Pog's Story
 Pog pic.JPG)
This is an account of my Thoroughbred mare “Pog” and our experiences with BALANCE, Carol Brett and the greatest saddle I’ve owned to date.
It seems that all of my pets have a great story, and Pog is certainly no exception. She came to me at 10 years old, unraced, unbacked, and barely halter broke. She had some good Thoroughbred bloodlines and well-proportioned conformation which was showing through even in her poor condition. I found her while looking for a broodmare - I intended to breed her and perhaps sell her on after that. Deciding it wasn’t fair to eventually sell her on to someone else in her uncivilized and somewhat neurotic state, I decided to see if she would settle down into life at a riding stable and take to saddle. In the autumn of 2000, at 10 ½ years of age, I backed Pog for the first time and was on the journey to discover a great horse in her, and thoughts of breeding and selling her were slowly creeping out of my mind. It was tough going for a while but we seemed to be progressing.
As the initial under-saddle work went on she started to put on weight and develop some muscle. Her current saddle no longer seemed comfortable to her so I went on the big saddle hunt, looking for something wide enough for her growth and big enough for all 5’11” of me. I went through a few saddles, but nothing seemed to make her happy for too long. As a matter of fact, she is a bit of a sensitive girl and was getting quite irate about the whole concept of wearing a saddle at all and I was looking into investing in a custom saddle!
I first spoke with Carol Brett in January 2001, and must say that she is one of the most friendly, well-conversed people I have spoken with in a long time. We then made arrangements for Carol to come and meet Pog during her next Canadian visit in May of 2001.
At that point Pog had reached her pinnacle of resistance and fear of saddles in general and would not even let me mount when Carol came to see us. I felt so horrible. Here was this nice woman, all the way from England, who had come to see me and my horse for a saddle, and I couldn’t even ride. After Carol left, Pog suffered an unfortunate accident while tied and was off work for months, so we started on the BALANCE remedial program and some overall TLC during her convalescence.
By September 2001 we were working under saddle again and were ready to get the sample BALANCE saddle shipped. It came, I loved it, Pog loved it, and we were back in business. And what a difference it made! Everything was better, and I mean everything. Her attitude was much better, her gaits were better than I had ever hoped, and riding was fun again. Over the last year and a half she has packed on the muscle, especially on her topline/behind the shoulder and in her hind end. Even her vet can’t believe how muscular she is by her wither area: “…especially for a Thoroughbred” she kids.
Over the past year and a half, she has improved and developed an unbelievable amount in her under saddle training. Her new personality and attitude toward life is generally level-headed, trustworthy, and steady, and I credit a lot of that development to the saddle which we both love so much. Pog has turned out to be a beautiful athlete, a wonderful companion, a talented horse and a joy to be around. She continues to develop and is becoming a solid citizen both in hand and under saddle. We have even been able to participate in some dressage shows, earning some quite credible scores, and have also started some work over fences. It feels good to know that Pog is happy and comfortable and I look forward to the rest of this fascinating journey. Thanks BALANCE
Below you can see a couple of pictures of Pog, the first (on the left) taken in 2001 and the second taken in 2002.
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