buying saddles yourself - false economy?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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Ive been thinking a lot recently about saddles and saddlers and wether those ebay deals are really worth it.

To put in contact, i have had 3 horses now that have all had saddle issues, and even when buying a saddle with the horse, it doesnt always mean it will fit - even buying with ebay ive sold on about half a dozen because the tree shape isnt right for the horse longitudionally even though the tree width is correct and the saddle looks level on the back, it still doesnt fit. every time i end up buying a saddle from the saddler himself, costing more than i could get one on ebay, granted, but the change in the horse is normally instananeous and dramatic. That said, i know there are a lot of horses that will ' put up ' with a less-than-optimal saddle fit and still work - mine wont though.

I am wondering in these money saving times and the amount of saddles sold on ebay wether owners are doing a DIY saddle fit job? Those of you who have successfully fitted an ebay saddle - do you take it to the saddle and cross fingers? how do you know the sweep and curve or the saddle will fit? if the panels are right for the horses back?To put it in context, i have 3 horses in medium wide saddles, yet there is no way i could ride one in another saddle or vice versa!

Im also interested in how dealers/producers also get around this - i know you can shimmy a wider saddle but i dont believe it will be comfortable for the horse and its been proven to me time and time again with my own experience, if the saddle doesnt fit, the horse doesnt go well and will present with behavior problems. So how do you get around it?

This has been really bothering me today! Would love to hear views...
 
Where I work we have twenty something horses and saddles coming out of our ears (so much so we give them away with out horses ;).) They're all very good quality old fashioned leather ones that tend to fit everything. Each rider has a favourite saddle which we use on everything we ride unless it doesn't fit in which case we'll pad it out or raid the tack room for one that does. We also have a lot of adjustable gullet saddles and we are yet to find a horse where a saddle doesn't fit.
 
I have bought saddles from eBay and preloved. I then have them checked by a master saddler. I have had to sell a few on. Bought a dressage saddle for my von which didn't fit at all, it was for sale, then we got a new horse and it fits her perfectly!
 
I took my pony to a preloved saddle and tried it then went for a hack in it :)

I wouldn't buy from eBay unless it was very cheap (currently looking for a JA Barnsby jump and there is one but the person said its a m/mw and its clearly a n/m! It is not dear and if I had thought it would fit I would have taken a chance on it) or if I'd tried the exact saddle on and wanted to buy the same one, I may risk that.
 
I bought both my recent saddles privately via the internet. However, we'd already had the saddler out and determined which models we needed but didn't want to spend £3k on two new saddles so decided to try to find second hand. Saddler was fine with this but thought we'd struggle to find what we wanted. He was right of course! I spent ages scouring the internet but did eventually find exactly what we needed for a total of £1.5 k. Saddles are as new and have been fitted by the saddler. In this case I saved a small fortune buying off t'interet but I knew exactly what I needed. The £20 spent in initially getting the saddler to come and advise and then same again plus flocking when he came back was well worth it!
 
It really has only been in the last few years we have had saddle fitting problems - I wonder why that is? I had a Pennwood Lightweight jumping saddle that seemed to fit everything, and it didn't even have a cut back head. Basically there were narrow medium and wide saddles, some in need of reflocking, and I never had a problem with any of my horses. But now I have a horse who is hard to fit - saddles slip, and he is wide but with withers.
Apart from the fact that some horses are quite hard to fit, what has changed? Are modern saddles not as adaptable as the old ones?
 
I always buy secondhand off eBay but I'm very specific about what I buy (Lauriche) and I get them fitted by Kay Humphries - she has just finished completely refurbishing my last purchase. It was done by Graham in Barrie Swaine's workshop who made for Lauriche. I would say that it is now my dream saddle - Lauriche upper with it's lovely wide seat and serge
panels underneath.

I don't like modern saddles, they don't suit me or my mare.
 
My saddler actually told me to look on eBay. Daughters pony has a completely flat back like a shetties, but is quite dainty at the same time, & needs 14 or 14.5". Idea was if either saddler or I found one he would do final adjustments to fit. However, we never did, & as time passed I reduced what I was willing to spend according to how long before she was outgrown. Now we've decided to just stick with the ponypad, its certainly not holding daughter back, the opposite infact, & a friend has one that fits well enough for the odd time rules dictate a proper saddle.
 
