Elissa showed me that my Wintec AND my sister's very old Collegiate english saddles did not fit Faith. They are both too narrow in the gullet down the entire length of the saddle and were putting undue pressure on her spine, and not on her side back muscles where the pressure should lay evenly. Also, the Wintec panels don't lay smoothly against her back, they sort of fall on one part on the panels and leave the other areas up in the air, which is definitely not good.
She recommended I look into Schleese saddles. Initially when I Googled and Ebay'd Schleese, the results were daunting. A new Schleese can cost STARTING at $3,900. Which I obviously don't have because I had to finance my $3,500 horse trailer through a deal with my parents. Neadless to say I was discouraged. However, I read more and the Schleese saddles are really neat. They are ENTIRELY adjustable, not like the Wintecs which can only adjust the front gullet. You can actually adjust their tree, the stirrup position, the gullet, even the billet location. They also have professional saddle fitter come out to Arizona at least twice a year. In short, they're a good product. You can adjust them over the entire life of your horse and on to the next one even. I continued my search, deciding that I could probably afford a used one, and finally found a very nice Schleese dressage 17" model on Ebay for only $1,000. What a deal!!
I emailed the seller for photos, and this is what it looks like:
It looks to be in very good shape, which is surprising. It has only one major defect that the seller explained to me and sent a photo (left). One of the billets has been replaced in an odd way. Instead of replacing the entire billet (which apparently runs underneath and across the entire saddle for both sides) the fitter cut the billet and sewed a new piece on. She said I probably just need it tightened, and I don't think it's a huge deal. Perhaps this is why the price was so low! Another great feature about Schleese saddles is that they all have their own serial number, which can tell you a wealth of information. This particular saddle is 3128H1001 and also has stamped on it: Sue Kolstad, 2-17. When I called Schleese they informed me that this was originally a custom saddle, probably made for Sue, and that the "H" in the middle means it has the Hennig tree, which is entirely adjustable. The last 4 digits "1001" refer to the date it was made, so October of 2001. Which is only 8 years ago. I mean think about it, good saddles can last you a century if you take good care of it. And since I want to start eventing, I will eventually need a good dressage saddle. This will also be good for competitive trail riding, as I ride with a much longer stirrup anyway.
Needless to say, I bought this saddle! It is on its way and I couldn't be more excited. I just hope it makes its way to me in one piece! I recently moved, and Ebay still had my primary shipping address as my old address, which is forwarded to my new address, so there hopefully shouldn't be any problem. Hooray for new saddles!
Don't fall off and make sure to drink lots of water...
