HooBee Saddles is now part of Allen Equestrian

The Scenario

After meeting and talking to a member of a local riding club it was arranged that we would take a HooBee Jump along to their yard for all of her children to try it out on their horses. The aim was to see how the riders felt and how the horses performed with the different riding experience that a HooBee offers.

It was a windy day with lots of strong sunshine and none of the horses had been ridden before hand.

The Process

On arrival at the yard we found that there was also a friend who was interested and in total we were going to but testing the HooBee on five different horses. We decided that we would ride each horse in the HooBee first and everyone would be watching how the horse went. How the rider felt was also noted down. After a short session, maybe 15 or 20 minutes we removed the HooBee and placed the normal saddle on the horse for further 15 to 20 minutes and again recorded the observations of how the horse and rider performed.

The horses were ridden in no particular order and all went through the same warm-up, schooling and jumping routine so that we could compare them under the same circumstances.

The Results

Firstly, we are proud to say, the HooBee fitted all 5 horses. There was a little adjustment required by way of adding or removing an extra numnah for one or two of the horses and for the smaller horses we had to use a smaller girth but other than that the HooBee swapped from horse to horse with out any adjustment.

As each rider got on there were comments about the different feel. From the youngest rider up there was a definite opinion that the saddle was much more comfortable and lower and closer to the horse.

Firstly, we are proud to say, the HooBee fitted all 5 horses. There was a little adjustment required, by way of using either a sheepskin lined saddlecloth or a thin one, for one or two of the horses and for the smaller horses we had to use a smaller girth but other than that the HooBee swapped from horse to horse with out any adjustment. The horses were ...
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Johnny
Johnny is 14.2 cob/thoroughbred type. He is predominantly a dressage horse but his rider does most pony club activities. Johnny is not a keen jumper and refuses on most occasions. The HooBee fitted Johnny and he started taking his rider to the fence and did not refuse at all. In all respects he had more freedom in his movement and seemed a lot more comfortable. His rider was very impressed with the results of the HooBee on Johnny and found the saddle completely secure and very comfortable.

Ginger
Ginger is a 16hh thoroughbred who is 19 years old and has very high withers. His owners struggle to keep up with the amount his shape changes and spend more time and money than they would like on having the saddle re-flocked. The HooBee fitted Ginger beautifully and his movement was free and his paces elevated. His rider was so happy with the improvement that she didn’t want to go back to her normal saddle. When she did, Ginger's paces and movement returned back to how how they were prior to using the HooBee.

Lady
Lady is a 16hh irish mare who is quite round. The HooBee fitted Lady and she went very well in it. On the flat her rider was convinced it improved her riding. As soon as she did a jump she didn’t want to get off. She could not believe how much ‘stickability’ she got from the saddle and now is hoping to buy one for her jumping.

Fred
Fred is a 15.2, 6 year old thoroughbred that needs some development, he has recently been purchased by the current owners. Although the saddle fitted Fred he didn’t seem to go any differently with the HooBee to his normal saddle. Fred’s rider though found the HooBee very comfortable, but was not unhappy to go back to her original saddle.

Lily
Lily is 14 hh and slightly built. She is extremely forward going and tends to rush everywhere. The HooBee fitted her well and Lily went nicely. Her rider again found it comfortable but as she was very young was not unhappy to go back to her normal saddle.

Summary

In summary, the saddle fitted all those who tried it. The riders all rated it very highly especially the security it gave whilst jumping. The quote of the day was “no matter what the horse did the saddle made you feel like you would still be there at the end”. Three of the riders are hoping to buy one they were so impressed. Although 2 of the horses showed no significant improvement, it did not have a detrimental effect on any of them.

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