> to admire dealers/clinicians who put ethics above personal profit, and these > are three people I commend for doing just that. It's not a matter of being > a "treeless fanatic" - it's just being realistic about finding something > that really works for our horses, and doesn't cause them pain. I commend > anyone who does that, no matter what kind of saddle they find that works for > their horse.
Last week I met with George Gullikson, the saddle maker in my video. We were at a farm and he was looking at someone else's horses so I did not film the session. He has pretty much come around to making a prototype TREELESS saddle for the Icelandics. He was very clear about the need for different saddles for men and women. As far as one saddle fitting a few different horses, he has a correction pad system made up specifically for him. His saddles also have adjustable bars from which to hang the stirrup leathers. I wish I had filmed it, but I don't like to show problems on horses other than my own for this purpose. He was very -- no, extremely -- critical about saddle placement that he saw in some competition videos from Iceland. Way too far back, resting on the kidneys and not properly supported. He also felt that the girths were also too far back and compressed the chest where there was no sternum for protection. We won't go into ventroflexion. There's a lot to this saddle "stuff", isn't there? I have a piece on nosebands which I think this list will love, but I am incorporating it into a series of videos about dressage exercises and the Icelandic horse. It is taking me a long time to edit. I want it to take the right tone and not just p**s people off. Stan Stan Hirson http://hestakaup.com
