Advice needed on buying a new saddle please!

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Hi all,

I am looking to purchase a new saddle but don't know where to start! I'm looking to spend about £300 - £400 and am ideally looking for a close contact saddle or one that I can use jumping. My mare is a 15.2 warmblood with very high withers.

I have seen a number of potentially good saddles on ebay, however am dubious about purchasing something as important as a saddle on line. I also have a freind who says they can get brand new close contact saddles for around £300, but again, I am dubious about buying one because if they get it & it doesn't fit her - I'm lumbered with it! (There will be no option for me to get it fitted until after the purchase is made.)

How did everyone else here go about purchasing the right saddle for their horse? Do I have to get it fitted professionally or is it relatively safe to buy say a 17" that has a high pommel and presume it will fit my horse?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!
 
ditto the master saddler
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Master Saddler (and check with the actual society - there are people who say they are when they are not..) and ask what they have in the way of second hand saddles - most will carry some stock or can recommed someone who does. That way you will end up being comfortable that you have a properly fitted saddle¬
 
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might need to up date your budget for a good second hand leather saddle! Fitted!

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Disagree with that. I paid £200 for a reasonably new CC Henri de Rivell jumping saddle last month (though she did PX my two old Wintecs) plus £28 for saddler to come out and £65 for a Prolite pad that she recommended. I only paid £500 for an 18 month old Harry Dabbs dressage saddle earlier this year.

Which area of the country are you in? I can thoroughly recommend someone with a great selection of second hand saddles if you're in the west Mids.
 
NOT a Master saddler, you need a Saddle FITTER, they are often not one and the same.

Your best bet is to find a locally recommended saddle fitter.
 
saddles direct. You tell her what you want and she'll send by courier saddles for you to try. Then just organise for a saddle fitter to be there when you try them out. You just ring her back tell her which one you want and send the others back, great service. You can also go to her if your close enough.
 
If you're not experienced with saddle fitting get a saddler to fit it.
You'll potentially end up with a whole array of problems with even a slightly ill fitting saddle. It is not as simple as buying a 17inch medium fit (for example) because every saddle is slightly different, and your saddler is likely to need to reflock it anyway so that it fits your horse properly.
I have my saddles re-flocked every 6 months.

Let the saddler know your budget in advance so they bring a selection a 2nd hand ones.
 
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