Vinery Stables’ and Fox Hill Farm’s Friesan Fire, who was made the favorite for this year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) after three consecutive graded stakes wins this spring, has been sidelined for a couple of months due to an injury.
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When most people begin to start out with barrel racing, they think that just any barrel saddle will do. But the case is, that if your barrel saddle does not fit your equine athlete properly you are not going to do well in barrel racing, you may have behavior problems, and you can actually damage your horse irreparably.

If you’re going to be riding Western and are new to the horse world, you can choose just about any Western saddle that you find that you can afford, that fits your horse, that fits you and is well made. While it’s nice to be able to purchase brand-new saddles for your new enthusiastic hobby, sometimes it’s just not quite financially feasible. This means that you may be choosing a saddle that is not exactly what you want.

Saddles are expensive, and brand-new saddles are even more expensive, if you are looking for a good fitting saddle you may look into the used market to not only save yourself money, but to purchase a better quality used saddle overall. With all of the new technology out you might be tempted to look for an inexpensive brand-new saddle, but workmanship has a lot to do with how well the weight is distributed across your horse’s back. Those saddles that are inexpensive fashion statements are not necessary the best saddle to choose for your horse.

In the competition world keeping your horse comfortable is one of the most important aspects of your competition. In fact, your horse can become sore, perform badly, have focusing problems, and actually develop bad behaviors with an ill fitting saddle.