So excited!!

Hummm if every one LOVES specialized, why are so many for sale ?
Yeh I looked at them , on paper looked good, checked em out and in person was way less than impressed. Glued and Velcro together saddles with the velcro coming unglued, umm no maybe for about half what they want for them Id give em a second look, with a REALy good warranty.

Hey, I was just trying to suggest something that is very popular amongst the more experienced endurance riders I know, in this area and in others, and it sounded like it might work. There are a few models from a few years that have had issues, but a lot of riders use them very successfully. You can find them used usually around $1,200, well worth what you're getting. No, they don't work for everyone - but they do work for many people.

I was thinking today and realized what you were referring to talking about glue and velcro. This is actually an integral part of the saddle function. The velcro is very high quality and I've never heard of an issue with it. Essentially, you arrange your shims to fit the slope and shape of your horse's back and they stick together with the velcro on the inside of the larger shim that is actually exposed to your horse's pad/back. Then, you stick the entire setup onto the saddle and you have a fitted shape on the bottom. Yes, the glue and velcro is necessary in order to have an adjustable saddle as such, but they stick really well and are very handy especially if you have more than one horse. As long as they all have the same tree width, you can have a set of shims set up for each horse and just slap on the set you need for your ride.

If the velcro was coming unglued, then you must have been looking at a very used or demo saddle that hadn't been taken care of properly. In addition, that could easily be fixed for a quality saddle. The issues I was referring to was a defect in the tree in saddles built during certain years, but the company is willing to replace any defective trees for around $100. Very few saddles have actually had this issue.

Got it in the mail today and took it for a test ride! I'll post more picture of me actually in the saddle, but I really need help if anyone can tell if it fits. I started a thread here: New Saddle! How does it fit?

It looks good! A thinner pad would probably help as the one that you used makes it look like it is perching. Otherwise, YAY!!

Thanks! Yeah, I'll definitely give it a shot when I'm out there tomorrow and take more pictures :)