Tack Guru

I'm impressed by how well my Roosli has fit so many horses and still kept me in a balanced position.

I had a terrible time finding my last dressage saddle. Many came close, but ultimately I found them to be either too restrictive – with the seat too deep or the blocks too large – too hard or just not balanced.

After trying about 12 different saddles, I rode in my coach’s Roosli. Immediately, I found that it put me in a balanced seat which required very little effort to sustain. It had the perfect seat depth — not too shallow, not too deep so that I felt secure but like I could still move.

My coach arranged for me to order a saddle directly from the factory and helped me take the measurements for a custom saddle. I am very long from my hip to my knee so it was important for me to have flaps that truly fit. I ordered a wide tree as I found that my trainer’s saddle fit a wide variety of horses in the barn.

The saddle took about 8 weeks to arrive. I was lucky in my timing; at that time the dollar was quite strong in Europe and the saddle cost me about $1700 — today the same saddle costs about $3,250! The saddle was immediately comfortable and fit my horse without any adjustments. In fact, my horses have all moved extremely well with this saddle. For the rider, it provides just the right amount of support.

I’ve had the saddle now for 7 years. The leather has held up extremely well – the saddle still looks relatively new. It has fit almost every horse I’ve tried it on and it has required only minimal fitting (my saddle fitter says that Roosli saddles generally are very kind to a horse’s back).

Roosli saddles are hand made in Switzerland of top quality leather. The saddles is built on an elastic steel spring frame. It has wool felt panels with wool flocking. The seat has natural latex padding which makes the seat comfortable for the rider; the wool flocking and the wide gullet make it comfortable for the horse.

The bottom line:

Certainly, I would recommend this saddle to anyone! The quality of the saddle is excellent, it’s “horse friendly” and it really puts the a rider in a balanced position without holding you with a really deep seat or huge blocks. Roosli saddles don’t have the name recognition of some other brands, but they are worth the investment. I can’t imagine replacing mine any time soon.

AluSpray is used to cover wounds that can't be bandaged.

I wish I didn’t know how well this product works. It’s a spray on aluminum powder that you can use to cover wounds that otherwise cannot be bandaged. While it doesn’t have any healing properties, it’s great for keeping dirt, debris and flies off an open wound.

I had the opportunity to try this product after my horse was kicked. He had a nasty wound on his forearm that couldn’t be stitched and couldn’t be bandaged. The AluSpray was just the ticket for the job. It helped me keep the wound clean during the healing process. When you spray it on it dries instantly and provides a protective barrier. I was cleaning his wound twice a day and it didn’t wear off in between.

This is definitely something every horse owner need to have on his or her medicine shelf. I just hope I don’t need to use it again any time soon!

Torsion Extra Light Treeless Saddle

Before I bought the Torsion Extra Light, I’d already owned two treeless saddles, a Hilason, which I hated, and a Barefoot Cheyenne, about which I had mixed feelings. The Cheyenne convinced me that I would like Treeless riding, but that I hadn’t found the right saddle.

I spent a lot of time researching saddles before I bought the Torsion. I liked what I read about the brand. Torsion saddles have been around for many years and are used by quite a few endurance riders. I felt that the saddle design was well tested and that it had demonstrated success. I liked the design of the Extra Light because it is a minimalist saddle. It weighs only about 5 pounds and there is little between you and your horse. As part of my research I spoke extensively to Jeannean Mercuri at GoTreeless. She was very helpful about narrowing my choices down to the Extra Light.

Right before Christmas, two years ago, my “perfect” saddle came up on eBay. It was an Extra Light that had been used only a dozen times in the right seat size and in Buffalo leather. A discussion with Jeannean confirmed that the saddle was as advertised and it ended up under my Christmas tree (a great gift from my husband). I thought that it was excellent value for the $700 I paid.

As soon as I sat in this saddle I knew I’d made the right choice. It puts me in a very balanced position, I feel secure and it has an amazing close contact feel. My only complaint was that I found the leather seat to be slightly uncomfortable, but a sheepskin cover fixed that. This saddle is very wide over what would be the twist on a treed saddle. This could be a problem for some riders, especially if they are on a horse that’s quite broad.

