After 50+ miles of trotting and cantering (or even just 25 miles for LD's), we all know our tack is important for making sure our horses are comfortable and pass their vet checks. What do you use??
My gear includes:
HAF pad
Zilco halter-bridle combo, martingale, and breast collar
Cantle saddle bag
Wool girth strap
EZ ride stirrups with a cage
And a cheap English saddle that fit my Arabian, so I figured it'd work as long as I stuck in it! (I'm purely a western rider haha) - I installed one of those "oh shoot" leather straps
And everything is all color-coordinated of course - Royal Blue!!
Kimberly superior stock saddle,
Tucker Southwest topped fleece pad,
noname neoprene girth,
Moss rock add on headstall, added on to a rope halter I make
My own braided reins,
Mossrock chest strap,
stowaway bags.
Saddle bum western underwear, Baseball uniform pants. Ariat lace up ropers, IRH trail lite helmet, what ever wild shirt I can find. some cheap devon air half chaps if it is cold.
Joe, where do you get the rope you make your halters from? I am tossing around the idea of making one for Dream, but all I can find is horrible stiff rope. I don't even want any fancy colors, just black.
I have my leather half chaps and need to get some riding tights soon - I'm looking at Irideon Issential tights at the moment. Right now, I just have my jeans, which I just put a nice tear in last time I got up on my 15.1 hand mount lol.
i met this woman at the AERC convention in reno last month. she said's she converted quite a few men to her tights after they've ridden in them (typcially on a dare/bet from a fellow rider it sounded like). i ended up buying a pair of winter weight tights and i love them. check it out: Just For Horsin' Round Riding Tights
Hey, I ride in a HAF pad as well! Sensation english trail saddle (best saddle ever) w/ synthetic webbings stirrup "leathers" and breakaway stirrups....and an english camelot leather bridle w/ a snaffle bit
i am currently still training and working in my synthetic wintec western saddle, a fleece pad with leather lining, a regular western headstall with bit and curb chain to start off with and then change over to a hackamore after he settles, a breast collar, sometimes given the terrain add the flankset, saddlebag, and water bottle, and always carry 2 rope halters and extra reins i can use a lead as well.
if i find i like the sport i will invest in the proper tack
I think that is part of why i love endurance.. there is no requirement for tack, so you can get creative and find what works best for your horse, you, and your budget.
phantom go to a tractor supply or home dept or an outdoors store that sells rope. feel out what rope you like best. i like using the thin white rope usually used for clothes lines. very flexible and sturdy and my horses love it. i buy it in rolls pre cut at 50ft and split it 2 and make to halters out of it. i don't use that for the leads though i buy thinker rope for that with clips
edit: another good thing i like about the white rope is you can dye it any color you want
* Beat to hell Wintec AP. Uncomfortable, but it only weights 15 pounds and my horse has never had a sore back.
* Nothing special black dressage pad.
* Mattes half pad.
* What was once a Professional's Choice dressage girth. I recently tore off the neoprene, cut off the billet keeps, and forced a sheep skin girth cover on it. Now's it's comfy.
* Biothane halter-bridle, purple. I use a Myler short shanked curb with a medium port.
* Matching purple biothane breast collar.
* Stowaway cantle bag, which contains important stuff like chap stick, rain wear, hoof pick, and granola bars.
I invested in a Barefoot Atlanta saddle a couple years ago - LOVE this saddle!
I also use the pad that came with the saddle at the time and I have the Aussie stirrup leathers because they are thicker than regular english leathers with plastic endurance stirrups.
Recently bought the sidepull bridle with bit hangers because I'm being optimistic that my silly gelding will one day go in just the sidepull. Bright Royal Blue (from Running Bear)
Reins and breast collar (cheap off ebay) with martingale attachment (Running Bear) also Bright Royal Blue.
I just purchased the Snugpax pommel pack with the water bottles and extra pocket on each side. In Bright Royal Blue, of course.
Yes - it's treeless. It took a little getting used to but now it's my favorite. There are so many different saddles out there! I think it's hard to find one that fits both horse and rider now, expecially if you're looking at doing endurance. I used to use the same Circle Y western saddle on all my horses. It was fine for showing but would probably hurt like heck to most of them longer than an hour or two.
