Saddles for Sale in Central NJ: Smith-Worthington, County, Bates, Circle Y

You can contact me through www.rockandracehorses.com about any of these saddles.

Smith-Worthington Danzig EC All Purpose saddle for sale

Asking $900 (negotiable) plus shipping for the Smith-Worthington. This is an English-made saddle with a very comfortable seat and EXCELLENT withers clearance for high-withered horses. 18″ seat and a MW tree- the seat is a small 18″ seat, and might work for someone looking for a 17 1/2″ seat. Steel & wood spring trees with strong overlapping steel head plates allow tree adjustment many times as your horse muscles and matures or if you get a different horse. Gussetted panels with virgin wool flock stuffing allow proper fit to your horse. “Fired” (pre-stretched) pure linen webbing ensures that the seat never sags- you sit in a “hammock” of web and never hit the steel bars of the tree. Deeply recessed stirrup bars nearly eliminate stirrup leather bulge under the skirts. Cowhide seat, bridle leather flaps. Knee rolls and removable thigh blocks. This saddle sold new for $3,000+ (click here to see it new). I’m selling this saddle because it does not fit my horse.

SOLD! Passier AP saddle for sale SOLD!

Passier VSD-type all-purpose saddle. It has a deeper seat, but is also suitable for jumping. Havana color. 18″ seat size. Tree is wide, with nice wither clearance. $400.

Stubben Portos AP saddle – SOLD!

SOLD! Stubben Portos (all-purpose type saddle with a fairly forward flap, making it good for jumping). 18″ seat size. Tree is 31cm, which is considered medium to medium-wide. The saddle is in good condition, with typical signs of use, but needs stitch work on the front. Saddle was stored in a house and lightly used by original owner, and then stored in a zipped saddle bag between rides by current owner. This is a very minimalist-type saddle, design-wise- there is not a lot of knee roll, padding, etc. The saddle has a tiny knee roll underneath, but the flap is flat (no padding or suede or anything like that). Leather is classic durable Stubben leather. I LOVE riding in this saddle, because I like very little in my way. It gives a lot of freedom for the leg, but has very nice balance. I’ve ridden for hours on the trail with it, and have jumped up to 3′ very comfortably. I’m selling the saddle because it does not fit my horse. Negotiable $150, plus shipping for anyone who needs it shipped. SOLD!

And these saddles are also for sale- my friends are selling them.

Circle Y Walnut Grove Flex2 Trail Saddle for sale

$1,500 plus shipping. Located in NJ. 15″ seat. Wide tree. Comes with special-ordered wool pad, two cinches, quilted saddle bag, lightweight nylon saddle cover, and spare latigo. Nearly new- less than 20 hours on the saddle.

County Fusion dressage saddle for sale

Narrow tree, 17″ seat. Price to be determined.

Bates Isabell dressage saddle for sale

$700. 16 1/2″ seat, CAIR panels. M/W tree.

Wizard Rides 288 & 289: A Head With Wings

Friday, 9/30/11

In the photo above, my friend’s dearly-departed Morgan, Mary, is modeling the Stubben Golden Wings bit. The bit does not fit my friend’s new mare, so Wizard gave it a try.

We began our ride outdoors. The air was cool but damp from all the recent rain and humidity. All my tack got moldy from not riding for almost a week :^P Wizard was energetic but not evasive. He happily purred while we rode. Something about the cool air, the bit, and the time off seemed to agree with him, and he was FABULOUS. He was taking contact, and I was able to keep my hands right there with him instead of feeding the reins through with my fingers or creeping the reins up when he stretched into the bit. I think the Stubben is SO mild that Wizard is comfortable sitting on it a little more than his usual bits. All of our bits are extremely mild, but this one seemed to sit in his mouth like butter.

We worked on some lateral exercises, and I worked diligently on using my calf instead of poking him with my heel (awful habit that I fall into sometimes). We did some lengthening of our gaits, and I got the most BRILLIANT trot out of him. It was pretty close to a real extended trot- the tempo did not increase, but his stride lengthened and he really pushed with the hind end.

