Black or Brown Saddle Dilema!

LeannePip

LeannePip

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I know its personal preference but I just can’t make up my mind! I have found the exact saddle I want, Ideal Susannah (tried and tested) in black and brown (almost un heard of) the black is £50 cheaper and owner will post, the brown I just realised after I had spoken to its owner is actually half suede, which sort of puts me off a bit but I may just be being ridiculous, but I can pick it up at the weekend but its 40mins out of the way.

My horse is bay and all other tack is Brown (good excuse to buy a black bridle?). I plan to event so will mainly be dressaging in tweed which will go better with the brown but black is obviously more traditional for when we have to go and practise said dressage! I was head over heels in love with the brown until I realised that it had a suede seat and knee rolls, now i’m worried that it will make me feel too ‘stuck’!

Help!
 
Its definately personal choice but I would go with the brown - I really dont like black tack as I find it looks tired really quickly whereas brown seems to look better with age. I ended up with a black saddle as its the one that happened to fit and I got a bargain but I really hate it! Much prefer brown! I've had a saddle with a suede seat and knee rolls and it was wonderful! Go with it! x
 
I should probably add i am only questioning the longevity and grippy'ness of the suede becaus ei have never had a suede saddle - are they really sticky?
 
I really don't like black tack but hate suede on saddles more; so would go for the black one :). Just personal preference really but touching suede makes me shudder because of the texture :P.
 
I would go with brown because I dont like black tack and the suede would not worry me because its not a new saddle and will be a bit worn in so will not be as grippy. as its not far away could you have a look tomorrow and sit on it even if its just on a bale or sofa arm so you know you are ok with the feel?
 
I prefer Brown so would go with that if just buying for myself. But if I was considering resale value, I would go with Black for a dressage saddle as people seem to prefer Black for dressage.
 
criso said:
I prefer Brown so would go with that if just buying for myself. But if I was considering resale value, I would go with Black for a dressage saddle as people seem to prefer Black for dressage.
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This is what i'm worried about - although i don't think i'll need to sell it, i may have to and then that limits me - i don't want to be a fortune out of pocket! i already have a show saddle sat idle and mmy current dressage saddle (Harry Dabbs) hasn't had any interest :(
 
I would buy the black one as if your horse changes shape and you need to sell on it would probably be easier to sell in the dressage market and may hold it's value better
But on the other hand life is too short so buy the saddle you will enjoy more as you have worked hard to get it! Plus the additional money you may lose by buying brown you will definitely spend buying a black bridle!
 
I will be/am in a similar situation. My new horse is bright bay although somewhat darker at the moment in winter. I have bought her a brown bridle as I think it suits her (I'm currently borrowing a black saddle). When I come to buy I am tempted to buy a brown/havana GP for general riding and jumping and then a black bridle and dressage saddle as I think black dressage saddles look better?

In your situation you've described above i'd go for the black!
 
I realy do love brown leather. It just seems to get more and more beautiful as it wears and ages and always feels of better quality. That said, I do think black looks better for dressage. I was in the same boat as you and ended up getting black dressage tack and using all my lovely nut brown coloured stuff for jumping.

Echo what others have said too - black will probably do better should you ever need to sell it on
 
Thanks guys! I'm going to go for the black - its time to be sensible i already have two saddles sat doing nothing! haha - any one want a almost new harry dabbs?
 
A good excuse to go dressage bridle shopping ;)

I can thoroughly recommend the Evison ones for English leather at a very reasonable price - love mine!
 
I think black is a good choice ! looks good on any colour horse and there is only one shade of black :) no faffing around with different colour girths, leathers and bridles etc to match. I love black with brass buckles so my horse is dressed in those colours :D
 
LeannePip said:
I know its personal preference but I just can’t make up my mind! I have found the exact saddle I want, Ideal Susannah (tried and tested) in black and brown (almost un heard of) the black is £50 cheaper and owner will post, the brown I just realised after I had spoken to its owner is actually half suede, which sort of puts me off a bit but I may just be being ridiculous, but I can pick it up at the weekend but its 40mins out of the way.

My horse is bay and all other tack is Brown (good excuse to buy a black bridle?). I plan to event so will mainly be dressaging in tweed which will go better with the brown but black is obviously more traditional for when we have to go and practise said dressage! I was head over heels in love with the brown until I realised that it had a suede seat and knee rolls, now i’m worried that it will make me feel too ‘stuck’!

Help!
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Black is NOT traditional at all! It just became a fashion in the 80's.

