Questions RE fitting Abetta saddle

[cnigh]

Sorry for more saddle questions, but I just purchased an Abetta online and was surprised to find out how big & stiff (unflexable) it was when I finally recieved it.

My horse has a very compact build with a short back and while the Abetta saddle does fit her - it comes to the very end of her back (no room to spare). I also purchased a western type pad and that is def too long. It bridges horribly from her withers to her rump.

My questions are:

Will the saddle become more flexable with time and use? I’m in Ontario so I’m sure the cold has something to do with it.

Also what type of saddle pad should I use with the Abetta since the western pads are too big and I really don’t like how bulky they are and again it is very stiff and unflexable? Can I use a square english pad?

I would love to see some pictures of your horses tacked with Abetta saddles. I want to make sure my saddle is positioned correctly and done up right. (seems really complex compared to my wintec - lol!)

Oh and that reminds me - I understand how to wrap the strap around the buckle a few times, tighten & then tie. But on the other side is a double strap that seems way too long. What do you do with all the excess length? I think I might be able to feed it inside the girth since it has a pocket. Is that the correct thing to do?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Here is a picture of us so you can see how short her back is. All we do are trail rides hence the switch in saddles.

[Auventera_Two]

Here is my horses in their Abettas:

I never found the Abetta to be too big, or too stiff. I found it fit all 3 of my horses very well. I found some white hairs on the Arab though so I switched her to treeless. But overall, I have always loved the Abettas.

What is the seat size of yours? I had a 15" and a 16" but sold the 15". Even the 16" I had no trouble length wise. Two of my mares are very short coupled. Normal western saddle pads are always too long so I had to get a pony pad or use a barrel pad, but even then I didn’t find the saddle extending too far back.

Hmmm.

[Huntertwo]

I have the same saddle as A2 does in her pictures. My POA is short, (being a pony;)) and I bought the round skirted pad from Cashel.

My mare is pretty mutton withered too, so I bought the pad that is higher in the front and gradually decreases towards the back.

The saddle took a few rides before I felt comfortable in it. My arse hurt like crazy! Now, I love it.

How long have you had it for?? Maybe it just needs an adjustment/breaking in period.

For the excess on the off side? I just bring mine back up and loop it through the girth ring.

[cnigh]

Thanks for the info & pictures. I just got the saddle this week and haven’t had a chance to ride in it yet. Hopefully it will be very comfy for both of us once its broken in. This is our third saddle in two years, so I really don’t want to buy another one any time soon. Especially since she is only coming 4 and still growing.

A2 my saddle is the same as yours with a 16 seat and the pad looks just as big too. I will try it on Beauty again and see if its useable. The pad is this one http://www.horseloverz.com/Air-Felt-Pebble-Grip-Contoured-Saddle-Pad-Black-pr-178980.html its supposed to be contoured but mine seems straight.

In pictures the saddles look so small on the horses backs. I was surprised at how big & clunky it felt in person. But then again I’m used to english saddles and always use thin pads. I’m going to replace the western fenders with english leathers so that should help make it easier to tack up.

[2Horse]

My sister has an endurance Abetta. She ended up using a pony western pad. It did just cover the saddle. She too had a short backed mule and didn’t want to cover her up.
Just a thought for you guys.
Oh, I also put the excess off billet lenght in the loop on the girth. Sometimes if it is really long, I double it through the loop.

[horselips]

One way…

…To do a really long off billet is:
Slip the strap through the off saddle ring. Grab both ends together and thread them through (back to front) the cinch ring. Bring them back up through saddle ring again, and down through cinch ring but through buckle this time, putting buckle-tongue into cinch hole.

Clear as mud, yes?

[matryoshka]

Did you get the Arabian tree? That might be a bit shorter from pommel to cantle than a regular tree. Look at my profile to see my 16hh OTTB in his 16" Abetta endurance saddle. I usually use a contour barrel-racing pad for mine. Make sure you get a contoured pad so that it doesn’t press on the withers. Since my horse is a good size, the saddle is not too long.