Annnnd then it rained.

So we moved indoors. We continued our lateral adventures, and did some shoulder in work, mostly at the walk. I got so brave that we practiced a few steps of Walter Zettl’s Shoulder-In Entwickeln Exercise. It was pretty sloppy, but the basics were there. He was SUCH a good boy. It made me think again about doing dressage shows with him :^)

Sunday, 10/2/11

Sunday’s ride was short, much to Wizard’s delight. We rode in the indoor arena with Kris and Sunny. We had a long, lazy walking warmup, followed by some leg yields at the walk. Then, we went into the trot, practicing circles at the ends. We worked on the leg yield at the trot, and were doing some transitions before Kris needed some moral support during her ride with Sunny. Wizard was off the hook for the rest of the ride, and was even referred to as “the good horse”. My goodness, how far we’ve come…

Selena Session 44; Wizard Session 114: Teacup Muzzle

Monday, 10/26/09

Selena is a classy Thoroughbred mare. Tall, scopey, old-fashioned pedigree, and refined. Alibar’s old bits fit JR and Wizard with no problem but they are too big for Selena (see photo above). Alibar was more than a hand shorter than Selena but he wore a 5 1/4″ bit.

I did a little tinkering with bits and tried a 5″ loose ring snaffle and it fit her dainty mouth like a glove. Loose ring snaffles tend to run small since the holes at the end pose the danger of pinching the corners of a horse’s mouth, which means she can probably wear a smaller size in other varieties, like a D-ring.

The first thing I noticed when I rode her in the loose ring was that it felt even milder than my KK Ultra that I normally use. I think this will be a good thing for working on suppling and relaxation.

Our goal was to return to the lovely, huntery trot we had last week. I kept the patterns simple and worked on keeping my hands quiet and my weight secure. We worked on a large oval and did a lot of walk-trot-walk transitions, followed by serpentines and figure 8s. I was careful to ride to the very end of each end since Selena sometimes cuts corners when I am not paying attention.

At the end of each ride, I always ask her for a stretchy circle at the trot. This was the first time I could feel her “get it” and know that it was part of the cooling-down process.

I repeated Sunday’s session with Wizard: a little light longeing, followed by the beginnings of long-lining. He is getting better every day. He is still sticky to the right but developing the ability to work a distance away from me to the left. I ended the session with some free longeing- Wizard is so responsive at liberty and it is always fun to work with him.

JR Session 38: Dorito Gordito

Monday, 6/1/09

I did a few new portraits of Mary the Morgan. As she becomes more fit, she is filling out nicely. She looks wonderful and it’s fun to chronicle her progress. Photographing black horses has become enjoyable now that I have the perfect practice model mare. There are so many nuances: every type of light makes a different color cast on her coat. The last bit of available light was reaching Mary as I snapped these frames. I particularly like the way she looks in her new Stubben Golden Wings snaffle.

I hand grazed Wizard and put his front legs in standing bandages while I was at the barn. His left front leg is still swollen. He is not lame on it, but the inflammation is still there. He also got a little massage- he seems quite pleased with the pampering. Whenever I massage the muscles near the sacroiliac joint, he does an elaborate yawning routine. Yawning can be a sign of relaxation and released tension.

Did you ever realize that Doritos means “little bits of gold”? That would make JR a gordito dorito since he needs to get his grain cut back a little- he got a little more roly poly when I went to Kentucky.

JR was longed in the indoor arena today. We had another excellent and productive session. I had the happy realization that I had not heard JR interfere at all in the past three longeing sessions! I think that the work has made him more balanced and he is more coordinated so he strikes his own feet less often.

I always start with no side reins and we work toward connection with side reins. Tonight, I experimented with tightening the inside side rein one hole tighter than the outside side rein. I did not see a big difference, but big differences are not what I want to see at this phase of training :^) When we were done with side rein work, I asked for a canter. The canter was easier for him in the indoor arena since the footing is firmer. I only ask JR to canter about 2 or 3 times around in each direction at this point in his schooling.