This is a very well crafted saddle. The stitching is tight, the quality of the leather is excellent (I really like the Buffalo leather; after two years it still looks new), and the saddle is balanced and even. While the Extra Light does not have a gullet like some of the other designs, the bottom of it is shaped so that there is no interference with my horses’ withers.

I use either a saddleright pad or a skito pad under the saddle and have had no problems with back soreness. I have used this saddle on three horses — my warmblood who is quite wide with low withers and wide shoulders; my TB who has more prominent withers and a short back; and a Lippizan/arab cross who wears an extra wide tree. With each horse it’s important to slide the saddle back to it’s natural resting place on the horse’s back.

I have not had any problems with slippage. I do not use a breast plate. The saddle uses a short (dressage) girth. I have a Wintec girth that has worked well. I have had a few “challenging” rides in this saddle including some spooks, and I always felt secure in the seat and confident that the saddle will not slip.

The stirrup attachment is via rings. This is not ideal as it does not allow the stirrup leathers to detach from the saddle if they get hung up, or if the rider were to fall and get their feet stuck in the stirrup. It is a good idea to use safety stirrups or a Barnes Buckle, a very useful safety product that is used in the UK,as a precaution.

This saddle does not give the same amount of support as a treed saddle, or even as much as the Freeform saddle that I also own so might not be suitable for someone who does not have good balance.

Freedom models the Dr. Cook's Bitless bridle.

Of all the bitless solutions out there, this bridle is probably the best known.

The Dr. Cook’s bridle is a cross under solution: in addition to the normal cavesson, there are two straps that cross under the horse’s jaw and are then run through two rings on the noseband. The reins attach to these straps. Other bridles that use this configuration are the Nurtural bridle and the Micklem Multibridle.

The Dr. Cook’s bridle controls the horse primarily through poll pressure. When you put pressure on one – or both – reins, there is also a squeeze (or hug, as they define it) to the entire head, but the most pressure is applied to the poll. When the pressure on the reins is lessoned, the pressure on the horse’s head is reduced/released.

The Dr. Cook's bridle features a cross under design which "hugs" the head and applies pressure to the poll.

Herein lies the rub: if your horse does not respond to poll pressure, this is not the bridle for you. Lots of horses don’t seem to be bothered by the pressure. I’ve met many people who love this bridle and whose horses worked well in it from day one. The two horses I’ve tried this on did not like poll pressure one bit. With my Trakehner, his reaction to the bridle was to get very light in front at the slightest pressure and to half-rear when any more pressure was applied. My TB, Freedom, was not as reactive but was still very fussy.

I did give this bridle a chance. I rode in it repeatedly and he was fine provided I never took any contact. I had bought a nylon version of the bridle to try and at first, I suspected that this might be the problem, that the nylon didn’t release quickly enough so that the pressure was prolonged beyond my initial contact. My Trakehner came to me with “issues” and did not like to feel trapped. However, I borrowed a leather version of the bridle and had the same response. I really like to ride my horse with contact –  in my other bitless bridle I was able to get him to reach into the bridle, maintain a steady contact and swing through the back. It’s not that I don’t know how to ride him in this way, I simply could never get him to take contact in the Dr. Cook’s bridle.

Since trying the bridle, I’ve read about horses that are very sensitive to poll pressure and suspect I just have one of them. In fact, there are a growing number of bridle manufacturers that are selling “comfort” bridles with extra padding over the poll specifically marketed to horses like mine.

One thing I don’t necessarily buy into is all the hype that goes with this bridle. I have been riding bitless now for several years and it has been a much better solution for one of my horses. But I don’t necessarily think that putting a bit in your horse’s mouth is inherently wrong or that it’s necessarily harsh or inhumane.

Some horses just prefer a bitted bridle. I’ve tried several different bitless solutions, as well as a hackamore on my TB. He goes much, much better in a simple loose ring snaffle. He’s happier, he’s more relaxed and he’s easily controlled. In the end, it is the hands of the rider that makes the solution soft or harsh, not necessarily the bit.