I have a 15" Abetta Western saddle with an Arabian tree, and that fit fine on the 14hh Arabian I fostered last summer. Again, I used the contoured barrel pad. On a client’s advice, I bought a brillo-pad for this season and cut it to fit the saddle (may be that one pictured in my profile). I cut back the withers on the pad so it wouldn’t press down on my horse’s high withers. I think you can get both the brillo pad and countour barrel-racing pads at www.countrysupply.com.

Oh, and I cut the extra length off of the right-side billet. I couldn’t stand that extra length hanging around.

[cnigh]

Thanks again for the advice.

I will look for a pony pad, hopefully I can find one locally that is a good fit as well as contoured.

I think I understand what to do with the off billet - but I had to read the instructions three times :lol:. Took a while for my “English” brain to translate.

I had to go with the QH tree (Beauty is wider than she looks with low a wither) so it might be bigger than the Arabian. Although now I can see in matryoshka’s picture that her saddle is pretty much the same size.

[Auventera_Two]

I replaced the off billet on both of them with a standard, short billet. It’s like a $7 fix

Is it possible that you’re thinking the saddle is big and clunky because you’re only used to English saddles? I had a 48 pound roping saddle, so believe me, the Abetta was like a little postage stamp compared to that! :lol: But yes, compared to any of the English saddles, the Abetta is of course bigger. And being synthetic, it’s a totally different feel than a nice leather saddle.

It does take time to break it in, just like any new piece of equipment. The first few rides I was uncomfortable too but you have to just stick with it. And you can get a sheepskin cover for the seat also which softens it up a LOT.

I’ve done hundreds of miles in my Abettas and really like the saddle.

[horselips]

@cnigh;3005948

Thanks again for the advice.
I think I understand what to do with the off billet - but I had to read the instructions three times :lol:. Took a while for my “English” brain to translate.

:lol:
You don’t want to know about the first time I tried to do up a western girth. You really don’t.
All I can say is - at least it was tight enough.
No matter that it took me 10 minutes & a pair of needle-nose pliers to undo…
:winkgrin:

[Cashela]

I loved my Abetta trail saddle until my horse out grew it. Buy a Barrel pad for it, that is if you bought a saddle with a round skirt.

[dreamswept]

Can I show off my Abetta, gang? :yes:

I love my Abetta. It’s so great. It’s light, and comfortable, and fun! I’ve been horse shopping, and getting loads of comments because I’ve been taking it around with me (after all, I want to see if it fits potential horses) I had it with me the other day at the local therapeutic riding center, and they were checking it out the whole time. I went through a fair number of modifications to get my saddle exactly right, so it’s definitely one less worry off my shoulders if the saddle fits the horse I might buy.

First, I’m all thumbs when it comes to western billets and cinches and rigging. I had to once look at a “Horses for Dummies” book to figure out how to saddle this mare my cousin was riding in a Western saddle, and I’ve yet to live it down from my uncle who teases me about it even now. So I went to a centerfire v-rigging system with a mohair girth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Jet/jet_saddle2.jpg

Put a sheepskin seat cover on it, swapped out the fenders for English leathers and got nice stirrups for long rides (I like the metal, sure, I’ve clunked my knee multiple times, but plastic stirrups just made my ankle die after a few hours)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v197/dreamswept/Jet/jet_saddle3.jpg

I used a Professional Choice barrel pad. It’s round in back, but kind of square on the sides, but seems to fit nicely. It looks like it might be a little too big in back on my new potential pony, but it’s not rubbing, and the extra space could pad for my saddle bags. I know the mare I was leasing had a long back, so it didn’t look too bad on her.

[Huntertwo]

@horselips;3006257

:lol:
You don’t want to know about the first time I tried to do up a western girth. You really don’t.
All I can say is - at least it was tight enough.
No matter that it took me 10 minutes & a pair of needle-nose pliers to undo…
:winkgrin:

You don’t have a picture, do you?

[matryoshka]

Hey Dreamswept, now that I’ve seen the saddle, can you put a pic of the entire horse in? It looks like you’ve removed a few of the noisier rings from the saddle.

