About Us
I am a firm believer in “things happen for a reason”. The SaddleCast creation story is no different. I would like to thank my Late husband Joshua for his amazing brain and his endless need to create ideas in his head and share them with me.
We took a business/ leisure trip from Spokane, WA and drove through the Canadian Rockies to Banff National Forest, to Calgary and then through Montana to Glacier National Park. It was a trip I will never forget. Not only did we get married that week on a whim, but Joshua had this profound idea.
Before we left, I was having issues with my young Kenlyn Arabian gelding, Barrett. His back was coming up sore even though I have been using the same saddle I have used for years on other horses. It was becoming such an issue that my riding had to be put on hold for weeks. I kept wondering if Barrett had an underlying cause that made him uncomfortable when we rode. He was still young, 4 years old and I haven’t been riding him too hard, just in the hills behind our house getting him used to the trails. Being an avid and competitive Endurance rider, having the perfect saddle fit is key to a successful riding career.
Joshua was able to see I was having a hard time figuring out what to do. I needed to either find another saddle (A task I haven’t had to do for years) or get the vet out to rid me of this nagging thought something else might be wrong. So, I did what any equestrian would do… I decided on both options. I could see the dollar signs in Joshua’s eyes, and he said, “What does that consist of…?” So, I began with how much this would probably cost.
After my rambling he asked the question. “Why don’t you just make a mold of his back and you can take it with you to the saddle shop?” I looked at him like he was crazy. “How am I supposed to do that?”
Joshua had a background in Engineering and worked in the Plumbing industry. I had seen some of the new technology that he had worked with and never once thought it could be used for any other purpose. We started brainstorming on how this could be done. I asked the obvious questions, Will this hurt my horse? Does it get too hot? Will it be sticky, or will it leave glue on my horse? How will we be able to make this? The note taking and conversation became exciting!
When we got back home from our trip, the fun and testing began. We used a few different types of materials that was capable of hardening by the Sun's light. All the samples that came across the table I tested on my arms, my legs, & my hands before it would even go near my horse. I finally became comfortable enough to do our first tests on my horse Barrett. He was relaxed and very cooperative. It worked, but it needed some tweaking on the design to make a better cast of Barrett. Working with an engineering mind made this smooth sailing. The final design became a reality when I was able to create a perfect mold of Barrett's back and use to check his saddle fit.
The SaddleCast idea was born by a great mind and a great man, and then formed by the Sun!