Traditionally all saddlery was brown as it was the better quality leather. Cheap damaged cuts of leather could be masked by the use of black dye.

Sounds as if the brown would be ideal for you as you already have a brown bridle and tweed jacket. Brown ages gracefully whereas black fades to a greenish greyish black - not pretty!
 
Doesn't really matter when black tack became fashionable, the fact is now it is fashionable for dressage and a couple of saddle fitters have told me they can struggle with selling brown dressage saddle. So I think black is the practical choice.

However I do have looked love brown saddles ....
 
Tnavas said:
Again NO, black came into fashion in the 80's. Prior to then all tack was brown I still have my very first dressage saddle a Turf and Travel Fulmer, it's colour, London Tan
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Oh god, stop nit picking, you know exactly what i am trying to say why be so pedantic about it? i don't have anything against brown tack - as i have said all my tack is brown! i don't care if its fashion tradition or personal preference, i was just asking a question, jeez!

Thanks for the advise guys as much as a love the brown saddle, I'm going to go for the black as feel safer with the re-sale of it - and yes MyDog, i wish brown was 'in' for dressage too! plus its a good excuse to go bridle shopping! - Thanks all :)
 
As the owner of a brown dressage saddle I would say go brown. Forget fashion or tradition and buy what you like. If you have to sell it then it might take longer but you will find another brown tack lover! And you never know if fashions change you might be able to capitalise on the rarity of brown dressage saddles!
 
Auslander said:
So do I! I might have a better chance of selling mine then!!
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Make brown the fashion again - stop buying black!

When I spoke to the owners of 'Saddlery Warehouse' in New Zealand they were very apologetic that they couldn't get brown tack. Though fortunately as a result of demand here it is now possible to buy some lovely brown bridles, but dressage saddles in brown are still hard to come buy. I now have a synthetic brown saddle which I had to order specially.

The moment leather can be dyed black more of each hide can be used as black hides the blemishes whereas brown doesn't - so economics and the fact that a hell of a lot of tack is made in Asia these days (on contract to various countries) black is the cheaper option.


Leannepip - not being pedantic but to use 'traditional' is incorrect. Black is a modern colour and as I said above the result of cost cutting by manufacturers.

If you like brown buy brown - it holds its value far better and is usually a far better quality. Make sure that it fits well and you won't be wanting to sell for a long time.

You mention a show saddle - is this so very different in structure to a dressage saddle? At one time a show saddle usually had a half panel and was close contact and had a flattish seat. I used to show successfully at County level in my dressage saddle.
 
Tnavas said:
If you like brown buy brown - it holds its value far better and is usually a far better quality. Make sure that it fits well and you won't be wanting to sell for a long time.

.
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Sorry but that doesn't add up.

It doesn't hold its value better if it is not in demand by buyers, Fitters who sell saddles are saying they struggle to sell dressage saddles in brown and sell them for less.. It's because they know what people want and that at this point in history is black for dressage saddles.

As for being better quality, if I buy a saddle from a reputable manufacturer I would not expect a difference in quality because of the colour.

And you can never guarantee you won't want to sell. Even assuming that your horse never changes shape, I have 3 well fitted, good quality saddles gathering dust because I no longer have the horses they were bought for.
 
LeannePip said:
I know its personal preference but I just cant make up my mind! I have found the exact saddle I want, Ideal Susannah (tried and tested) in black and brown (almost un heard of) the black is £50 cheaper and owner will post, the brown I just realised after I had spoken to its owner is actually half suede, which sort of puts me off a bit but I may just be being ridiculous, but I can pick it up at the weekend but its 40mins out of the way.

My horse is bay and all other tack is Brown (good excuse to buy a black bridle?). I plan to event so will mainly be dressaging in tweed which will go better with the brown but black is obviously more traditional for when we have to go and practise said dressage! I was head over heels in love with the brown until I realised that it had a suede seat and knee rolls, now im worried that it will make me feel too stuck!

Help!
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What do you like about the ideal Susannah how does it fit for you? Deep locked in?
 
This post is 9 years old, you'll be better placed asking opinions of the Susannah in a new post :). Bear in mind deep "locked in" isn't good (and how much of that you experience will depend on the seat size relative to your size), it locks the hips and compromises the rest of the rider's body, and the horse, but every rider will experience it differently (I'm a specialist in rider fit, we must focus on stabilising the pelvis, not the hips which should be mobile, as per the graphic).
 

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