April 9th, 2013

Still very confused about what I should do about everything.  For now though, I’m focusing on my upcoming chem exam, so I’m trying not to stress about it. 

So I’m sure your all waiting to hear about the reps visit.  Got to the barn and futzed around for about 2 hours until the alloted time.  He got there 10 minutes after, apologizing as he was exiting his car.  He explained that he drove right past the entrance, and since I’d done the same things numerous times before, I understood.  So we got right down to business.  Brought him in to see my saddle, to which he immediately exclaimed, “Gorgeous saddle!”  Wahh I know! Too bad it doesn’t fit! Brought Libby out and he put my saddle on her.  He immediately said she had outgrown it, and he could see where she was getting swollen from. 

So he tried numerous different tree combinations that he had, and decided that the best fitting one was a wide tree, with the front let out more, to accommodate her mutton withers.  After deciding that, he brought some saddles out for me to try. 

Tacked Lib up and brought her out with one of the demos on.  When I sat in it, I honestly wasn’t floored.  He was explaining how their new “second skin” design made the saddle much more close contact, which I could definitely feel, but I also felt like the design was really just a flimsy under flap.  I didn’t look very sturdy to me, and was so thin that I could see it tearing in the future, if not taken care of.  But it did give me a super close contact feel, which I appreciated.  The leather on the saddle was nice too, but nothing I hadn’t seen before.  Of course he’d put me in the buffalo saddle so it was super grippy and comfortable. 

Saddle I liked the most

But after riding around a bit, I could feel that the pommel was hitting me every time I came up to post.  I expressed my concerns to him and he immediately knew what to do, had me get off for a quick second, placed some thin pads under the pommel, and had me get back on.  It felt much better, and I wasn’t hitting the pommel any longer.  Huh, quick fix.  He explained in my custom saddle, they would have to take out a bit from the back, since my natural center of balance is farther forward.  I asked how that would affect Libbys comfort, and he assured me it wouldn’t change the fit for her, but I was skeptical.  He jotted down a couple of things and we went back into the barn to discuss the numbers. 

One thing I noticed after untacking her, was that she wasn’t swollen at all.  YAY!! Not only that, but the sweat mark was so even throughout her back.  I was happy about that.

Much better with regard to her swelling!

After walking back into the barn, he looked at my saddle, and again commented on how good it looked.  He proceeded to tell me that Voltaire the company would give me a good price on the saddle, but that I might get a better price by selling it by myself.  I figured as much, but I was still curious to hear what everything would come out to be, especially since I had talked to the customer service agent and had spoken with her about used saddle sales. 

With everything together, it came out to a whopping 2,050 and change.  I was floored.  I spoke with him more about possibly getting a used saddle to fit, but he was pretty sure since they’d have to open up the tree near the pommel, that I wasn’t going to be able to find something to fit her perfectly without going custom from the start.  I was pretty annoyed, not at the rep, but at the situation.  Of course I’d have a horse that needs custom trees and specially widened pommels, of course everything she needs costs that much more. 

After talking more and getting his card and information, I shook his hand and thanked him again for taking the time to come out and fit me and Libby.  At least I’m sure that I need a wide tree, but then again I’ve known that since last year.  So at square one again.  I think I’m going to look into the PJ saddles, since I have a connection with them, and I’ve heard they are great to deal with and incredibly reasonable.

To top it off, since my usual vet wasn’t answering my calls or messages, which is very weird for her, I decided to call her partner to get an opinion, and honestly to make sure she was ok.  He assured me that she was doing ok, but that shes had a nasty virus since Monday.  So I sent him the pictures I’d taken and got this back. 

Managed?! To say I was freaked out was a total understatement, especially when I looked up prognoses of joint effusion.  Most of the articles I found had OCD as a reason behind the effusion, which is not something I wanted to hear. 

When it rains it pours huh?