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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I have the Ansur!

And it is beautiful!







I received it last Saturday and have been holding off on posting about it so I could give an educated opinion. So far my educated opinion is that I love it. It's very comfortable for me (though it did take a few rides for my legs to get used to being under me instead of in front of me) and best of all Coriander seems to be pretty happy with it. Our mutual communication is clear as a bell in this saddle too, he has been super responsive to my tiniest signals, especially at the halt: I exhale and start to sit and he's already stopping. It's also easier for me to feel my diagonals, something I've always had a hard time with.

We had a lovely experience with it last week when I put the Ansur on him and ponied Gwen with one of the Crosbys. I wanted her to get some more dynamic movement with a saddle on so we did more trotting and  even tried a canter. There I was on Coriander who had a lovely rocking-horse canter on the buckle and Gwen was cantering away right next to us. It was wonderful.

I'll just ignore that he was a bit pitchy last night, though it did give us a chance to work on halt/trot transitions going downhill. If he's going to buck at the canter then by golly he's going to work until he doesn't feel like bucking anymore. Don't feel bad for him, he was mad at me for not going where he wanted and it was a lot cooler than the last time I rode so he was feeling uppity. It was just one more test for the saddle- which stayed in place through it all.

I am having issues with my girth, I can't seem to get it tight enough. It doesn't have any elastic and has lots of loops to keep the flaps down, that makes it a little hard for me to tighten it adequately from the ground and I can't do it at all from the saddle. I've reached down mid-ride and found the girth that was tight when I got on  hanging loosely under his belly. Shockingly the saddle still felt stable with only a little slippage. Still, I've just ordered another girth so that problem should be fixed next week.

Gwen's worn it too, though I haven't gotten on her yet.  I tacked her up with it last night, brought her to the mounting block and asked for neck flexions. Then I leaned over the saddle a bit, slapped it and moved the stirrups around. She was feeling a bit spooky and I was feeling a lot chicken so I didn't swing a leg over. My timeline for that is sometime in the next two weeks, when she's feeling soft and I'm feeling confident it will happen. Or I'll stock up on Valium, whichever comes first.

So far so good, I'm hoping for many years of happiness with this saddle!

18 comments:

  1. Congratulations on your new saddle. It looks beautiful! I'm happy that it's working out for you and Coriander. Pretty amazing that it stayed in place even with the very loose girth. We've been using the Le Texirant (spelling?) girths and they seem to work really well and they're very comfy for the horses. Even Donnie our "special case" doesn't mind it and he hasn't bucked since we've been using it on him. No rush with Gwen, do it when you're both ready. I'm sure the saddle will be fine with her too.

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  2. I'm intrigued by those girths, unfortunately after buying this saddle I don't have the money to buy an expensive girth. I'm keeping it in mind though, maybe next year :)

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  3. Yay! It's beee-uuu-tiful! Best wishes for many years in that saddle.

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  4. It looks super comfy! Congratulations on finding a saddle both you and your horse love. That's no easy task!!

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  5. Oh awesome!! Treeless comfort. I just got a treeless for Laz too, but without the needed speciality pad, I haven't test driven it yet! Ansur...mmmmmmmyummy :)

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  6. Nice looking saddle. Do all horse people have equipment fetishes, or what...? Seems to come with the territory :)

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  7. Congrats on the new saddle! I hope you get many happy miles in it.

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  8. The saddle is beautiful! I really like the color.

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  9. That is a really pretty saddle!!
    I totally relate to what you said: "She was feeling a bit spooky and I was feeling a lot chicken so I didn't swing a leg over. My timeline for that is sometime in the next two weeks, when she's feeling soft and I'm feeling confident it will happen. Or I'll stock up on Valium, whichever comes first."
    That's my gelding Hawk & I too! Well said!!

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  10. Thank you everybody! I'm so glad I decided to spend a little extra and get the basketweaving, it really pumps up the beautiful quotient :)

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  11. Yay! I was wondering if you had gotten it yet! It looks gorgeous, can't wait to here more about it. Someday I want one...

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  12. glad it works for you! i love the fancy basket weave pattern. I tried an Ansur on my boy and it didn't work for him at all. He has a shark fin for withers and i couldn't put a finger under the pommel while in the saddle...

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  13. Uh-oh, you are a bitless bridle and a round-pen session away from being a Total Hippie Weird-o! ;-) Don't worry, you have lots of good company.

    Gooooorgeous saddle!

    Have you seen the Soft Touch girths? VTO Saddlery actually has the old (non-contoured) style on sale for $20! And they used to be something like $60, so it's a major steal. They're synthetic and have a super soft neoprene padding that goes against the horse, plus elastic on both ends. I LOVE them!

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  14. TBA- start saving your money now...

    East Bound- was it the Classic style or with a gullet? Coriander didn't like the Classic at all.

    Hmm, I'm off to look at Soft Touch girths now.

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  15. Glad to find another happy customer with the Ansur! I'm considering one of these for my huge withered QH boy. He's been so hard to fit otherwise. I appreciate the review!

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  16. Thanks Story, I'm pretty taken with it :)

    oregonsunshine- I would definitely recommend one of the models with gullets in that case. Can you take one out for a test drive?

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  17. Hummmm no wonder I never heard from you! My comment did not get published, Drat it.

    Well, happy am I that you finally got your ANSUR!! Ain't she a beauty! Don't ya just love the feel. My mare seems to love it...though after 2 1/2 months and 300 miles later- white hairs have now shown up on her withers and pocket. She totally has not displayed any odd or reluctant behaviour.
    I'm now changed from the clearly, too thick "HAF PAD" to a sheepskin pad.

    I've got a soft touch girth you may try and use indefinitely. I will order my New Dressage saddle with a long ( some in future) girthing billet. My mare really hates where the shorter Dressage girth hits her.
    Please send me your addresse, ill put the neat "Soft Touch" in the mail pronto!

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  18. You are the sweetest! I'll send you an email today :)

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