My Rambo Wug has been going strong for nearly a decade.

It snowed today, a sure sign of impending winter. As I was pulling out my blankets, I reflected that my Rambo Wug heavy weight blanket is about to start it’s 9th winter. Pretty impressive, given that my horses live out 24/7 and are not known for being kind to their clothing. While I’ve had to make some minor repairs to the blanket, it still looks great.

I’ve now used this blanket on two horses. I bought it originally for my warmblood gelding. He wore it for several seasons until he simply outgrew it. I now use it on a TB. I find that it has fit both quite well. My warmblood is quite wide, especially through the shoulders, and this is one of the few blankets that hasn’t rubbed him. My TB is not so wide but is very hard on his blankets. This never slips, despite his antics. I really like the higher neck option and never felt the need to add a separate neck attachment. The added height around the neck seems to keep them warm and dry.

The blanket is quite breathable. Even when the weather has warmed up, when I’ve come to check my horse he’s not too hot.

The quality of the blanket is quite good. The material is strong and durable and resists tears. I’ve had no problems with the lining. I love the fastening method at the front (clips not buckles). They are very easy to open or fasten, even one handed.

Rambo blankets are initially expensive, but I’ve found that this one was very good value. I don’t have many blankets that look this good after so many years of use!

Freeform Classic Treeless Saddle

The concept of going Treeless has intrigued me for some time. I like the idea of having a saddle that will fit multiple horses and I liked the idea of finding a saddle that gave me the close feel of bareback riding with some additional support. I first tried a Barefoot Cheyenne, but it just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the Nubuck leather (which showed wear almost immediately) and I found that the stirrup position put me in a chair seat so I was always slightly behind the motion of my horse. In many regards it was a glorified bareback pad — the seat has very little structure and if you have a wide horse it can cause some discomfort in your hips.

I have really enjoyed my Freeform. It is more traditional in appearance (mine is black calfskin) and its seat has a narrower twist, which makes it quite comfortable. But the two outstanding features are 1) that it has an interchangeable seat, which allows you to use the saddle for several riders and 2) you can adjust the placement of the stirrups. I bought the saddle at a time when my daughter (aged 9) wanted to ride a friend’s pony. This pony was extremely wide, and even my wide tree saddle didn’t fit her. Plus my daughter is so small that I didn’t want her swimming in an adult-sized seat. I found the saddle used on the yahoo treeless site ($700) and then bought a smaller sized seat for my daughter. I can’t believe that more saddle manufacturers have not gone the modular route because it makes so much sense from a consumer perspective.

I’ve had the saddle now for about a year and I’ve still very pleased with it. It’s comfortable on both of my horses (which are very different shape) and the leather has held up well. In this regard, I much prefer the calfskin leather used on the Freeform over the Nubuck. The saddle is easy to clean and still shows little wear. The model I have has wool underneath.

I’ve been using this saddle with a Skito pad and have had no problems with my horses’ backs. I find the saddle to be quite stable on my horses’ backs, although I never mount from the ground.

My only complaint is that the saddle does not have as much of a close contact feel as some of the other treeless saddles, but I think the feeling of a twist is worth the tradeoff. Some people say they use this saddle for jumping, but at least for me, the flaps are too straight. It’s much more similar to a dressage saddle.

Easyboot Bare Hoof boot

I have a horse with good — but not great — hoof quality. I’d had him barefoot behind successfully for many years. However, when I started foxhunting, he started to get bruises. The territory was just too rocky.

I tried putting shoes on him behind. It worked for awhile, but then he pulled both hind shoes in a 12 hour period in mud, taking a good amount of the horn with them. There was nothing left to nail to.

I decided to try hoof boots. With a boot I could add protection where he needed it (hunting) but leave him barefoot the rest of the time.

