buying a saddle advice needed

[dusty1967]

Hi

I have at last found a horse to buy and, if he passes vetting, will need to buy tack for him.

He is 4 at the moment, 5 in March, and is 16.1/2hh with good bone ISH.

Saddles seem to range from cheap to astronomically expensive! I do want leather but will just be hacking with the odd day hunting thrown in and won't be doing much jumping.

I'm a 6'2" man weighing 14.5 stone. I have been riding for 2 years and it would be nice to find a nice comfy saddle that gave you the secure deep seat feeling if there was such a thing?

Any suggestions as to saddle make / type would be gratefully received. I guess I also have to consdier that at 4 he still has a bit of filling out to do?

Thanks!

 

[Rb1]

I'm definitely no expert but at least this will bump the thread for you!
I would get a second hand, cheapish, mid range general purpose saddle to begin with and see how you get on with the make/style/size and everything then possibly get a new or newer second hand one after a year or so as I imagine he will fill out a bit more. Might be stating the obvious but make sure you get any saddle properly fitted.
Lovely horse by the way!

 

[AmyMay]

I'd get a good saddler to come out to you and fit a 2nd hand saddle to the horse.

Lovely looking by the way.

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

Where in the country are you? You are best off looking at the Worshipful Company of Saddlers website to find a fitter near you and discussing your options with them!

Personally I love the Albion K2 GPs. lovely deep seat and you can get your leg long. If you get the Genesis K2 saddle you can have the head plate adjusted as your donkey changes shape!!

Also, if you let us know the area of the country people could recommend fitters for you!

 

[dusty1967]

Where in the country are you?

Hi there

I'm in Surrey.

Is it a Donkey? Person selling swears it's an Irish Sports Horse - Tee Hee!!

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

Try Bookham Saddlers- I used to work in Great Bookham and they seemed to be the most honest and plesant people to work with, their shop is tiny but they always seemed so happy to help!

They will travel to you and the woman who owns it breeds, so she is used to the way horses change shape over time.

Your new ponio looks a nice sort- very kind eye! (I am sure all ISH are part Donkey- that's what makes them so stubborn!)

 

[longdog]

Would recommend the K&M range - leather with changeable gullet new approx £700. Or, ring round all saddlers & see what s/h they have who will also come out & fit.

HTH

Longdog

 

[dusty1967]

Try Bookham Saddlers

Thanks

I have been referred to them by someone at the Yard and they have a good reputation. My OH has a K&M saddle and likes it very much but it cost £700!!! The Albion saddles cost over £1000.....

Will a good saddle company supply and fit second hand? If a saddle is fitted to a particluar horse when it is new can it be refitted to another horse or are you compromising both the horse's back and your riding in order to save money??

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

second hand the Albions are in the range of £600 + fitting. I would try to get a trusted brand like a stubben, albion, cliff barnsby, etc because you know what you are getting and they last for a long time. I was using my mum's Dressage saddle up until 2 years ago (change of horse) and that is almost 40 years old!
That saddle has been through a succession of horses (maybe 8?) and had been reflocked to suit them, although the horses were all a similar build.

 

[Ladydragon]

I'm another one who'll vote with having a saddler out and asking if s/he'll supply a second hand saddle - at least for the time your (rather gorgeous) boy is still growing...

Our guy did that - fitted a cheap and cheerful, second hand maxam to an underweight/under conditioned TB and has tweaked it regularly to allow him room to grow... He's keeping an eye out long term for a brown hunter saddle but it wouldn't be worth it at the moment with so much shape changing going on...

I'm a bit anal with saddle fitting though - I wouldn't send my kids out in shoes which didn't fit so ditto the horses... And although I can tell when one doesn't fit and when one looks like it does fit - I can't say if one is a good fit... If that makes sense? Plus I made the mistake of buying two second hand ones that were the right length/width/decent brand and there was no way either could be adjusted to fit just right... It would have been cheaper to just dump it in the saddler's lap and let him sort it out properly...

Ring around ones which cover your area... See if they keep a stock of second hand and see who's attitude/approach you feel comfy with - as well as getting local recommendations...

 

[Kaylum]

If you get a saddle fitter or saddler Signs to look for on the saddle.

Is there a crease across the seat?
Can you hold both ends of the saddle i.e. pommel and cantle and move it?

I have seen this on a number of saddles that clients have bought from saddle fitters that have been conned into buying them where the trees have broken.

Also if your horse has a fall or rolls with its saddle on get the tree checked. This is probably one of the most important thing that is over looked when buying second hand saddles by horse owners, plus check under the saddle flaps and make sure the girth straps are in good order.

 

[tristar]

i would get your lovely boy a new thorowgood, you can get a chart and measure him and decide which style will fit, cob or thoroughbred shape etc, they will advise you, and you will have a comfy well designed piece of kit at a good price that should be comfortable for him and enable you to sit nicely on him during his schooling period, but allow that sometimes they are more comfy for the rider when they have been used a while.

be very very cautious when buying second hand especially leather, there are some awful twisted trees, crooked panels etc, mankyily stuffed things, not really the best way to start off.

the worst saddle i ever had was made by a master saddler, the tree was twisted, not got a lot of faith there, a lot of ripping off goes on.

 

[Kaylum]

be very very cautious when buying second hand especially leather, there are some awful twisted trees, crooked panels etc, mankyily stuffed things, not really the best way to start off.

the worst saddle i ever had was made by a master saddler, the tree was twisted, not got a lot of faith there, a lot of ripping off goes on.

Totally agree tristart, its why I cringe sometimes when people are buying them unseen. Buying them seen can be bad enough if they dont know what they are looking for.

A saddle can fit well on the outside but if the tree has a problem (and you probably wont even know but your horse will) its useless and painful to the horse and can end up costing you a lot of money to get it and your horse fixed.

Good luck

 

[1Lucie]

I too purchased an ISh who is quite young. It tired loads of saddles with fitter and Albion K2 GP came out best, cost me £680 and admittly its not as new as i would of liked but fits like an absolute dream!

 

[miss_wilson]

Hi I would recommend that you have a look at allsaddlesolutions website. The saddler Claire is very knowledgeable and all saddles are made to fit, have 2 airbags front and back so can be adjusted as your horse changes shape.
They are not the cheapest saddles but i love mine and after trying about 25 that didn`t fit this is fantastic.
And she travels around the country!!!