>>>> As Raven mentioned, it is not just the changes in the shape of a horse's back that come with maturity, but the changes in the shape of our horses as the season progresses. Because I ride all year, this is not quite so much of a problem, but lots of endurance riders take several months off when the weather is bad and begin the season with a fat horse and end it with a lean one with lots of change in the back's shape in those months.
Not just the change of seasons, but for those of us who've had mares come back from maternity leave, you see them come back with noticeable muscle loss on their backs that has to be built up. Then, when a horse hits his late teens, you'll start to see the effects of gravity - gravity affects all of us, even if we are fit. So, if you think about Sina as an example, she continued to mature and fill out until she was at least 8, maybe nine, took over a year off with maternity leave, then tweaked something during childbirth making it take a long time to get her back in shape (she's still not fully back in shape.) She'll be 11 next summer. I don't plan to ever breed her again, but gosh, it may not be that many years until she starts showing a little age. (Hopefully her back won't sag like some gaited horses who mostly go in a ventroflexed position.) Anyway, that's a bit dramatic I guess - but I used to justify that it wasn't so bad to put XXX dollars in a saddle, since a good saddle should virtually last forever. . Now, I realize that I'm not likely to find ANY treed saddle that will work well for a given horse throughout their lifetime, even if the quality of the leather and craftsmanship is great. That thought certainly changed my perspective - and my appreciation for ebay for selling used saddles. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED] No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.12/1202 - Release Date: 12/29/2007 1:27 PM
