Asking anyone who owns one or has owned one your opinions.
Intriguing concepts, but since it is still so new, I’m wondering about long term.
I’ve seen reviews on here from a couple of years ago, but am interested in anyone who owns one now. How long have you had it, and has it held up well for you and your horses over time?
I don’t have one, but have noticed in recent weeks that A LOT of them are showing up on eBay and Facebook for sale groups. Makes me wonder if the concept isn’t as good in practice as it was in theory.
I have one. I’ve been using it over a year. This is a new type saddle, and it needs some help to overcome some problems that come with the WONDERFUL freedom it gives the horses’ shoulders. I have had difficulties with it, a lot of difficulties that come with me having MS (especially balance), but gradually I have overcome them, and:
I LOVE THIS SADDLE.
You HAVE TO shim properly if this saddle is to work. I’m using it on three croup high horses, two have decent withers and the other one has thick withers (not mutton though.) I have been using my BOT/ThinLine Contender II pad with one or two bridging shims. This does bring some stability. Be sure to call Ron for advice (he sells the saddle in the USA, see the Pegasus Butterfly Saddle site), I did and he did help me.
Then I changed from Lettia Coolmax girths to mohair string girths. The girth often has to be tightened after a few minutes of riding for the stability of the saddle on the horse’s back. This is necessary because the rider’s weight “molds” the saddle to the horse’s back, which loosens the girth a hole or two.
The third problem, was that even after shimming the pad and using a mohair girth, the saddle was still shifting to one side. I accidentally found the solution when I bought my Kerrits IceFlo tights with the silicon rubber full seat. The saddle mostly stopped shifting to the side when I wear them, and when I used non silicon full seat breeches (FITS deerskin full seats) the saddle started sliding to the side again. My hypothesis is that the hinges in the front of the tree enable the top of the shoulder to move further back, which shifted my seat to the side of the saddle, usually to the left. Since I have AWFUL balance I really did not notice this, and my body did not self-correct. With the silicon full seat my seat stays centered in the saddle, and the saddle shifts only 1/2" instead of 2" or more. All I have to do to recenter now is put more weight in one stirrup.
I think the horses like this saddle. Even when I was way off center in it the horses (3 of them) NEVER took advantage of my more precarious position. They kept on going straight instead of turning and they never really cursed me out about it, except for some muttering that I needed to learn to ride better. With the pad shimmed properly, a mohair string girth, tightening the girth after riding a few minutes, and me wearing the silicon full seat tights the horses are pretty happy with this saddle. THE TOP OF THE HORSES’ SHOULDERS HAVE GREAT FREEDOM WITH THIS SADDLE. This is the reason that, until I find another saddle I can use on multiple, differently shaped horses,that also gives the horses’ shoulders freedom, I keep riding in this saddle and I refuse, refuse, refuse to get rid of it. The horses stride out freely, their backs “swing”, the horses have more “forward”, and everyone is much happier than ever before with regular treed saddles (Crosby, Stubben,) Throughout all my difficulties with this saddle, magnified with my MS, I just could not give up with it because I had never felt such freedom with the horses’ shoulders after riding horses for over 45 years.
If I went back to a regularly treed saddle the horses would probably be very emphatic that they do not like the top of their shoulders running into the saddle points.
Yes, learning how to ride in this saddle was challenging, but I will never, ever regret buying it.
I don’t own one but I borrow one frequently. It’s my go to saddle when I have a horse in training who doesn’t fit any of my own standard saddles. In an ideal world, I think I would still prefer a regular custom fitted saddle for each horse but the Butterfly is a great thing to have around for the weird backs when custom isn’t an option.
They take a beating and hold up great.
I just bought the Marla model, and this the best saddle I have ever used. I have a high withered, broad shouldered appy, and saddle fitting was a complete nightmare. This was my last hope, and I wish I had tried it sooner. It fits my horse like a glove, it is extremely balanced and it is very comfortable. My horse moves like a dream, he comes under himself, has shoulder freedom so he is much more forward. It’s just fantastic. I can’t say enough good things. Craftmenship is impeccable. Covered in calfskin in a rich brown. If you can, try one. It takes a little time to get used to, but once you do, it’s a game changer.
I have had it for two months, and there is not a mark anywhere. It’s just getting more supple, and more comfy! It still looks brand new. I will never use a standard tree again.
