I have a synthetic saddle - a Thorowgood and I love it. I did quite well with it. However, my next saddle won't be a synthetic.

My hangup really is ugly ass western tack. Oye. I grew up showing paints. I learned from a cutting trainer who taught me the basics and by the time I was old enough, I started working with a second trainer for western pleasure. I will ALWAYS love bling tack and expensive show outfits. Nothing makes me more excited than getting dressed up to walk, jog, lope. Not kidding. My parents didn't have a lot of money to spend on tack, but I did get a custom basic saddle that is still with me and is the most comfortable thing I have ever owned. We added silver and show stirrups as we went and it looked really decent. I bought a show head stall and had nice, workable reins, too. I always had a good show blanket and we had my clothes custom made on the cheap by a local lady.

When I see people riding (anywhere - really, even just at home) in nylon tack, I cringe. I have a couple of training pieces like a bosal that are nylon, but they aren't for wearing off the property. When I see people with hot pink or lime green tack, I want to CRY. I don't take them seriously and I think of them as hillbilly barrel racers. I actually don't mind barrel racing as a sport, but the people who do it where I live are pretty much inbred loonies who beat the shit out of their $200.00 horses and don't even know the first thing about horsemanship.

When people tell me they trail ride, I usually don't take them seriously. If they told me they did endurance or competitive trail riding, I would think that was great, but if they just trail ride, I wouldn't see the point. Most trail riders around here are people who don't know what they are doing.

When I see people with ASB's, I think they are probably nuts just because I worked at saddlebred barns as a teenager, went to shows, and dealt with nutty as horses and even nuttier ass owners. They seemed to allow this strange behavior to continue, even though the horses wouldn't try crap with me and the other grooms. Oye. This could also be regional.

When I see people buying all their outfits at Hobby Horse, I go *headdesk* because you paid too damn much for an outfit that everyone will be wearing at your next show. I like the idea of finding a good seamstress and having her do the work.

GasMenagerie wrote:
Misinformation: informing FiSHes for 3 years now.