Butet Saddles

[Jellymoon]

Just after some thoughts on whether a
second hand one of these would be a good buy these days - are they still popular if I need to resell? It’s about 15 yrs old I would guess but will check the serial number.
It’s from the days before LIM took over anyway, whether that makes a difference to the quality.
I remember they were once incredibly popular, but I’m rather out of touch these days.
I know the French trees are marmite and it’s all about whether the horse likes it and it fits etc…

 

[poiuytrewq]

I rode a few horses all last winter in one, I really liked it but I suspect that was more to do with it being so narrow than anything else perhaps.
I think they are still popular but have been overtaken by, I guess the slightly more pocket friendly “trendy” brands at the moment

 

[sbloom]

French close contact saddles are just something I'd ever recommend even on narrower horses (where they might be okay, but IMO unlikely to be optimum), all other things being equal. Many riders need more support, not less, to be correct, but the obsession with narrowness, twist and under the leg, remains and distorts what we think are good brands for riders.

Editing to add - it's about suiting the skeleton, how your pelvis sits in a saddle (it should be supported in neutral and often we need a decent width under the pubic arch and/or seatbones) and then how your hips hang around a particular ribcage shape. I don't agree that it's mostly about the ability of the rider, it's about the skeleton number one. We are learning more and more about saddle fit for the rider and we WILL move away from this idea of narrower is almost universally better.

 

[millitiger]

They're still incredibly popular, particularly with pro SJ and eventers.
You do need to be a reasonably balanced and independent rider to get the most benefit from them IMO and a lot of horses don't get on with them so well, so less suited to the leisure market.

 

[Red-1]

When I had fancy horses, I loved them.

Now I have more chunky types, I have other saddles.

I still prefer the feel of the Butet, but the other brands suit the chunks better.

 

[LEC]

I had a long discussion with a master saddler about 15 years ago and a very well known saddle brand who were developing a now very common saddle (which I wanted) about pliance testing and Butet came out strongly. I have lots of friends who love them but would have classic sport horses which are high TB.

 

[Jellymoon]

Good to know they are still popular, so if I need to resell I will be ok. I have ridden in other people’s ages ago when I was riding more horses, and I loved it. Never had one myself as too expensive!