It is shipping tomorrow! I’ll be sure to post pictures as soon as I get it! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE:D
Oh, well, I thought you had it and were posting pictures!
Good, I love saddles, bet it is a gem.
How exciting!! Can’t wait to see pics 
So can’t wait to see! Lovely saddles!! Congrats!
UPS says it will be here Monday! I will post pictures for sure! Don’t know when I can ride in it as we’re having storms right now!
Okay, here are two pictures:
I rode in it for the first time today. I’m happy to say I think it fits Mac really well. There was no side-to-side rolling, he has nice freedom in the shoulders, it isn’t digging into his back in the back, and he had a nice sweat pattern. He also moved out nice and forward.
When I was at the shop placing my order they thought I could go with a 14.5" seat. But they didn’t have any 14.5" saddles for me to sit in. I chose a 15" seat because I’d rather have too big than too small (a too-small saddle issue caused some major problems in the past). Another friend suggested I try a 14.5". I sat in a couple 14.5"s and they just felt too small. So I went with the 15". I’m thinking maybe I should have gone with the 14.5". How much difference would .5" make? Could the saddler re-do the seat? (obviously I can ask him but just wondering if anyone’s had this done)
Otherwise, I love it. Very squeaky, but I just wanted to get a feel for it. And it didn’t make my back hurt, which is a huge thumbs up because my Crestride did make my back hurt as a result of the rolling side-to-side which I was always trying to compensate for.
Nice!
If it feels big, maybe add a sheepskin seat saver?
My ranch saddle is 14 1/2" seat, but my reining saddle is 16" seat and both feel just right to me.
If you have a good middle in there, I expect that, as it breaks in a bit, that little difference may not matter.
I expect he can add a seat to it and that would help, if you really need it tighter.
You may feel a bit loose because it is so new and slick.
Until it gets some wear, it may just feel loose in there.
Sure good looking saddle.
Thanks, Bluey, I’ll keep that in mind. Regardless of having a little extra room behind me in the seat, there is a sweet spot where my seatbones want to be so I just naturally sit there. I feel balanced, there’s just room behind my bum!
Where you riding on a saddle with regular swells, 13" or 14" ones?
Going from that to more of an A frame may make this saddle feel bigger, because you have less in front holding you in, more air there.
Adding bucking rolls may help make it tighter.
Ahhh, yes, bucking rolls - hadn’t thought of that. Definitely something to consider…
You know, I can’t see it very well in the pics. Maybe you could ship it down to OC so I could get a better look?
In a nutshell, no, you can’t redo the seat smaller. Bucking rolls or a seat saver can eat up room, but a lot of the shape of the groundseat is set by the bars.
The McCall I got to fit my hard to fit gelding is a 16" so too big for me, 15" is optimal. But as you observe there’s a sweet spot that works. He will go in my 15" custom ranch type too, but he really likes the McCall better.
looks like a nicely made saddle.
Nice!!!
Very nice.
Nice pics!
That turned out really nice looking!! Congrats!!!
Just saw your testimonial on Facebook, so glad to hear the saddle is working for you!!!
Did it help using actual trees after narrowing it down with the forms?
[QUOTE=froglander;8015232]
Just saw your testimonial on Facebook, so glad to hear the saddle is working for you!!!
Did it help using actual trees after narrowing it down with the forms?[/QUOTE]
Hi froglander!
Yes, it did help using actual trees. The forms are plastic or fiberglass or some sort of molded thing that resembles a tree but isn’t exactly a tree. It was helpful to get an idea of some options that would be possible, and to narrow the choice down from 12 (or how ever many trees Steele has, can’t remember) to three. Then Joe got three actual trees and put them on Mac’s back and right away one was out. So then we were hemming and hawing between two options and after some moving around and asking questions and checking angles from every which way Joe thought the LT tree would be best. That’s their gaited horse tree and he said that most of what he builds is on that tree. I’m really happy with it. Every time I ride in it I like it more and Mac seems very happy in it also.