When we were done longeing, I turned JR loose in the arena. He walked beside me, sans halter, sans tack, and cooled off. His interaction with me has reached a new level and it was apparent when he was at liberty. We’re finally starting to understand each other a little better :^)

I did a little massage work on JR as well- he loffed it.

Wizard Ride 65; JR Ride 21: Little Piles of Sticks

Thursday, 3/26/09

Another week, another awesome riding lesson :^)

We began the lesson where we left off last week, asking for a little bend from Wizard in simple exercises and doing work with walk-trot transitions. As he became more relaxed and forward, the exercises increased a bit in difficulty. We worked on figure 8s, serpentines, and skinny figure 8s. I felt more stable in my seat and I can feel my leg improving just a little with each lesson. Wizard is much more confident during changes of direction.

Gradually, Sarah incorporated a few trot poles into the exercises. She set up three trot poles one stride apart from each other and we trotted them. Wizard is excellent at negotiating trot poles! He maintains his rhythm and articulates his joints beautifully as he glides over them. I do my best to stay out of his way and help him over the poles.

As I rounded a corner after trotting the three poles, I heard the familiar sound of clanking jump cups… I turned around and saw a little cross rail.

“Sarah!” I said, “That’s a JUMP…”

Sarah grinned and responded, “No, Sarah, that’s just a little pile of sticks. I’ll tell you when it’s a REAL jump.”

So we trotted a little line from half a cross rail to a teeny-tiny, itty-bitty vertical. Wizard trotted everything really nicely. He picks his feet up very carefully and maintains his rhythm over poles and jumps. I close my hip angle, give him his head, and stay out of his way.

A long-term training goal is to gradually encourage Wizard to canter under saddle. I’ve read many schools of thought about how to ask a green horse to canter. The method I like best is to invite the horse to canter by teaching him to round his back over small jumps or out on the trails. Naturally, the horse will break into a canter between obstacles and it’s the rider’s job to encourage the rhythm and stay out of his way. Wizard decided that today was the day to show me his canter under saddle. Dear readers, his canter looks way more uncomfortable than it rides! After trotting a little fence, I could feel him rounding up as if he was thinking of cantering. Sarah immediately told me to let him do it and encourage it. I did my best and it worked! It was our first little canter and it felt pretty organic and comfortable. Success!

We rode the line a few times in each direction. Wizard sometimes chose to canter and sometimes chose to trot. I really focused on letting him do what he needed to do. When I look back at these photos, I realize that I could have given him even more of a release and I was jumping a little ahead of the motion.

On the last two lines, Wizard started feeling a little frisky and got a little quicker down the line. After the second fence, he bowed his head and playfully flung his front feet up a bit as we slowed down the canter. He was not bucking, just playfully leaping. I think that he likes these little jumps.

When we were done with the lesson, Wizard was barely sweating- he’s getting quite fit. I wrapped his legs in standing bandages for a few hours and put his Thermatex cooler on him. He grazed for about 20 minutes and then munched on his Lucerne Farms Alfa Supreme. I gave him a dose of Ulcergard before the ride.

Before the saddle fitter arrived, I turned JR out in the big outdoor arena to let him play and stretch his legs. The horses were only outside for a few hours due to the rainy weather. I let JR graze for a little while and then he had a saddle fitting appointment.

Besides being an expert saddle fitter, Teri Miller is an accomplished rider. Her eye for saddle fit and rider position is fantastic. As soon as I met her, I was immediately impressed with her knowledge and her professional demeanor. She took wither tracings of JR’s back and carefully examined his muscling. She noticed that his right shoulder is larger, which could be a big factor in my saddle issues. Teri also watched me ride JR and noted my position and how the saddle sat on his back. Teri adjusted the saddle by adding wool to the right side. As soon as I sat in the saddle the second time, I felt a HUGE difference. I could finally sit my left seatbone in the saddle! For all of the previous rides on JR, I was caving in to the side because the saddle was not straight. As a result of the crookedness, my seatbones could not both sit in the saddle. After Teri’s adjustment, I felt like I was riding in a new saddle.

