I bought it at an estate sale for all of $55.00. The billets were cracked and unsafe, but other than that, it was in terrific shape. I don't even know if it had ever been used. I had it repaired and later found out it was a WWII Japanese military saddle.
I started using it on Mingo. He loved it. If circumstances were such that I had to use another saddle on him, I could feel the difference in his movement--and he was less reluctant to cooperate in everything. This became his official saddle. I used it on him for years. If you see the pictures of me riding him in my book, most of the time I was in this saddle.
When Mingo died, I started to use the saddle on Cruiser. Cruiser's saddle became Cole's saddle, and it has been his saddle ever since. Once Cruiser died, the only time I used the war saddle was when I rode Dante. Sometimes I rode Dante just for the chance to use my favorite saddle.
In the beginning, I wouldn't even consider using it on Cole. It doesn't have any knee rolls, and the surface is very smooth, which makes it an easy saddle to come off of. Cole was just a bit too unpredictable in the early days. This wasn't the saddle for him. Besides, I didn't think it would fit him with his short back.
Not long ago, I was riding Dante in the arena, and Ellen was watching us. She saw how well the saddle fit me and suggested I just try it on Cole--maybe it would work. I played around with that idea, but I was skeptical.
Talk about a cognitive distortion. One day, I put it on his back, and it appeared to fit him beautifully! I thought maybe I should try using it on him. I wanted to wait for the perfect day. If he was having a hyper day, a new saddle--particularly one that he possibly wouldn't like the way it felt--might not be such a good idea.
The day I tried it on him was on a trail ride with Starry. We had been riding a number of days in a row, and he was being consistently wonderful on each ride. This was going to be the day.
As we started down the hill, Starry was a little in the lead. Cole was just poking along. Could it be because I had ridden him so many days in a row--or didn't he like the saddle? I trotted to catch up with Starry. He trotted slow, but steady.
Once we crossed the river, we headed down the trail at a trot. This saddle is a little tougher to post on because there isn't the support that you have in ordinary English saddles. When I use it a lot, I become a better rider, because i have to be more conscious of my position. I kept adjusting my legs, but after a bit I was able to keep them under me in the proper position.
And then I tried a sitting trot--something I rarely do with Cole on the trail. When did he get so smooth? He wasn't Dante smooth, but he was smooth enough that I was very comfortable at a moderate speed. This was awesome!!! The saddle has a different sort of tree than the modern saddles of today. It has 2 metal pieces along the side with leather straps holding them to a leather center strip. I believe that it has better suspension because of this. Mingo was an already smooth horse, like Dante, but I always felt he was a little smoother with this saddle. I never noticed any difference with Cruiser. I never expected anything quite so dramatic with Cole.
You can see the "horn" in the back. I believe that it is to help hold a pack down. I used to use a cantle bag on this saddle, and it stayed perfectly in place. You just need to remember that the horn is there when you dismount so your leg doesn't get hung up on it.
(That beautiful dog is our old dog, Pollie. She was the best dog--ever.)
I plan to start using this saddle on a regular basis on the trail and see how it goes. When I tried it on Cole in the arena, I just couldn't stay in position when he tried his big arena trot--and he would give up. I will probably just stick to his old saddle; which I like, too.
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