>>>>I am looking for an English saddle for one of my Icelandics and am tempted >>>>to try the >>>>Heather Moffett Fhoenix saddle. There are some old posts from 2006 on this >>>>list but >>>>has anyone tried one of these saddles? I am intrigued because it is a part >>>>treed >>>>saddle, with a flexible tree in the cantle, no tree in the front, should >>>>allow good >>>>shoulder movement while providing some lateral stability that my lovely >>>>Sensation >>>>doesn't have. Any actual experience with one of these saddles would be >>>>welcome.... I >>>>can demo one, but there is still cost involved. Thanks.
We tried one - would that have been way back in 2006? Could have been my posts, maybe. I got it for my husband to try but my friend was interested in trying it too. Neither of them liked it AT ALL. It's strangely thick, for lack of a better word, like a 4-5" piece of memory foam. It takes a while to conform to the horse's back once you put it on, and neither of them wanted to stay up there long enough to see if it would conform. I tried it too, but I am so happy with my Sensations that I couldn't see any reason to think about one for me. It was summer when they tried it, so I can't imagine how it would be in the cold weather, since memory foam seems to take longer to conform in the cold. My friend is built somewhat like me - short and small framed, but a little to the fluffy side. She was ok in it, but just didn't like it particularly. My husband is tall, with a long torso. Remember those old, old commercials, what was it - Weebles wobble but they don't fall down? (Did I make that up?) Anway, Cary's center of gravity was perched WAY above that saddle, and he kept weeble-woobling all over the place. (He didn't fall down though!) It was the oddest thing I've ever seen. They aren't cheap either. Anyway, MAYBE they would be secure after they broke in, but if you are very tall, with a relatively high center of gravity, I'd be very skeptical about them. I know they have some fans, though. Skjoni loves his Sensation but hated the Fhoenix. We're still riding in our Sensations...and my friend finally ordered a Sensation too. If you're interested, I'll see if I can dig up a few pictures. Karen Thomas, NC