I've bought lots of saddles on ebay, I see on as soon as I know it doesn't fit (always made a profit or broken even), the knack is to ask for lots of photos and to know the type or make of saddle which should fit your horse. I bought an almost mint L&R dressage saddle for £150 used it for a few years and then sold it on for £250. I always get my saddler to check the saddles and the fit, but I must admit I have now sold my lovely leather Ideal saddle and prefer New Wintec and Thorowgood Wide for my guys as being adjustable is so much better for a changeable TB and Haflinger. The New Wintec I'm particularly pleased with, it is nothing like the old ones.
 
Mm interesting, I have two saddles currently on ebay, and not a whiff infact one i have dropped the price and relisted, maybe I should try preloved :)
 
Haven't bought one off ebay but I did buy one from a tack sale. On paper it was the correct fit 17.5 MW. I thought the fit was okay but got my saddler to check it to be sure and he didn't even have to adjust it :) in fact I used it for 2 years before it even needed a little flocking added (did have it checked regualry). Saddler actually commented on what a bargain I'd managed to find :D
 
I've saved myseld loads buying saddles on ebay but not nasty cheap ones but branded second hand ones. I have a 5yr old £2, 000 dressage saddle I got for £450 and a nearly new £1, 300 jumping saddle for £400.
Saved myself a fortune
I did know that these particular brands and models suited my horse. Apart from needing a few tweaks to the flocking they are perfect. My saddlers mouth dropped open when I told him what I paid for them.
Never going through a saddler again. I have spent thousands on brand new saddles through saddlers that didn't really fit and they are like new cars. The moment they have been used they are worth 50%. I'll stick to sourcing my own saddles from now on.
 
I asked my saddle fitter what make and type of saddle would suit my shortbacked but broad horse, and would be comfortable for me. He said Ideal Jessica, 17" Wide.

I waited until one came up on eBay, bought it and he reflocked and fitted it for me. I did have to wait quite a while, as the Wide fitting ones all seemed to be 17.5 or 18", but I got what I wanted in the end.
 
I take horses to saddler, try saddles, get recommendations, attempt to buy saddle on ebay nearly new for less than half price then take saddle and horse to saddler to get it adjusted perfectly.
 
In theory yet.

I've always gone for secondhand good makes as I can get more saddle for my money and with younger horses when they change shape, I can sell the saddle on and not lose much. I currently have a horse on loan who came without a saddle and I wanted something I could sell on when he goes back.

I've used a saddler as by the time you add in postage and getting someone out to fit, you don't pay much more and been lucky that they have had something suitable in stock.

But two saddlers have told me recently that they are not really focusing on this market and not taking on secondhand saddles to sell anymore as with adjustable saddles in both synthetic and leather starting at lowish prices, people are buying these instead.

So the alternative would be to get recommendations and buy somewhere like ebay or preloved and getting it fitted.
 
I have never ever had a saddle fitter out ever! I'm 24 and don't have a lot of experience with saddle fit but mum does. I buy things that I think will fit and she will say yes or no or do this/that. I have a prestige event that will fit any tb I swear! I also have a jaguar xsj that's slightly narrower than prestige but again will fit most tbs. I have an Albion k2 that will go on most chunks and a dressage saddle that again fits the chunkier Irish boys!
When my work was a dealers yard it was grab a saddle and hope for the best. Though one horse only fitted one saddle but it was too small for me but had to make do. Horses backs were done and all were fine. I usually opted for a stuuben
 
I have never ever had a saddle fitter out ever! I'm 24 and don't have a lot of experience with saddle fit but mum does. I buy things that I think will fit and she will say yes or no or do this/that. I have a prestige event that will fit any tb I swear! I also have a jaguar xsj that's slightly narrower than prestige but again will fit most tbs. I have an Albion k2 that will go on most chunks and a dressage saddle that again fits the chunkier Irish boys!
When my work was a dealers yard it was grab a saddle and hope for the best. Though one horse only fitted one saddle but it was too small for me but had to make do. Horses backs were done and all were fine. I usually opted for a stuuben or jaguar saddle but it depended on who could grab the saddle first! Used to get to the stage of me and another girl arriving 1 hour before work for the saddle wars lol!
 
I've bought three second hand off ebay. Fitted my mare with some minor adjustments. None fitted my boy, though, although my dressage saddle seemed to when I first got him. I did sell all three for more than I bought them for, but they were very good makes and I hit the demand market at a very serendipitous point.