I started with a regular Easyboot, but they wouldn’t stay on. Then I tried Old Macs (the original design) but they were clunky and I found that he interfered behind and that if I used them for any length of time, they rubbed. Same with the Boa boots. I tried the Easyboot Epic. They worked better than the original, but still came off. I tried the Cavallo Simple boot but it was the wrong shape for my horse’s hind hooves.

I’d read about the Easyboot Bare and thought I’d give them a shot. They are a “lower profile” than several other designs and I liked the fact that they do not use the buckle system of the other Easyboots, but are adjusted with a more permanent method. I also liked the fact that you could buy them individually, rather than in pairs. With both the Old Macs and the Boas, I’d had problems with one boot breaking or wearing more, and didn’t want to buy a whole new pair.

I knew from having read about them that they would be a bear (so to speak) to put on. When I first got them, they were challenging. I’d read a lot about them and knew that at first they would be difficult to put on. Based on what I read, used the following techniques and made sure I wasn’t in a hurry the day I tried them.

• Adjust the boots in a loose position. Even then, I had my doubts about whether I could get them on the first time.
• Put talcum powder over the hoofs as it makes them more slippery.
• Put them on over the toe first, then the sides. Use a rubber mallet to help bang the toe in farther.

I did get them on and rode with them for about an hour. I was very pleased that although they weren’t as tight as I thought they should be, they didn’t shift and they didn’t rub.

Over the next few rides I managed to tighten up the “bungee” system and still get the boots on. I tried the out hunting and they worked a treat. I ride first flight and the boots stayed in place and my horse felt happy and secure. There was no slippage and no tenderness. There was also no rubbing. I jumped in them as well with no problems.

During the entire fall season of hunting I had only one problem — after my horse was trimmed, one boot came off while we went at a full gallop across a field. It was my fault because I should have tightened them up.

Altogether, I’m very pleased. The boots have worn well so far and they have provided an excellent alternative to shoes.

Equine Athletics Dressage Coat

Equine Athletics jackets are just slightly stretchy, making them extremely comfortable to wear. They don’t look any different from a regular coat, but they have a slight amount of “give” which gives you better range of motion. The jacket is a light weight wool and it has a mesh liner inside that helps keep you cooler and dryer. Compared to traditional wool hunt coats I find these to be much more comfortable.

I think the quality of the jacket is very good. It is a wool blend with a subtle herringbone pattern. Equine Athletics jackets fit closer to street size than many hunt jackets. The cut on the jacket is slightly longer than many other jackets which I find flattering. I am impressed with the quality of the make. All the seems are well finished and the cut is attractive.

Equine Athletics Hunt Coat

I bought mine from a close out sale for only $30 which was an incredible buy. I’ve seen the jacket advertised for $200-$270 and even at that price I think it offers good value.

My only dislike is that I wish the jackets were available in more colors.

Keretex Hoof Hardener

At certain times of the year, my paddock is just a sea of mud. In past years, these conditions have wreaked havoc on my horses’ feet. As their hooves soften, they are far more prone to losing shoes. This can be real problem as their hooves became so soft that they just didn’t hold nails well.

I’ve found that Keretex Hoof Hardener has done a remarkable job of protecting their feet and maintaining a proper level of moisture. My horses are holding their shoes well and my farrier has commented on the improvement in their horn.

I always apply Keretex after they are shod, taking care to make sure the nail holes are saturated. Then I cover the hoof and the sole. The directions say not to paint the coronary band but I’ve heard anecdotally from people who have contacted the company, that it is not a problem. However, since the main ingredient is formaldehyde you should be careful not to get Keretex on your hands when you apply it. I generally wear latex gloves.

During the wettest times, I apply the Hoof Hardener either daily or every other day. The rest of the time I apply it 2x or 3x per week. It’s definitely worth the cost.

Once your horse’s feet improve the company recommends that you maintain their hooves with the Hoof Gel. The gel forms a barrier that maintains a proper moisture level in the hoof so it can be used both during very dry and very wet periods.

I buy Keretex directly from the manufacturer at www.keretex.com. It’s less expensive than buying it at the tack store and you can get free shipping if you buy in quantity.