I have been riding Biscuit in an Allegany Mountain Trail Saddle - their Renegade Endurance Saddle with a horn. Taylored Biothane Halter/Bridle Pawnee style. Garmin eTrex GPS, heart rate monitor.
His custom saddle didn't fit anymore - he is too "fit" for it so a new one is being built to fit him now. In the mean time, I just ordered a synthetic Kimberly Endurance Saddle. I had two Aussie Saddles when I bought Biscuit and they didn't fit his fat little self after he put weight on. Sold them last year to my eternal sorrow. It will take 2 months to get the new saddle so the Aussie will be here Tuesday. My other one had metal stirrups - this one has plastic. I love Aussie Saddles and can't wait to get it.
my next saddle will be a dixieland, endurance skirt lite rider PACKAGEDEAL,
Seems most of the endurance saddles are not made for big guys, or gaited horses. And those that are are simply western saddles with no horn. I really like the Dixielands and seem to be well liked by TWH riders.
Seems most of the endurance saddles are not made for big guys, or gaited horses. And those that are are simply western saddles with no horn. I really like the Dixielands and seem to be well liked by TWH riders.
What makes your walker's back different than a non-gaited horses? I have been trying to ponder that and just haven't seen enough gaited horse backs to be able to come up with an answer. :lol: Is it their actual back or something about how the saddle interacts with their shoulders?
usually a higher wither and wider clearance at the shoulders. Gaited trees tend to flair at the front, and have alot of wither clearance. Probably has more to do with giving the shoulders clearance while they are moving then an actual shape thing on the standing still horse. Depending on the variety many are also short backed. I'm not sold on treeless designs. I spent to many years carrying rucksacks, carrying anytype of weight without a frame blows. They are probably fine for people 100lbs lighter than me. I'm not interested in trying one. Also with the popularity of Arabs in the sport I imagine many of the saddles are made for Arab backs. Never owned one, so not sure how they compare. I just see saddles advertised with Arab trees as opposed to other trees so I assume something is different.
Arabs may appear narrower, but their barrel is rounder than quarter horses (room for all that extra lung space!), so generally "quarter horse bars" don't fit. My boy feels so skinny to me compared to the quarter horses I grew up on and my own QH colt, but boy can I tell the difference when I ride bareback! Their movement is also bigger, so the saddle has to be out of the way of their shoulder during their entire gait, as is true for any properly fitted saddle. Anyway, just due to the difference in roundness, the trees are built wider and different shaped to accomodate.
Joe, that is interesting. My arab has a high withers and a short, straight back. She doesn't seem to care what saddle I put on her, just so I use one particular pad that I don't really like the looks of myself. My arab gelding that I had in the past was more round. The saddle wasn't as stable on his back.
What I am getting at is that the TWH back that you describe sounds a lot like my arab's back.
-I ride in a Freeform classic saddle. I LOVE IT! And it weighs almost nothing.
-Currently waiting on beta & biothane to get here, it is sea foam green and turquoise blue! I am getting a headstall, reins, and a breastplate all matching
-HAF pad
-EZ ride stirrups- absolutely love them, so comfy!
My Needs/Wants List
-a pommel bag that I like; it needs to be black!
-a heart monitor
-GPS
Barefoot Cheyenne saddle
Equipedic Endurance pad
Toklat Woolback dressage girth
Biothane breastcollar
Biothane bitless bridle w/lightweight rope rein
S curve brass irons
Fleece leather covers (I'm so short I had to buy child leathers)
I use half chaps and Tuff Rider breeches that stretch with padding on the inside of the knee. And I ride with a Camelback that has a pocket for Dixie's mini hay cubes and Stam-E bars.
Do those of you who use rope halters trailer in them also? I'm looking to get a tack set that's simple so I have less "stuff" to deal with when going on rides. I like the rope halter with add-on headstall but I'm leery of trailering in a rope halter.
I dont see the issue with trailering in a rope halter. But I guess it depends on the rope. Are you using nylon halters ? they can be even stronger if they dont have breakaway hardware or straps.
I am liking the white cotton line idea posted earlier. I think that would be perfect. That line would break and I could dye it. Seems I can never find the right color line when I want it.
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