Wintec Windfall

I got Raven all ready for a ride this morning, but the girth that accompanied my light little Wintec AP saddle was too long. After establishing that the saddle is a perfect fit I was able to tolerate a quick ride up and down the street on her bony bare back. Tonka was less tolerant, running up and down the paddock and crying out to his lost lady love. Raven went along well. She is very forward under saddle and I had to remind her a few times that "whoa" actually means "whoa" and "walk" means "walk". She literally could not contain herself in the last 100 feet home to her lover boy, so we traveled at quite a lovely piaffe. Collection and impulsion are not a concern for Raven.

Later this afternoon I swung into the Abby Saddle Shop to get a shorter girth. As I was looking around my eyes fell on an old Wintec stock saddle, of the same era as the aforementioned AP. It is similarly constructed of cordura with light plastic poleys -- the whole shebang (stripped) weighs about 5 lbs. At $150 on consignment I couldn't pass it up, so saddle #4 will be crammed into the tiny tack closet. If I like this one I will sell the other. If I really like this one I will try to find another on eBay for Tonka. While I like the bigger stock saddle we've already got, 30 lbs of tack is a lot more than 10 lbs of tack.