I was over in the racing forum asking about jumping in race exercise saddles, and someone said they had seen a bunch of foxhunters in MD hunting in them. Tell me more!
Iām not sure exactly what more youāre looking for, but at least in the Monkton/ Hunt Valley area itās not at all uncommon to see point to point and steeplechase horses hunting in them. Itās not unheard of to see them at hunter trials/ jumper shows either. IIRC there was a fairly high level showjumper recently who rode in one on some horses too. If youāre comfortable jumping with your stirrups pretty short, theyāre not all that different than a old Crosby Prix de Nations padding- wise.
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Not much more to tell - these saddles are designed for galloping, so it makes very much sense to use them for foxhunting. I was out today in one - as were many of the horses in first flight.
Got it. Yes, makes total sense, but was a brand new concept for me. Guess Iāve hunted in territory and climate which was as likely to have slow days than rousing long gallops, and Iāve been farther from tracks and point to point country, so I havenāt seen them hunting.
. A couple people on the other thread found fit on post track horses to be a challenge. Do you use one with a ānarrowā or āregularā half tree? Iām looking to order one online to play with, so trying to avoid as many stupid ordering errors as possible. 
I think most are regular tree. I bought mine used and it has been on many different horses. IME it will still fit most TBs post track but not anything that is very fat or doesnāt have big withers-- for example the handful of Paint/QH/pony/WBs Iāve broken.
Whatās a New England tree, do you know? Bartville sells two, one with a narrow tree, and one with New Englandā¦
Plenty of people (steeplechase jockeys in off-season, trainers, a few retired jockeys/trainers) hunt in a half-tree exercise saddle - I only have half-trees and thatās what I take the 'chasers out in if theyāre here in hunt season. You donāt have to ride short at all - just drop your stirrups ānormal hacking lengthā like you would if you were breaking young horses/jogging 2-year-olds. I would add a fluffy pad plus a firm felt pad - felt to protect the horseās back from my weight (if its much walking/trotting) and the fluffy pad to better āpadā for the rider if we do much standing or trotting!
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