|
As told by Doug McMullen,Longtime Reiner and horseman from, Aylmer,
Ontario, Canada
When we first learned about the Corrector by Len Brown we were sceptical,
but after borrowing one and using it on a mare we are training we were sold on it. What really convinced us was when we used
the corrector on a filly that had just came back from 6 months Reining training and were advised by the trainer not to get
on her, she was not safe to ride! We decided to try the corrector on her and she rode off as quiet as a kitten. We were sold
and I called Len and ordered two Correctors for ourselves. - Ps Thanks for your help Len, Doug and Christy McMullen Ontario
This handwritten story was sent to
me by a young horseman you'll never forget from the Tennessee River area, he doesn't know anyone hooked up to
the internet and he said he'd send a picture when he gets a camera. He trains horses for a living.
Shaddow is a gelded mustang. He was born and
raised for three years in the wild part of Wyoming. I adopted him about 5years ago. He's a good all around guy. Now this horse
is Dark Bay, he is very beautiful. His neck is so thick, which attaches to his fully rounded muscular shoulders, that a lot
of people that see Shaddow ask me why or how I can trust a wild mustang stud. I just laugh and tell them he is just an honest
and slightly lazy gelding... Okay back to the point, if I would go to the pasture and play with him everyday, he would always
come to me sideways so I would just sit on his back bare back. This is his way of showing off to the other horses in the pasture,
and he is very proud that I do just what he beggs for. If he has an idea that just maybe somebody is watching. you can be
dead sure that he will be caught showing off again.
Shaddow is of course a sensitive horse. He learned how
to be in the wild. He learned that he had to be because if he wasn't, sensitive and really picky about staying in a comfort
zone he would die from starvation, dehydration, or a predator.
When I trained him I didn't know how to train a mustang.
It does not take long to learn if you just start. He made it very clear to me that him and I were buddies if I allowed
him to be comfortable. When I trained him to a saddle, he would horse around rearing and bucking till my ridged saddle had
gave him a full back massage and all of his sore spots were warmed up, and finally he would give up and accept my pinchy saddle,
and we would go on a ride. I could see the saddle was hurting him, so I tried 3 different saddle styles and all kinds
of different pads. I loved him, and I knew he loved me. Some days he would buck just hard enough to get me off his back.
Then after a 10 min. break he would walk sideways up to me and beg me to get back on. What
a Horse, I would always tell myself.
I would alternate my different saddles, so he
wouldn't get as sore just in one spot. That seemed to help. I always felt a little guilty about his saddle soreness but I
never knew what to do. One day a buddy of mine was explaining to me the advantage of an orthoflex saddle, I never
knew anybody had ever made such a thing. Then he told me Len Brown had quit making that saddle. My excitment shrunk away.
I knew that is what Shaddow needed.
I just figured anybody that had a good saddle like
that would never sell it to me for a used saddle. I was beginning to believe the only true comfortable way for the horse
would be if we all rode bareback. It seemed impossible since I was doing cowboy work everyday with Shaddow at a feedyard
a couple a years ago. I decided to see if I could find a type of air ride pad that would hold the
whole tree off of the horses back at all times, but that still didn't seem like the answer. In spite of all the saddle
problems, Shaddow would perform really well in a certain gait which was a different speed with each different style of Saddle.
If I would after work saddle him up at the feedyard and let him pick his own gait which ever matched that saddle. There I
go.... the horse picking his own gait, which seemed a little bit backwards, I always thought a horse was suposed
to stay in the gait his rider had picked. Well needless to say the horse was happy that way. It made me happy to see
my mustang buddy prancing along like He owned the world. We would make terrific steady miles never slowing down and never
speeding up. I knew and could feel his power and long endurance as long as he was comfortable. Some days it was
a 10mile ride, sometimes a 15mile, and even up to a 25mi ride all in just a few precious moments of daylight after
work. He still wouldn't slow down or take a slower gait unless I would put a different style of saddle on... Okay,
so I was just shopping for a good comfortable air pad when I found an ad for the Corrector. By Len Brown, that's when
I remembered the orthoflex saddles he used to make. I figured if anybody knew how to make a comfortable pad Len Brown would.
So I tried one out. Let me tell You' ! Shaddow likes any gait with any saddle. This horse
is just contented anywhere, at any speed, with any saddle. Caleb Schmidt, Linden, TN.
|
|
| The Little horse that wouldn't |
From LINDA SIMMONS, the lady from S. Dakota
I built the 1st English CorrecTOR for! She is shown in the picture, riding the young horse she talks about. What
you see is a double fleece pad she trains with and some white mane on the Paint horse, they kinda run
together. Now in Linda's words; Hi Len, I wanted to enter a testimonial on your web site so here it is;
I have struggled with the saddle fitting
issue for three years. It seems that the better the horses are the harder they are to fit and the more you ask of a performance
horse the more important it is to keep him comfortable in his work with a good fitting saddle.
