Saddle Epilogue~

Kachees Lake

The water level in the reservoir was down - from our last trip over Snoqualmie pass in April~

Kachees on April 12th

This was a mufti-purpose trip - to pick up another load of hay.  First cutting this time & probably the only cutting, Everett's water will be cut-off the first of Aug.  Second cutting isn't usually ready to bail until the first part of Sept.  Farah was with us too, so that Everett could fit her for a saddle tree & proposed new saddle.  I'd also asked him to access the fit & lack of workmanship in the saddle I'm returning to McClintock.

Ben bucking hay!

It was HOT!  104 when we arrived & still going up!  Ben was a great help!  The bales were just a little lighter, they were so dry, enough that a ton was 22 bales rather than 21.  Once the truck was full, we all hurried into the air conditioned saddle shop for a cold pop!  Farah was in the barn, able to roam from stall to stall, where she cleaned up any & all food stuff left by Everett & Carolyn's horses!

We came to several conclusions.  The first - the McClintock saddle is being shipped back today!  Even the tree itself - was not the same kind/type of tree that was in Linda's saddle.  Linda's saddle has stirrup slots, in the bars, which is what gives me the tremendous freedom of movement in the fenders.  We considered the option of new sheepskin on this saddle...  With the age of the saddle, craftsmanship etc., the leather would not hold up & we'd basically end up with a tree.  Regardless - it would be very time consuming & costly to make it look as good as it should.

We pulled out books of trees, trying to find one that would match Linda's saddle.  We couldn't find one, which may be part of the reason I didn't get one!  It seems that they are just not being made by any of the major saddle tree manufactures.  Everett referred me to Rod Nikkel's Saddle Trees, so beautiful that they are works of art & priced accordingly.  After sizing Farah again for a tree, with plenty of wither clearance/pommel height - we were ready to head home.

Yesterday, Butch helped me to re-fit Linda's saddle with all my stuff.  My new Supracore Coolback Endurance sized pad had arrived last week from Riding Warehouse at a really decent price & two-day shipping for $5.  It fits perfectly under the saddle, so - I'll be hitting the trail again soon (hopeful that the heat clears out?) & so happy to be!