I had a T8 made for him (thinking if he was going to change shape so fast I needed an economy(!) option that could be adjusted). Now it looks as though he's off to play with the unicorns, I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to sell it. I have used it all of 9 times. I am not going to buy another high-withered TB if I can help it.
 
digitalangel said:
I

Im also interested in how dealers/producers also get around this
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In answer to this, they don't. They have a one saddle fits all approach. When I worked for a dealer I don't think we had more than 3 saddles for the whole yard. Adjustments were made with numnahs. The horses come in, get jollied along and get sold. Tough old world!
 
When I go saddle fitting, I can take 20 or 30 saddles with me, and can only find 1 or 2 that are suitable, and several times none that fit at all, when I take a booking I ask for basic information so I know what to expect, so being told that the horse is a medium fit 16hh ID, and it turns out to be a 15hh extra wide cob, or 15hh Thourobred and its a 13.2 Conemara!!
It is almost impossible to fit a saddle off the internet.
 
mrhsaddler said:
It is almost impossible to fit a saddle off the internet.
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That is just not true as can be seen from posts on this thread. Plenty of people get good saddles off the internet that can fit (so not almost impossible), it just may not be the first one you try.
 
Interesting topic.

No I have never bought a saddle off the internet, but can't understand why dealers/pros get away with one saddle fits all approach whereas my saddler (and I've used 3 or 4 in my time) always come with loads of saddles and find it really difficult to fit my horses. Why don't the 2nd hand saddles ever fit? It always seems to be the new expensive brands that do!

That said, I've bought a Wintec (via saddler) for my youngster and had it adjusted once already in 6 months with another visit due this month to reverify. Despite 40 odd years experience, I wouldn't be happy fitting a saddle myself, especially a second hand one, and would want my saddler there to advise.
 
Wow thanks for everyones responses...I personally have bough second hand off my saddler, i cant afford new, but i always buy brands so if i need to i can sell them on. In my limited experience buying off ebay, ive never once bought one that fits, despite measurements etc its always fine in terms of the width but the sweep or curve along the back always seems wrong and the trees are the wrong shape, so they will never fit.

Having had to sell on these saddles im just not going to bother anymore as the stress etc of having to sell them on and ending up buying off the saddler anyway is too great.

Interesting about having a saddler out and then finding them on ebay instead - i would have thought that would p*ss some saddlers right off, especially if theyre selling second-hand.
 
Also, in regards to dealers, is it possible if the horse is being worked in an ill-fitting saddle, could it come to the new owners with a sore back?
 
Clava said:
I always get my saddler to check the saddles and the fit, but I must admit I have now sold my lovely leather Ideal saddle and prefer New Wintec and Thorowgood Wide for my guys as being adjustable is so much better for a changeable TB and Haflinger. The New Wintec I'm particularly pleased with, it is nothing like the old ones.
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I have the new Wintec wide for my Haffy and we love it. Completely agree it is nothing like the old versions.
 
Kokopelli said:
Where I work we have twenty something horses and saddles coming out of our ears (so much so we give them away with out horses ;).) They're all very good quality old fashioned leather ones that tend to fit everything. Each rider has a favourite saddle which we use on everything we ride unless it doesn't fit in which case we'll pad it out or raid the tack room for one that does. We also have a lot of adjustable gullet saddles and we are yet to find a horse where a saddle doesn't fit.
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This sounds like when I was a groom many many moons ago. We each had our favourite saddle and would put it on everything we rode. :o

While there are some saddles that seem to fit more horses than the average saddle does (my pessoa blyth tait saddle fitted three horses well on my yard), I cringe when I think back to when we used the same saddle on various horses.

I think when you are experienced at saddle fitting you get to know what make of saddle will likely fit each shape of horse. I could probably find a good fit for all of the horses here as I know their shape so well. I am very fussy about saddle fit.

When I bought my last expensive saddle (around £1000) I bought three from the online seller on the agreement that I could send two or even all three back for a refund. Two were and 'OK' fit, and the third fitted her like a glove. I so wish I hadn't sold that saddle!
 
I bought 5 saddles off ebay for my daughter's flat backed welsh A and sold them all back via ebay for a profit! he he! Saddlers very rarely stock the type/shape of saddle I was looking for so it was very trial and error! Got there in the end!

My mare's saddle I purchased off a fellow reader on Horse Gossip - it is a show hunter saddle and a very good make so absolute bargain. Funnily enough, I have just booked the saddler to come out and check it over so will keep you updated!!
 
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