I
have bought no less than 7 different "orthopedic" pads and 9 different dressage/eventing saddles in the quest for horse
comfort. Some of them have been helpful but nothing has made as much improvement in the horses as the Corrector. After
5months of owning one and using it for the breaking in or training of 5 different horses the Corrector stands alone as
the only thing between a horse and a saddle that makes a lasting improvement. Not only has the Corrector proven to help my
horses use their backs while wearing it but the improvement is still there even if you take the Corrector away for
a few rides! To me that proves that the Corrector is more than just a pad, it's a training aid that helps horses build
the correct muscles they need to perform. The same muscles are also frequently wasted away by conventional saddles.
Haven't you seen a hundred horses
with the muscles behind their withers wasted away? They were all horses that had worn saddles weren't they?
Example: Terrace Creek owns
a nice little mare with potential as a child's event horse. She turned five years old this year. Her conformation and
her personality always brought her compliments, but she never scored as high in her dressage tests as we all expected. She
had gaits, she was willing, and she had a great topline but she hadn't learned to use her back well enough to be truly competive.
The extra wide saddle tree she needed did not lend itself to thick padding. The first time wearing the Corrector she
wanted to stretch down every stride and I wasn't sure just where this was going. After about three rides she was able to use
her back in both the long and low balance and a lovely, more upright frame. The Corrector was the secret to her full potential.
It's a real joy to see this horse enjoy her work with the eagerness she shows now.
It's pretty hard
to look good on young horses in their first years of riding. And naturally I used to blame my riding but after
the Corrector was used on my horses for just a couple of months I started to recieve compliments on my riding,-
well that was interesting!
When your horses feel better, you feel better, and then you ride better!
The
Corrector might be the secret to the full potential of horses and riders. Thanks, Linda
Dear Len, (from Brenda Noble
Tuscon AZ., in her own words);
I recently purchased your Corrector pad and a set of shims
and wanted to let you know that it works great!! Last year I purchased a 14.2H three year old Doc Bar bred Quarter horse as
a reining prospect. I tried repeatedly to fit saddles on him with no luck and purchased and re-sold 3 saddles in the last
year. He is very short backed and his rump is higher than his withers. I finally found that a reining saddle with semi-QH
bars fits him best, but the gullet was not wide enough to accommodate his well developed shoulders. Therefore, the saddle
was pushing on his shoulders and causing pain which made his spins and turns slow and choppy and required constant adjustments
to his shoulders. I hated this situation as I didn't want him to be in pain, but could not afford a custom saddle and
was at a real loss as to how to remedy the problem until I found your Internet site. Now, thanks to the Corrector pad and
a set of your shims, the saddle is lifted off of his shoulders and he is turning and moving freely. As an added bonus, he
no longer swishes his tail during saddling and no longer threatens to buck when he is being warmed up. I can't tell you what
a wonderful difference this has made in his attitude and performance and in my guilt level! The corrector is a wonderful invention!
Thanks much, Brenda Noble
| Linda Long and Drifter, riding with the CorrecTOR |
|
|
| Linda, has used the Corrector since june of 03, and won't ride without it! |
Dear Len, I''m inside on this cold,
windy Wisconsin day looking forward to warmer days ahead. I fugured this was a good day to share with you my thoughts on the
CorrecTOR pad that I purchased from you last summer. I knew from past expeience that the Ortho-flex saddles you developed
really worked to fix saddle fit problems. I had a Patriot model that I bought to use with the Paso Fino that I used to own.
That Patrriot fit the Paso so well that the white hair and muscle atrophy he had from previous ill-fitting saddles went
away. When I sold my Paso, then purchased an American Paint Horse Hiatts Bar "Drifter", I knew that I wanted to
ride in a western style saddle so I sold my Patriot. I really wanted an Ortho-flex but I was not pleased with the saddles
offered after your association with the company ended. I bought a really nice barrel saddle that fit me perfect and Drifter
pretty good. He's a 14.2h stocky Doc Bar bred Paint. I ride a lot! The majority of my time in the saddle is spent
trail riding in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest in Eagle, WI. It's a 27,000-acre state forrest with miles of
horse trails. Drifter and I ride these trails 2-3 hours at a time, about 4 times a week. Last spring I was concentrating
on conditioning and just getting used to Drifter. We trotted for hours and I started noticing dry spots and the
beginning of muscle atrophy on his back behind his withers. If that section of his body wasn't already white, I'm
sure I would have seen white hairs starting also. I was already using a Professional Choice Ortho-sport pad but knew I needed
to do something so I didn't cause Drifter more serious damage from our long rides. I looked at saddles
but really didn't want to spend more money on saddles. Then I saw your ad in the Trail Rider magazine.
