I’m afraid to shop on line again. Now I’m stuck with the pad I just bought from horseloverz.com. There is no point returning it for a refund of $55 dollars, the shipping from Canada would cost too much to be worth it.
I’m going to try to sell it locally instead to recoup some of the money.
So i’ll have to go with one of the pads at a local store.
Green hawk does sell the Cavallo ortho pad and the Pro Choice ortho pad as well. They are pretty much the same price as the James pad.
I am coveting this pad for my Abetta endurance…
http://www.shop.horseholistics.com/product.sc?categoryId=2&productId=98
and with a thinline pad over it
Now, I realize its almost the same price as the saddle. But I love how contoured the top is and the fact that its round and not too long. Of course I have to wait for my tax refund to get it!
I was lucky enough to find a CJ SMX Air Ride barrel pad at the local farm supply store for 49 bucks! :eek: I’d had an Air Ride square pad years ago when they first came out and hated the thing, but for some reason, I like this one much better. It just feels different and fits so much better than the square one did.
What I use under my Abetta…
First, a sheepskin numnah made by Australian Stock Saddle Co. ~
http://usera.imagecave.com/Horselips/00STUFF/NUMMNAH.jpg
It sells from them for about $150.
I got mine on eBay for $75.00 including shipping!
I sometimes also use a barrel-cut Tacky-Tack pad® on top of sheepskin pad.
I had my first ride with my new saddle. I found it really hard to post in, I just couldn’t get my leg on my horse to support myself. Its been a couple of months but I felt like I hadn’t been riding in years.
I went for a more traditional barrel pad for now. The C James pads looked really cheaply made for the price. On the up side I got a girl from the tack store to show me how to position the western pad and saddle properly. And I changed to english stirrup leathers.
Cantering was lovely. The Abetta seat felt like a rocking chair. But again my legs were swinging 
maybe I just need to strengthen them again?
Anybody else find it difficult to position your legs in the Abetta - after riding English for years? I really hope its something that will resolve itself once I get used to the saddle.
I hate my abetta endurance saddle. but then I just hate any synthetic western/endurance. Leather warms and provides some grip by nature. Nylon just doesn’t.
Maybe some sheepskin tubes over your stirrup leathers would help. My saddle only gets used for summer trips out west b/c I don’t care if we tear it up and it’s easy to ship out there.
Good luck sorting it out. PS I love the C James pad- it’s got a 60 day full refund if you hate it and I got to see the core it’s made of…pretty amazing stuff, I love the one I bought.
Well the second ride in my Abetta was much better.
I was able to post pretty well and I was able to sit trot with no problems at all.
Also I’m not sore today. Although I still want a tushy cusion - lol!
Everyone thought it was funny for my little mare to have sooo much tack on. But we were both happy and thats what counts.
cnigh, a few days ago I posted about how to get more comfortable with your position in the Abetta, but my internet connection failed and I lost it.
I was going to suggest that your initial discomfort comes from the stirrups being a bit too far forward in the Abetta, especially if you are used to riding English. When I ride in another saddle for a while, I end up riding two-point in my Abetta to get my legs positioned and to find my balance better. After finding my balance going two-point, my feet are further under me and the rest of the ride goes so much easier. My horse is a powerful mover, so balance can be challenging on him, wether English or in the Abetta.
I have to say that if I were sound enough, I’d be riding English. I’m going to teach Butch to jump this spring, and I’ve got to do it in the Abetta. I’ll probably switch out to English leathers and stirrups for that. I was lucky to find an instructor who doesn’t care what saddle I use.
While many seem to have had good luck with their Abettas, not so with mine. I had an 16" Abetta endurance for three months. I found it hard, inflexible, uncomfortable and noisy with the loud clacking of the rings. It was too long and poked and rubbed at my mare’s loin. I did not like the leg position either nor the feel of the material.
On a good note, it sold quickly and for what I paid, on ebay.
I was searching Abetta fit again and came across my old thread.
Update on my first Abetta.
I bought the wrong size. I always struggled to canter & post the trot because the seat was too big. That made the placement of the stirrup bars too far forward for me. Which was why I had to compensate and pull my legs back.
Coming from an English background 15" seemed like a pony size to me. So I got the 16". Then I found out that 15 western = 17 english and 16 = 18 english. Oops :o
So when I tried to canter, I had to brace myself which put me in a chair seat or I would slip and slide all around.
But despite that I loved my saddle. I was able to ride for hours/days/years and it still looked like new. I only let it go because it was too big for me.
So fast forward to now. I bought a new Mare :winkgrin: and I want a new Abetta.
14hh 7 yr old Arab that is medium wide. And her gullet measures a 6 3/4. I am trying to decide if I need an Arab tree or a QH tree.
I think I should go with a QH tree and a nice thick pad. She is a medium build, nice shoulder & wither and straight back. She does have a large hay belly, but that will go away with work.
Can’t wait to hit the trails again.
I have had an Abetta for years. I tried a variety of different pads, but I felt like I was disconnected from my horse. Once I bought a pad made by Abetta specifically for the endurance saddle It was much better.
Good luck with your new mare and new saddle.
A note about the difference between the Abetta QH tree and the Arabian tree. The Arabian tree has more ‘rock’. The QH tree has flatter bars. So you need to assess your horse’s back and decide which one will work. Trust me, I have an Abetta with an Arabian tree that fit my 15.1 hh Arab gelding and my 14 hh Arab mare, and also a 13.1 hand Welsh pony. But it did not fit my 15 hh QH because the bars had too much curve. QH trees would NOT fit the Arabs or the Welsh. I personally hate saddle shopping and fitting but it’s a necessary evil! :no: If your horse has a typical Arab back you will NEED to buy the Arab tree.
My mares back is flat. So the curve of the Arab tree wouldn’t work.
I have an Abetta Endurance but it is 15" Does not fit my TWH/Paso because it is a QH tree. PM me if you are interested in it. I just ordered a different saddle a couple of weeks ago.
I have two Abetta saddles both were a bit stiff when I got them but they have loosened up quite nicely. I’ve never had a problem with them length wise both of mine are a 16" seat, one with a round skirt and one with a square skirt both fit all my horses from my 16hh draft cross to my 13hh pony.
With a 6 3/4" gullet, I’d probably pick a SQHB saddle.
Personally, I have a Big Horn leather/cordura saddle that I love. After my gelding died, I bought another horse that should have been similar enough in body shape that the saddle would fit him too…and it doesn’t. Now I don’t want to part with my beloved saddle, but I really have no use for it either.
Decisions. (Also, if interested in a Big Horn 15" saddle, PM me. lol)
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