Cob Jockey

I have begun the process of selling my Toulouse Annice, and figured it was a good time to review this saddle (that I hopefully won't have much longer.)  Here are my observations after spending 18 months in a brand I never wanted to buy and a color I never wanted to buy:

1. Yes, it's not the greatest leather, so you're going to get out of it what you put into it care-wise.  This is what my saddle looked like new:

Sidenote: this saddle was acquired via remote fitting from Lynda at Classic Saddlery.  If you need a remote fitter, she is great - she recommended this saddle, and it fit like this from the very first try, after a phone call and sending a few pictures to her.

And this is what it looks like after 18 months of wiping it down with ammonia/water after most rides, cleaning it about once every month or two with Higher Standards, and conditioning it a few times a year with Passier Lederbalsam:

Not orange anymore, yay!

But I have seen pictures of other Toulouse Annice's that were not as lovingly cared for, and the leather looks pale, splotchy and worn.  Your mileage may vary.

2. It really is balanced well.  This shocked me.  It's the first jump saddle I've ever sat in that encourages me to keep my hips underneath me and didn't tip me forward onto my pubic bone, which made it a great lower level eventing saddle - it has a forward flap, but is easy to do lower level Dressage in thanks to where it puts my hips.

Perfectly acceptable lower level Dressage saddle

3. It held up to my shenanigans really well, and did not scratch.

4. Velcro knee and thigh blocks are the shiz, and I felt very secure in this saddle.


5. The matching Toulouse calfskin leathers DRIVE ME CRAZY.  I've had this saddle this long, and I still have to have my trainer adjust my stirrups from the ground for me, because the leathers do. not. move.  Is this a calfskin leather thing or a Toulouse thing?

DIE.

All in all, I was surprised with how much I liked it, and how well it fit Connor, and if I didn't need a more forward flap, I wouldn't be getting rid of it yet.  It wasn't something I wanted to keep forever, but if you're on a budget (I paid $999 new for this one with leathers), I'd say give Toulouse a chance.*


*(All except the Marielle Monoflap, which I've heard from multiple saddle fitters is not something that should ever sit on a horse's back.  Never used one, so I can't vouch for that statement).

Connor spoke loud and clear about his tree preference tonight.  After Sunday's shenanigans, my trainer wanted me to try her M. Toulouse...Premia? during my lesson tonight.  She also had me swap out his full cheek french link snaffle (which apparently is quite heavy and thick) for a thin, light baucher in order to give me a little more leverage.

The combination of those two things gave me the best canter we've ever had, and the best jump school we've ever had - we jumped a full course at 2'3-ish, oxers and a skinny painted panel and everything!  My trainer couldn't stop commenting on how he was working better over his back than ever before.  "I definitely think you're on the right track by thinking it's the saddle," she said.  Phew, approval!  It was way too big for me at 17.5", and I had to fight to keep my leg underneath me over the fences at times, but he felt so good in it, that we decided to go with it for the event this weekend.  It felt like he wanted to use his back, rather than doing it because he had to.

Toulouse

The lesson didn't start out so great, as he was flat and dull at the trot.  I unsuccessfully tried every trick in my book and got nowhere, so my trainer suggested trying him at the canter.  "Sometimes when he's stuck in a gait like that, you just have to leave it and go to something else and come back."  That did the trick, and is something I need to remember for the future.  Normally the trot is my Swiss army knife gait, the one at which it's easiest to establish him in a soft, forward frame of mind, but that's not always going to be the case.

Toulouse fit

I trust my trainer and liked the Toulouse, but I've heard such bad things about the longevity, quality and fit of those saddles that I am reluctant to buy one unless I get a spectacular deal on it.  I'm definitely going to look, it'd be a nice saddle to have around, but I also think I'm going to stick to my plan of working with a remote saddle fitter.