I called you and told you my tale of woe. I had my CorrecTOR pad by the end of June. I started using the CorrecTOR pad and am very pleased with the results. After several
months of use the dry spots have been shrinking and the muscle has even come back! I'm sure that drifter is more comfortable.
His saddle stays in place on hills, up and down, and it doesn't roll ,at all, side to side. We've been
having fun on the trail, riding in parades and have even tried team penning. Now we're looking forward to warmer days,
above zero anyway, and much more riding. The only problem I have with the pad is keeping it clean. I made a fitted cover
for it out of an old flannel sheet. Works great! Well, I've rambled on long enough. Drifter and I are very happy
with the CorrecTOR. Thank-you for coming up with a way to correct saddle fit problems at a reasonable price. Thanks again, Linda Long and Drifter
|
| Jasmine and Babe" in the High desert of Utah! |
|
| Take a look at; Neldon's 3 horses, all very happy with the CorrecTOR! |
From Neldon Hacking, Cedar City, Utah> This is a great example
of the versatility of ONE CorrecTOR being used on completely different horses and 2 very different saddles! In Neldon's Word's
: I would have saved a lot of money if I had purchased the CorrecTOR
sooner. I ride two Arabians and a Tennessee Walker, I have struggled with proper pad fit and I have at least half a dozen
pads lying around. I ride the Arabians with an Aussie Saddle and the CorrecTOR, I have close contact, and the horses
are very responsive and still happy after a long ride. The horses and I are very comfortable with the Aussie Saddle and as
an older rider, I get more security while riding. Len recommended the Standard Western CorrecTOR which works very
well with the Aussie Saddle.
I ride the twenty-year-old Tennessee
Walker with a Western Saddle and the CorrecTOR. I used to be very agressive with cues, but now he is very responsive and has
his "pop" back.
I am very pleased with the CorrecTOR and Len's service. Thanks
Len!
Neldon Hacking
| Their horses had real saddle sores! |
|
|
| Connie's horse no longer has a sore on the withers after every ride. He's now a believer! |
Mr. Brown,
My wife and I had tried changing saddles three times and we still were having
problems with swollen and sore spots on the withers of our horses. we have tried several different saddle pads, but nothing
has helped with these problems. We saw your Corrector Pad in the Trail Rider Magazine, and after talking it over with my wife
I decided to call you and told to you about our problem. After I talked with you we decided that if this pad would work it
still would be cheaper than trading saddles again. We ordered the Corrector Pad. When it came in the mail and I took
it out of the box, I looked at my wife and said, "we probably have bought something else that won't work."
The first two rides that we went on were only a day or two rides; we had no sores, swelling, or
dry spots. Then we went to Tennessee and after six hard days of riding we had no problems at all with swelling or sore spots.
The pad has definitely worked for us and I would recommend it for anyone having a problem with an ill fitting saddle.
Sincerely, Barry and Connie Thompson
Jeffersonville, Ohio
FROM Pam and Barry Dawkins
Serious trail riders from -
Rockingham, NC.
Dear Mr. Brown,
I recieved your message before Christmas but decided to write instead as you
may want to use my comments to perspective customers.
Let me say that after receiving the CorrecTOR I thought there would be NO
WAY this thin pad would correct the problem we were having with pressure spots on either side of one of our
horse's withers. However, the CorrecTOR has been A MIRACLE!! From the very first time we used it there was major
improvement. I did not want to prematurely jump to the conclusion that our problem was solved so we have really put the
CorrecTOR to the test. After three months of riding (primarily weekends when the weather would allow it) in all types of terrain
(from flat to mountainous), I can honestly say that the CorrecTOR has solved the problem! I have even noticed that the hair
that had been discolored due to the rubbing of the saddle against the withers is showing signs of returning to its original
color.
I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to talk with me prior to the purchase
of the CorrecTOR, as well as inventing the one product that corrected our particular problem. It has truly been a miracle!
I will be happy to share my feelings and experiences with the CorrecTOR to anyone that
needs a recommendation from someone that has first hand experience. I am including my phone number again so that you can share
it with potential customers.
Thank you so much for everything !! Pam Dawkins
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
