ReactorPanel Saddle devotees are fiercely loyal to the brand. In fact, in ReactorPanel Saddle Company customer surveys throughout the years, owners of the innovative saddles agree- their horses have improved since using the ReactorPanel Saddle.

Take Barbara Goshorn, a lawyer from Palmyra, VA. She has been actively riding and competing for over 50 years. A few years back, Goshorn was eventing a Belgian draft cross. She tried a number of different saddles but his back was getting progressively more sore. Then he started bucking after the jumps. Goshorn recognized her horse was in pain.

“I’d had every saddle company in the area try to help me. One sent their master saddler out and was sure they had a saddle that would fit him. They all were very kind but they didn’t have anything that would fit him,” shared Goshorn.

“I decided to order the ReactorPanel saddle,” she said. “I really liked the theory of it. I’ve done a little trail riding out west where you’re in a Western saddle for seven or eight hours going up and down the Rocky Mountains and those horses don’t get sore backs. So, I liked the idea of big panels with the disks. They created a custom tree especially for my horse.”

Goshorn received her saddle right before an event. In the box was a handwritten note from the ReactorPanel Company about the saddle, and the message, “Good luck with your event.”

“We came in second! He was happy as a clam the minute we put that saddle on his back. It made a huge difference in him. He started jumping much better,” confided Goshorn.

Then, Goshorn had an opportunity to lease a retired FEI dressage schoolmaster. This horse had a very rough trot and had also experienced back problems.

“He was in his early 20’s,” she said. “I got the ReactorPanel Baker dressage saddle. It actually helped eliminate some of the roughness to his trot. And in 18 months, he took me from first level to fourth level. He was an amazing horse. I just became an absolute fan of the ReactorPanel saddle because obviously with an older horse you want to cherish them. He just took to it like it was the greatest thing he had ever had on his back.”

Goshorn then started riding another horse that was known to have back problems. When ridden, the horse would typically put his head in the air, hollow his back. He appeared to be a very unhappy horse. Goshorn got another ReactorPanel saddle and put it on him.

“I put the ReactorPanel saddle on this horse who was known for being really hard to ride− not putting his head down and stretching, not bringing his back up. By the end of an hour he was cantering figure eights with his head stretched down on a loose rein. No one had ever seen him go like that.”

Currently, Goshorn has Ocita, a mare that is showing Intermediaire I and II with Thorsten Kramer. She has two ReactorPanels for her – one for Goshorn and one for her trainer, Kramer, to ride in.

“He was riding her in another saddle,” she explained. “I finally convinced him to let me get him a ReactorPanel that fits him, because my saddle made him miserable. The difference in her back, almost immediately, was amazing.”

Goshorn also appreciates that the ReactorPanel saddles can change with the horse as they become more fit and their backs change. The saddles don’t need to be re-flocked but can be adjusted.

“That’s why I am such a fan. Dressage is hard on a horse’s back. To be able to put a saddle on these horses who have had problems and watch the horses respond to them has been amazing.

As a rider, Goshorn says that initially, the feeling is a bit different because there is a little more movement. “Once you get used to it, and you let your body go with it, it’s a wonderful feeling. You actually feel much closer to the horse.”

She also appreciates how the ReactorPanel saddles fit her and help to place her in the optimum position to be more effective.

“It is just a good feeling to sit in a saddle and my hips are in the right place, my seat bone is in the right place, my legs are in the right place. It has extra padding on top. It is really nice. And you can keep balancing the saddle for you. They can tweak it. I had my hip replaced four months ago. Having the saddle I have now− it’s so comfortable and fits me so well, I would have been nervous to get back on [in any other saddle]. But I got on just four weeks after surgery. It was really comfortable.”

Another advantage that Goshorn appreciates, “With the ReactorPanel saddle the pad stays in place. There is no bunching. When you use the proper ReactorPanel pads they don’t wrinkle. Everything is based on the horse’s comfort. Every horse I’ve ever put it on has been really happy with it.”

“Carmi (Weininger, President of ReactorPanel Saddle Company) and I have become email friends,” she said. “If I have a question, I get a response immediately. I wish that more people would think about the health of their horse’s back and respond to a sore back faster and try a ReactorPanel.

The list of ReactorPanel success stories and testimonials grows daily. The company, based in Oakland, CA, makes saddles for multiple disciplines, including dressage, trail, endurance, eventing, hunter/jumper, fox hunting and cross-country. They require that all customers use the saddle for a two-week, free trial, prior to purchase, to ensure proper fit and comfort for both the horse and rider.  Saddles are fit and adjusted by specially trained Fitting Agents, or by users who enjoy do-it-yourself projects.

For more about the ReactorPanel Company go to: http://reactorpanel.com 

If you are interested in being a ReactorPanel Saddle Company Fitting Agent contact: laurie@reactorpanel.com