Teri also looked at the fit of my Stubben Portos on Wizard’s back. She said that the saddle is actually a little too wide for him so my merino sheepskin saddle pad is a good idea. She also gave her blessing for me to continue using my Thinline Ultra pad on both horses. Just for kicks, Teri put one of her County saddles on Wizard’s back. The saddle fit him like a glove. Since Wizard is not my horse, I was not looking for a long-term saddle fitting solution, but if I was, I would definitely consider County saddles. The craftsmanship is fantastic and the saddles look like they are designed with the horse in mind.

For anybody looking to improve the fit of a saddle, I highly recommend contacting a saddle fitter. Reflocking and adjusting are very financially reasonable ways to improve saddle fit as long as your tree fits your horse’s back. If you are in New Jersey, contact Teri Miller. It was well worth the very reasonable cost. I wish I had done this years ago.

Next time I’m out at the barn, I’ll be back on JR and I hope to begin work at the shoulder-in with Wizard. I’m on a roll!

JR Session 2; Wizard Session 47: Baby Carrots are Your Friends

JR targeting a traffic cone

Monday 2/9/09

JR seems to be enjoying the attention and the work. I put my Moritz dressage saddle on him since it’s wider than my Stubben Portos. It looks like it will fit OK, but it might be narrow (it’s also too far forward in the picture). I’ll try to get a better photo of the saddle fit when I have an assistant hold the horse or snap the photo instead of me doing both ;^)

In only his second longeing session, JR has improved by leaps and bounds (no pun intended). I am using clicker training to mark good behaviors on the longe line. It appears that JR understands “go” but has little “whoah” or any gait variations on the longe. He also does not respond as much to “good boy” as Wizard does. Wizard comes to a full stop if I even think “good boy”, almost to the point of propping.

I kept JR on a much shorter line than last time and it really helped. The first few rotations, he hopped about, cantering, trotting, changing leads, and wobbling in a shape very unlike a circle. I worked a little on “whoooooah”, rewarded with a click and a baby carrot. I spoke very quietly and praised frequently, feeding the line a little and not using the whip at all. I then got a good trot in each direction- click and treat. I asked him to move off again and he walked- good boy! Click and treat. JR seems to be getting the hang of the clicker. Our session had very little aerobic work since I was trying to keep him at a walk and trot so afterwards, I let him stretch his legs in the arena. Wheeeeeeeee! Lovely flying trot and a few wild bucks for good measure. He immediately came back toward me when I called, which was very cool.

Wizard is on vacation from riding until I get my farrier to check out his feet. I did notice that the venice turpentine made his sole smooth and mayyybe a little tougher. I’ve noticed a personality change in Wizard in the past week or so- he’s not his normal laid-back, sweet self. Instead, he’s a little removed and sometimes I see his ears pinned back. Once he saw the bag of baby carrots, his mood brightened considerably :^) We did a little bit of work with clicker training (10 minutes), targeting jumps and doing stretching exercises. He tolerated grooming and I started a Panacur Power Pac, chased by a tub of Dengie.

Wizard Ride 45: I’m a Sensitive ‘Sole’

Wednesday, 2/4/09

I smiled a huge smile as I left work at 6pm today. Although the ground is covered in snow and the temperatures are in the teens, I saw a sign of spring: there was just a bit of glow on the horizon. It was not 100% pitch black dark out when I left work. Soon, the hint of a glow will be a rosy tint on the horizon. A few weeks later, it will be a sunset. Then, it will be broad daylight when I leave the office and I’ll be riding in daylight again on weekdays! Ahhhh, the life of an incurable optimist. I even cleaned my tack today :^)

When I arrived at the barn, I turned Wizard loose in the indoor arena to let him stretch his legs. Some days, he leaps and gambols. Some days, he wanders around and sniffs the jumps. Tonight, he played a bit but seemed content to hang around with me. He’s such a sweet guy- I really enjoy his personality.

