Bates
Caprilli Close Contact Saddle
Close Contact Saddles
Manufacturer: Bates
Model: Caprilli Close Contact Saddle
Category: Close Contact Saddles
Purchase: Paid: 1400.00 US dollars
Why: Needed a saddle for a hard to fit horse.
Where: Black Bottom Stables, Ladson SC
Likes: My horse is....well... curvaceous. Its like riding a 55 gallon drum. Add a shark fin for withers, and BAM... There is my horse.
I purchased this saddle based on the fact that I had already tried 11 other saddles. Nothing fit. The Bates CC was my last resort before having to take out a loan to go custom made.
This saddle, due to the gullet system, fits a wide variety of horses. It sits nicely on my horses back, and stays fairly centered. Previously, a dressage saddle was all we could find that fit, and jumping in a dressage saddle is not very comfortable.
Dislikes: What I don't like about the BATES gullet system: It took two people to switch it from the regular gullet (standard) to the extra wide gullet that I needed to put in.
A fellow boarder and I literally had to wrestle with it for about twenty minutes. I am assuming it is not quite as difficult to go to a narrower gullet.... I hope.
The saddle itself tips me forward a little, but actually finding a saddle to fit my horse is a good enough trade-off.
Quality: The construction of the saddle seem to be fairly good for the money. The tree is nicely balanced for the horse, and the leather is slowly getting softer.
Summary: I think this is a great saddle, with a great fitting concept. It fits one horse nicely, but I would not rate its "easy change" gullet system as "easy"! All in all, I am glad I purchased the saddle. Actually getting to do some jumps without hitting the pommel of my dressage saddle is great!
Rating: 4
Author: Amy
Date: 2006-09-20
Usefulness Rating: 5 out of 5.
2 reader(s) voted.
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