Cnigh, I don’t think you want a pony pad (unless that’s another name for a Barrel pad). I can’t stand square pads under saddles (English or otherwise), so I got the barrel pad right away. Mine is tan and is smaller than the one shown in Dreamswept’s pics. Only about an inch sticks out around the saddle all the way around. Wither relief is critical in any saddle pad if you want to keep your horse comfortable. Few western pads are designed with withers in mind. That’s why I suggest a contour pad (contoured to fit the back, not contoured to fit the saddle).

[horselips]

@Huntertwo;3006940

You don’t have a picture, do you?

Only the one in my mind :winkgrin:. This was many years ago.

I was helping some people saddle a horse, and they had a western. Well, although I had learned to ride in an English (dressage) saddle, a friend had taught me how to tie the western knot thingy - what you do if your cinch is buckle-free - several years before.

Well this cinch had buckles, and the cinch strap was nylon and had holes

Yes, I know. That is almost all you see these days. What can I say? Friend’s saddle was a very old western (and hard as a rock :mad:). I had never seen a nylon strap with holes, much less the cinch buckles.

To make matters worse, this saddle also had 3 different rigging slots/choices.

I had no clue how to deal with it. Nor could I remember any way shape or form how to even do a “western knot”.

So I tied your basic Clinch Knot in it :o
Another woman came along and about had an aneurysm laughing at it.

[cnigh]

Ok I’ll look for a barrel pad then. Good thing there is a large western tack store near by. I knew you meant contoured for her back. I want to make sure she is comfortable.

Dreamswept - I really like the look of your y rigging. I might do the same type of thing. First thing to go are the fenders though. I’m not even gonna try to ride with them.

I’ll be looking for a new pad tomorrow and i’ll see if the store can do the rigging for me. Plus I’ll need to find a breast plate small enough to fit her as well.

I’m all excited, I can’t wait to try my saddle out. It’s been 3 months now without a saddle and I’m dying to ride again.

[dreamswept]

Hey Dreamswept, now that I’ve seen the saddle, can you put a pic of the entire horse in? It looks like you’ve removed a few of the noisier rings from the saddle.

Alas! I don’t seem to have any pictures of her with the saddle on where you actually see all of her. And I don’t have her anymore. But if you wait a few days, I uh, ought to have a new pony in on trial, and can get pictures that way, yes?

And yep, I pulled off the pommel rings, those things drove me nuts. I use double ended snaps up there, which I can take on and off. The rings on the cantle are still there, since they don’t seem to make as much noise.

[cnigh]

Heres a link to my local tack store. They have several types of western barrel saddle pads. So which one do you guys think would be a better choice.

http://www.pleasantridge.ca/saddle_pads.htm

I think this is a pay what you get for type thing - so I’m thinking the Air Ride Charmayne James (w or w/o the ortho support).

I just won’t tell my husband how all this extra stuff is gonna cost :D.

[dreamswept]

Oh yeah, by the way, my saddle pad was backwards that day (Da hur)

I think this is a pay what you get for type thing - so I’m thinking the Air Ride Charmayne James (w or w/o the ortho support).

I’ve got the ProChoice Air Ride barrel pad with the square skirt. I looked and looked, but could seem to find it in the round skirt in the color I wanted. It’s not a bad little pad, especially since the Abetta saddle has the air-grip lining (which really seemed to slip around when I was using a Coolback pad) and the material on the Charmayne James pad keeps the saddle nicely in place.

[matryoshka]

Here’s the mesh pad I now use (shown in my profile pic): http://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-WIH10.html . It was recommended to me by clients who do a lot of trail riding. They ride Icelandics, so they don’t have to worry about high withers. I cut the pad to fit my saddle and cut back the withers to fit my horse.

Here’s a contoured barrel pad that is a bit cheaper than the one you linked to: http://www.horse.com/products/gift-0__sku-WIA04.html

Other pads to look at and compare prices: http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&mscssid=FCLGM0PXL8NW9LLCH3JRRBK2TCKX971A, http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=1&mscssid=FCLGM0PXL8NW9LLCH3JRRBK2TCKX971A

Can you tell I enjoy online shopping?