I tacked Wizard up and tried the Roma Merino Sheepskin All Purpose Pad that I got for a big discount on Tack of the Day. I really like this pad. It seems durable and it sat beautifully on Wizard. It has a bit more padding on the withers, which is exactly what the chiropractor recommended. Check out how the saddle fits him. This is a Stubben Portos. Please note how Wizard is making friends with the scarecrow on the jump :^)

I hand walked Wizard for about 10 minutes to warm him up in the cold weather, then mounted up. With the new saddle pad, my girth was a bit loose. As I reached down to tighten it, a HUGE gust of wind blew past the arena door, sending a big swirl of snow into the barn, rattling the door, and startling me. Wizard, bless his heart, startled for a moment and relaxed when I spoke to him. Gold star for The Wizard!

We walked around the arena for about 10 minutes, stretching and working on accepting a little bit of contact. I headed to the far end of the ring where the footing was best. We rode on a large circle and I asked for a trot- we trotted about 5 or 6 circles with one or two walk breaks. He still does not feel right on the footing but he is responding wonderfully to my commands. I really want to get him more comfortable so we can progress further. If it is indeed tender soles, I need to find out why and talk to my farrier about whether of not it can be resolved.

Tomorrow is Wizard’s 13th birthday :^)

Wizard Ride 29: “I AM still a Thoroughbred, you know…”

Saturday 12/27/08

Ahhh, a little taste of spring in late December. How cruel, Mother Nature! Temps went well into the 60s in NJ this weekend. I wore flip flops and a tee shirt to work on Sunday. But I did have the luxury of riding outdoors under the lights with some of my favorite barn buddies. I’ll trade that for a few cold nights :^)

Before I rode, I helped my friend with some saddle fitting questions with her mare, Mary. They took a quick ride in my old (over 30 years old) Stubben Wotan. That saddle was given to me by my grandma when I was a little kid. I rode in it for years but I sadly outgrew it. It still fits my friend and it looked to fit decently on Mary.

I ride Wizard in a Stubben Portos. My other saddle is a Moritz dressage saddle. It fit Alibar pretty well but it looks to not be shaped right for Wizard. The Portos was a little narrow on Alibar.

I tacked Wizard up and we began our session with hand walking around the arena, followed by a short longeing session (a little less than 15 minutes). Wizard again longed like a champ- quite a far cry from the confusion from Session 17, which was less than a month ago! Wizard is continuing to take contact on the longe line and is responding really well to verbal, whip, and line cues. He’s not completely trained to verbal commands yet but his lengthened (and a bit speedier) trot when I cluck, cluck is pretty impressive!

I’m now able to walk around the arena and plant myself and Wizard does circles wherever I ask. For the first time, I longed him over a ground pole and he took it beautifully. He also longed through a big puddle like a perfect water horse.

I kicked the intensity up a notch and asked him to longe in the far corner of the arena. He slowed down considerably but maintained his trot. He began to creep toward me on the circle so I told him to move out and just tickled him with the lash of the longe whip. That was all the encouragement he needed to have what my friend Cathy calls “a Thoroughbred moment”. He leapt into a speedy canter and bowed out on the circle, pulling on my arm. I simply made the circle bigger and kept him moving. When we were back at our happy working trot, I allowed him to move away from the far corner. Although he was being silly, it felt good to me because I was in complete control the entire time and it did not feel confusing at all. I knew exactly what to do and he came right back to me.

My comment about a “Thoroughbred moment” is playfully said. I’ve known people who owned every breed under the sun and there are similar jokes about them all: Appaloosas have App-Attacks, Arabians become giraffes, etc. In my mind, they are all HORSES and horses tend to turn into horses every once in a while. And if you can calmly guide them back to Earth with a smile and a plan, you get a gold star.

