After the last endurance ride I was concerned enough about Amira's sore back that I tried a lot harder to get in touch with our local saddle fitter. Turns out the previous number I had been texting to try and reach her was outdated and not hers!
Suze was happy to schedule a time to come out. She is very knowledgeable and picked up right away on the fact that Amira has an overdeveloped Spinalis muscle and asymmetrical shoulders. She also has an incredibly short back and my saddle, which is filled with air (and is hard), was resting past her last rib on her topline which created our issue after the last ride.
https://thehorsesback.com/spinalis-muscle/
I had borrowed a Winners Circle MW Trooper saddle from a fellow rider to see if that fit any better. That was too tight on the shoulders, but she did like the way it was cut in the rear.
We discussed options, of which I don't have a whole lot of being on a budget. She thought she could probably take my Wintec and convert it from being air filled to wool flocked instead. I am excited to see how that works out. It is cheaper then a new saddle for sure! And I can't exactly put on the miles without a saddle either.
Dean also agreed to loan me his Specialized saddle that he uses on Rocky to see how that works on her. Not for me to use but just for my information, in the future when I can afford a replacement saddle. I do like how customizable the Specialized saddles are. I checked them out at their booth at Convention in January and ended up buying one of their saddle pads. So if the fitter likes the SS on her that is something I could try to purchase in the future.
Suze will be back out on Friday and we will see where we are at with things at that time.
