Pippa's Prince
- May 5, 2021
- 3 min read
Pippa has owned and loved Arabian horses before, so when she looked to buy her next long-term equine companion, she chose from Devon based Combe Farm Arabians a home bred 15hh chestnut gelding by the name of Prince Alexus.
She describes him as being “a beautiful mover and a real dude”. Alexus’s life so far has been primarily running with a herd from a youngster until he was backed at 12 years old by Combe Farm Arabians. He benefitted from the stud’s knowledge of Arabs and all the social interaction between the free-ranging horses.
Never having seen much of the world, moving to his new home with Pippa made him anxious and reactive. Sensibly, Pippa has taken time and is working with Angela Attew of Angelford Equestrian, Behavioural & Bodywork Therapy who uses the Warwick Schiller Principals of Training.
Pippa knew from her previous experience with Arabs that it can be hard to get a saddle to fit their conformation correctly and comfortably. This was compounded by the concern that she had a physically mature but inexperienced horse. Having researched many different saddles, WOW stood out for her as ticking all the boxes she needed. It would ensure his comfort, could be fitted precisely to his conformation, and be adjusted to his changing shape as he started to work consistently for the first time in his life. An additional problem was that Pippa was still concentrating on his groundwork – no-one had sat on him for six months - so initially the saddle fit would need to be assessed without a rider, with scope for significant adjustment in the future. Again, WOW has extensive adjustability options to meet this need.
When WOW fitter Jenny Basham arrived, she saw a handsome chestnut with a high wither, quite narrow in front and the typical Arab short rib cage. That view already told her she would need WOWs special ‘short’ panels on him that are designed to provide a large bearing area but not extend quite as far back as normal under a given seat size.
The WOW saddle construction allows a fitter to select the tree curvature, panels and headplate which are correct for the horse, before assessing the seat and flaps for the rider. The first step was to place WOW’s Saddle Gauge on Alexus to determine each of these components. Jenny then saw him lunged, to provide some guide through a visual assessment of how the fit readings might be affected when the horse was being ridden.
Commenting on this process, Pippa says:
“Jenny was hugely respectful of Alexus’s space and his reactions. He has his anxieties, and she never bulldozed him, stepping back for a moment if he was unsettled. She has that compassion and understanding of horses which gives me huge confidence.”
Stationary, Alexus appeared to need a semi-curved tree, but as is typical of many Arabs, he changed shape significantly when moving, and Jenny could see a flat tree combined with 16” short tabbed panels was the right set-up for him. Jenny then sat Pippa on various seats and flaps on a saddle horse. Pippa was most comfortable in a Continental seat with VSD fixed block +1” flaps. The Continental is a good seat for both flatwork and jumping; its cantle is flatter than a Deep seat so the rider has more room which was right for Pippa in the 16” version. The VSD are excellent general purpose flaps for riders who will be doing mainly flatwork including hacking, and the extra inch of length matched Pippa’s leg geometry. An H-girth was selected to ensure stability.
The design options on WOW saddles are extensive; Pippa chose a bright blue stitching which gives the saddle individuality and complements Alexus’s chestnut colour.
A few weeks on, and Jenny fitted Pippa’s new saddle. True to expectation, the saddle components worked perfectly. With Pippa now aboard the saddle stays in position and Alexus is relaxed and continuing to progress in his work. Once Alexus can be seen ridden through all his paces Jenny will come back to assess and possibly tweak Pippa’s position in the saddle. Pippa says “The ability of the WOW saddle to be adjusted while I am riding is fantastic and so easy.”
Doubtless the saddle will need adjustment as Alexus muscles up, but this is true of all horses. The difference with a WOW is that Pippa will not have to replace the saddle as he changes shape.
She sums up:
“With this lovely horse, I’ve been steadily putting all the bits together. The training, the flatwork, and now the saddle. With the groundwork, we’ve created the trust and the movement, and with his WOW given this late-starting horse the best opportunity to work happily. I’m so enjoying my journey with him.”