I wish I was so confident in the saddle. I rode for a little under 15 minutes and felt a similar tension from Wizard when I began to think about the trot. We walked in patterns, stepped over ground poles, and worked on our little quarter-turns. But when I started thinking about the trot, my body must have cued him far before I meant to. He’s not nervous, he feels more impatient, like, “time to trot, lady!” I have a feeling that I’m holding back too much and I need to give in and ride through the trot a little more. Each one of these baby steps leaves me teetering on the cliff for a second before I leap to the next level. It’s not for lack of experience- I’ve ridden dozens of horses at a far faster gait than a trot. I think it’s more of a combination of me micro-managing him, worrying about messing him up, and me not having ridden in any meaningful way for almost a year. My friend Sarah said that she’ll be my “eyes on the ground” later in the week. I trust her opinion and her experience. I’ve know her for many years and she’s a beautiful rider, plus she’s the daughter of my former trainer who taught me bunches about jumping and horses in general.

We had two walk to trot transitions and the first one was better than the second. Both were better than the transitions indoors from the ride before. So it’s a little better, but still awkward. I blame myself entirely. Wizard is clearly getting more fit and supple and even his chiropractor said that he’s more than ready for more work.

So I rode for five days straight and he’s getting Sunday off. It was educational to see how Wizard liked it. On the plus side, he became more focused and relaxed (other than his little explosion on the longe) and on the minus side, he seemed less interested in grooming. Since Wizard barely is breathing hard and rarely breaks a sweat, we’re not exactly riding with any serious physical momentum. But it’s mental work and he is getting more supple and responsive. I can also see him getting WAY more graceful on the longe line. He does not look like four giant legs going in four directions anymore. And he can control his pace. The only time he canters on the longe is when he breaks into a canter on his own and I always ask him for a downward transition. I feel like he’s still a little too green for canter work on the longe. Trotting is best for strengthening him, anyway.

So for the next two weeks or so, we have a few plans on the horizon: a visit from the farrier on Saturday (he’s barefoot and I’d like to keep him that way this winter), worming with a Panacur PowerPac, and working on getting a calm and balanced trot/transition under saddle.

Wizard’s Equine Chiropractic Report #2: All Systems Go!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Wizard had his first chiropractic adjustment on Oct 29. His second adjustment was on Dec 20. I asked the chiropractor to watch his movement before she adjusted him. She said that he looks perfectly 100% sound in the front end (and he’s barefoot- yay!). The hind end is not uneven, but she saw weakness in the back and legs. Wizard stands cow-hocked and he’s a bit sickle-hocked . The chiropractor also noticed what looks like an old hamstring injury on his left side- he sort of lifts and slaps down his hind foot on firm footing after work. I was concerned about the looseness of his joints and the weakness in the hind end, but she said that he should be just fine for low level work, including jumping. She said that Wizard’s hind end will benefit from the work that I’m doing since his balance and strength will improve. I told her what kind of work we’re doing (very light!) and she said it’s time to step it up a bit- yay!

The adjustment went really well. The biggest adjustments that she needed to do were in Wizard’s withers and his neck. The neck alignment is possibly from needing more work done to his teeth. I had them floated but they still need more work. Wizard was a little concerned about the acupuncture needles but he responded to the entire exam and chiropractic workover really well. He was really willing to work with her, especially when she was working on his neck and hind end. I saw him relax and chew several times, as well as several huge YAWNS at the very end. I’ve read that yawning can indicate a release of toxins in horses.

The chiropractor also examined my saddles and how they sat on Wizard’s back- she agreed with my assessment that my jumping saddle fits better than my dressage saddle. This suits me fine since I prefer to ride in the jumping saddle anyway! She suggested a pommel pad to help with the fit of the saddle. The saddle fits well enough for regular work, and since he’s not my horse, I’m not exactly ready to go custom yet ;^) The saddle is the correct width but the pommel sits a tad low on him.

It was a relief to hear a respected veterinarian give me the go-ahead to do more work with Wizard. She also complimented the work I’ve done with him- he felt far more relaxed and willing than he was in his first adjustment. The first time, while he behaved himself fine, he was a little more reluctant and resistant to the adjustments- this time, he was like a puppy dog. I’m really proud of all of our progress.