Tinker joined the family 4 years ago with a lot of baggage. She’d had 10 homes that I know of and had been mis-sold in the past and passed about as she was deemed dangerous. She was very weak in her back and ran away from any form of restraint.
She was a lovely natured little cob but got very anxious which made her very difficult to school and bring on. I got myself a fantastic instructor who questioned my sanity but stuck with me! A good vet and physiotherapist diagnosed issues which we sorted, fast forward a couple of years we had a chilled pony to work with.
Tinks can still be very sharp and has a big back swing which always shifted the flocking in my treed saddle. I had a fantastic saddler fitter who came out at the drop of a hat to help us but she was a typical Cob; wide shoulders, little wither and wide across back of the saddle meant constant movement. Having experienced the same issues with my older cob ‘Beauty’, who has been in a SMART saddle for over 10 years, I decided to try one for Tinks. I honestly thought she wouldn’t be compatible.
I’m ‘not that young’ and stiff in the hips myself, but after the SMART Test Ride, I took the SMART Elite Jump on trial. From day one it was like it was made for us! My position was loads better; my body ached less & for Tinker it was like the final piece of the puzzle. Since she had it on her back she has become an even happier pony.
I wanted to try it for everything so managed to cram in show jumping, cross-country, Arena Eventing, Sports Endurance and lots of hacking during the rental period. The saddle never once moved and she’s never felt so comfortable and unrestricted.
If you are unsure about a flexible saddle, I would definitely recommend trying a SMART Saddle!
Karen Dawson
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