Colorado Saddlery Co.
Natural Ride English - Bareback Pad w/tree
Western Miscellaneous
Manufacturer: Colorado Saddlery Co.
Model: Natural Ride English - Bareback Pad w/tree
Category: Western Miscellaneous
Purchase: I purchased this pad from SB Bar saddlery 12826 W. Chenango Avenue, Morrison, Colorado 80465, phone 303-972-1536 or 1-800-777-9983. Rick was the salesman in October of 1991. I paid $94.39 for the pad and $3.95 for shipping to Niagara Falls, USA, making the total $98.39. I wanted to improve my riding and make my Anglo Arab happier, he seemed unhappy in a saddle.
Likes: My Anglo Arab moved much better in this pad than his saddle and yet it had the security of a treed saddle for me. It won't slip if your horse shies. I was able to develop a better feel for his movement. The pad was easy to keep like new and light weight. I could mount from the ground if I got off on a trail ride (I now mount without pulling the saddle tree to the side like when I used the traditional methods).
I was able to engrave my name on the ralide and though I have boarded it always gets returned to me.
Dislikes: The stirrups were not as easy to adjust as advertised and after using the unit for some time I had problems with slippage so I made my own alteration and added velcro and a breakaway stirrup because the stirrups would not release from the ralide wither arch in a fall.
The manufacturer has changed the design. I used this pad maybe three times on my Clydesdale Standardbred cross gelding (other horse)before he outgrew it. If you look on the website the new Natural Ride has a different arch. I have not tried that one. On my Clydesdale Cross the old arch concentrates the pressure where it digs into his huge muscles, it needed to be u-shaped not v-shaped; I have the same problem with saddles and am thinking of trying a WOW (English), I use an Ansur now.
The ralide would touch my knees with a short stirrup needed on a short horse, but since I am so long legged I ride deep barreled horses which eliminates the problem.
Quality: It still looks practically new. The quality is great except for that small problem with the stirrups.
Summary: I know a lot more about horses every year I ride and I have been riding thirty six years. My Anglo Arabs problems were due to pain from saddle fit, he is retired due to severe spinal arthritis and injuries to his pelvis from a barn fire. I did realize that his jointed snaffle was hurting his low palate and he did much better with a bar snaffle, but missed the saddle problem. He was a gift because he had bridle lameness, rearing, bit when groomed/was saddled and had other behavioral problems. His saddle was fitted by a more experienced person than me at the time and didn't leave sores; but the person's expertise was with TB crosses and hunt seat. His years of blanketing also caused problems. Now that I am older, and hopefully wiser, I am more careful about mounting from a mounting block and springing up like a gymnast rather than pulling a tree across my horses back. But it would still be nice to be able to mount from the ground with stirrups if I needed to. I still can't spring onto my 17HH plus gelding bareback without cheating by putting him in a hole.
Rating: 4
Author: Petty Kash
Date: 2007-05-13
Usefulness Rating: 3.8 out of 5.
5 reader(s) voted.
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