, I just replaced it with a Weaver brand short one. I also hate the english billets and buckles. Acccck hate them. I just want to scream, trying to get those buckles into all those teenie little holes. I much prefer western rigging.
That’s it, thanks. This time I downloaded the picture.
I currently have a Bandos treeless that I use. I’m happy with it, but I’d like a treed saddle for my husband to ride in. He doesn’t ride very often and a treeless isn’t a good choice if you don’t have a secure seat. And obviously I don’t want to spent a lot on a saddle that isn’t used often.
Erin
[QUOTE=dreamswept;3692787]
Moi!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Jet/jet_saddle4.jpg
There’s a bar space under the seat flap thing. I threaded my stirrup leathers up there. Wasn’t totally easy though. Took a bit of pulling.
I’m thinking of getting a treeless saddle, but aren’t exactly too sure yet. Gotta try a demo maybe, see how it works. But that memory foam seat sure looks nice, and would be an improvement over my current Abetta.[/QUOTE]
Dreamswept, are those just regular “enduro” type billets or did you have the saddle modified in some way?
They’re regular ‘enduro’ type billets I got from Horses Dacor. (http://www.horsesdacor.com/) I used to use that billet converter thing that would let you use an English girth, but I saw a couple of pictures on an endurance rider’s blog about her using the back ring as part of a single tie enduro rigging. But I’m incompetent with Western girths and needed a double buckle. 
Works out pretty good, keeps my saddle really secure and steady, especially with my broad, flat Haffie. The billets are 1.5 inches wide, so you do have to find a girth that has a 1.5-inch buckles. Big improvement over those tiny buckles.
My stirrups came from Arete Saddlery. They’re metal, and can hurt if you bang your shins on them, but because I have English leathers on my saddle, I just toss them over the seat and carry it that way.
