The problem with saddles these days is there are just way too many choices! This is a real problem for me as I’ve finally considering moving away from the saddle I’ve been riding in for the past 16 years. Why? Well, it’s a 14” barrel saddle worn to perfection but it’s gotten a little snug (no comments needed) and the horn, being a tall, barrel style tends to catch my shirts when my horse jumps over a trail obstacle. Many of my shirts have noticeable patching about belly-button level.

Now, I also have a wonderful Wintec Pro dressage saddle and do ride in it from time to time but on those long, rugged 6 hour trail rides it just doesn’t provide me with the kind of mental and physical comfort I need!

But here’s the catch – the things I want in a saddle are not always easy to find in the right combinations right off the shelf. Things like; a little extra padding in the seat, stirrups that support my foot better, is light-weight, nice looking, can allow for a good balanced seat for the occasional jump on the trail, fits my horse well, fits me well, has all the doo-dads to attach all the “stuff” I think I might want to carry with me, can also be used in a low-level show (I like to keep this option open) and has that ‘worn in’ feeling right from the start.

So I opted for going with a custom-made saddle. And my choice of saddle makers is Synergist Saddles in Wyoming. I found this family-owned and run business while perusing our monthly ‘Trail Rider’ magazine last year. I kept going to the site, over and over again debating whether this was the right choice. Finally, I sent an email to the business just to inquire about the cup holder options on the endurance saddle and that started the ball rolling. CJ, owner of the business with her husband Dave, emailed me back personally and offered to send me their DVD. Once I saw that DVD, I was totally sold on these saddles.

The design options are numerous and the way the saddles are custom-made to fit both you and your horse is a really neat deal. Plus, a lot of emphasis in the design of these saddles is put into enhancing balance of rider and horse, made with the “moving” horse in mind and tailored to the rider who spends many hours in the saddle. So Charlie and I committed to each having a saddle made, sent in our deposits and shortly thereafter received the saddle fitting form for the horses and the measuring instructions for our own body measurements.

Synergist saddle form molded to Hershey's back - he's waiting patiently while it sets!

Fitting the form to the horses back requires an oven nearby, some patience, a calm, clean horse and a few items such as marker, masking tape and level. The process sounds complicated but what it really takes is just some organization! Our biggest problem was having our two horses in two different locations which meant a little driving back and forth. The form comes out of the oven pretty warm and I was worried the horses would object to this but I realized once I put it on their back it was the equivalent to us having a nice heating pad put on our backs! The horses relaxed visibly the moment it hit their back and actually stood calmly while we smoothed it against their back and waited for it to set – in fact, they darn near dozed off!

Synergist Saddle form molded on Dino's Back

The real fun was in taking our own measurements that evening. You had measurements like inseam, circumference of upper thigh, widest width of your behind but the one that was truly challenging was the distance between your seat bones! This had to be taken five times to get a good average. It required sitting on your fingers so you could feel the top of the bones, standing up with your fingers in place and having someone measure the distance 5 times! It required a good sense of humor to accomplish and we did laugh a lot!

So now our saddle forms and body measurements are on their way to windy Wyoming via UPS and minus ‘packing peanuts’ (use foam for padding instead – the peanuts end up blowing across the state of Wyoming when the boxes are opened and we don’t want to litter!).
As soon as our forms are received at Synergist Saddles, the really fun part begins… we work with CJ to build our custom saddles with all the features we want! I’m so excited I can hardly wait – I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas!

For me, it was definitely time for a new saddle. Saddles are a big investment, which is probably while I held off as long as I did. I could have saved some money by getting a saddle off the shelf from a local tack supply store but knowing how often I’m in the saddle and how long I like my saddles to last, I figured it was worth the extra money to get a saddle that fit me and my horse like a glove and was of a quality to last me through the next 16 years of riding!