Down Under Web - Custom Aussie Saddles

WOW!  Looks like it fits him like a glove!  And it's beautiful!  Are you using English stirrups?  I really like the Aussies and I have the leather pads for the stirrups, which are very inexpensive.  I need to get a *** collar for mine....  I think mine's bigger but, I like it.  The seat is hard.  I really need a seat saver!
Your horse is beautiful, too, btw!

Yep,  I'm using the brass stirrups and really would like the leathers to go on them - I also think they are heavy, and hurt like a sonavagun when I am carrying the saddle and they slap against my leg, especially the shins - OW.  I actually found the seat to be really comfy, which surprised me, as I'm used to a rough out suede seat with a sheepskin on it for my western saddle.  I think it's the way the seat is made on this one - suspended.  I also have the Aussie breastplate which sits so much differently than his western *** collars, he is so darn long dimensioned, I could never get a regular *** collar with long enough straps!  This one fits just fine - I like it!  I'm a total convert for him being built like a bus or a greyhound compared to our QH.  I still have our QH wear western though - she's made for it - barrel chested thing she is.  Very cowy I think.
 
Shadow just seems to behave and ride differently with this saddle - no more grunting or tensing up.  He is a bit more muscled and wearing more weight all together than last summer which helps.  He is not a real easy keeper - but I've been told that TBs tend toward harder to keep weight on anyway.  He looks great in this saddle though!   We had such a good ride yesterday, he almost seems to be wearing a grin in the picture.

The security I felt when I finally faced my "crazy horse" and decided to ride him through it.... I swear, if I never ride in that saddle again it's paid for itself 10 times over.  Zag's like a new horse with me.  I have to believe those days are over.   THANK GOODNESS for my aussie saddle!  I hafta say, if I had a t'bred I'd feel better in an aussie! []  I love 'em but they are a bit too much horse for me!  Top athletes, though!

Lol, they are secure saddles, no doubt.  Luckily, Shadow is a real sweetie and rarely gives me a reason to need it - when he goes into a lope though, he sometimes has that TB LUNGE to start out (you almost expect to hear the bell and an annoucer say "Annnnnd We're Off!!") - it's like a 10' leap forward - yowsa.  This saddle really does keep you IN.  I can't say that there would have been an Aussie saddle secure enough for riding that Morgan we had last year though - yikes.  If he spooked, he made any of the normal TB antics look mild sometimes. 

Where did the picture go ?  I didn't get to sse it.
 
I bought a Kimberly aussie a few months back,  we are going out of town this weekend, I plan on riding in mine.