Has anyone bought a second hand saddle? Advice please

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littlen

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Hi,

I need a new saddle for my boy as his other dosent fit any more.

Ideally I would like a gfs pro event, but the £800 price tag is out of budget. I have also looked at ideal, bates and jefferies but again too expensive.
I don't want to go synthetic (already have a t4 and it is terribly uncomfy and I get marked down showing as it isn't smart enough)

I am thinking of asking saddler to bring out some second hand but I'm a little put off.
Has anyone bought second hand before? What's the chances I will get one of the saddles I'm after rather than a cheap make?!
How much am I looking at roughly for a nice make good quality leather saddle?
Max budget is 400 really, would I get a nice one for this?

I have seen a lovely pro event on eBay buy I dot want to buy without trying it first as my boy is hard to fit :(

If anyone has bought second hand before I would love to hear your experiences please, what did you buy?
 
Depends how cheeky you are.

Get your saddler to come out and fit the saddles you think you might like so you know the make and model and the size you need - then search the internet. Horsequest has loads, saddles direct as mentioned and the infamous ebay... there are loads out there and as long as you want something 17 inch ish you'll probably find the model you want...

HTH

Blitz
 
I've literally just got mine a second hand Albion K2 Legend fitted by my saddler. I was particularly restricted because he is a high -withered TB so not much choice (chose from about 5 second hand and 1 new Kent and Masters).

I tried the Kent & Masters new one (£675) but just didnt suit me so ended up with the second hand Albion (£540). I think i actually preferred it second hand as its already worn in!

I dont really know anyone who has bought new from a saddler (we're the own a horse but scrimp to do so club at our yard!) and other people have got second hand stubbens / jeffries and had no issues.

Hope you get sorted
 
I bought a second hand barnsby jumping saddle from a friend, after having the saddler out to see if it could be adjusted to fit correctly.

It was £300, only problem being I wanted brown and it's black, so I guess sometimes you do have to make allowances if your budget is limited.
 
As long as your saddler has a good range I'm sure you will find something lovely that suits you and your horse. I've had saddlers coming out with 15 or so saddles before(so plenty of choice), some have which have been in practically new condition. I don't think you can beat a nice leather saddle. I would of thought £400 should get you something nice. My sister brought a second hand Jessica for £400 and honestly it was in perfect condition. At the end of the day you may pay a call out charge but you are not obligated to buy any of the saddles if you are not totally sure. Good luck hope you find your ideal saddle.
 
Thanks everyone

I have looked at eBay and saddles direct, some lovely saddles but I have no idea what size he is! My guess would be medium but I don't want to buy incase i'm wrong and can't get a refund! He is also very high withered so most saddles I've tried don't fit!

Even the second hand nicer ones seem over £500, my budget is £400 max,pref less! It's looking unlikley i will find somethng nice for that price :(
 
I bought a second hand saddle recently for my boy and it was a lovely leather one in good condition but obviously cost half as much. It was around £300 and was still VERY nice (although not a top named one)

Maybe talk to your saddler and tell them the sorts of makes you are after. They may have one you want thats second hand and cheaper =]
 
i have only ever bought second hand - ebay mainly. Measure horse with a flexicurve get a wither pattern and an idea of width of tree. I was after Barrie swain saddles so knew they adjustable. bought them got them adjusted and with two i had measured so well they actually didnt need adjusting they fitted!
I would get someone out find which type you like then look for second hand.
 
as long as the saddle fits your horse, it shouldnt matter if its a "smaller" make. All mine are, and certainly nothing wrong with any of them.
 
I've just bought an Ideal working hunter for my boy - £400 in really excellent condition. My friend found it on the Fylde stand at a show, it's exactly the same as hers which fits my boy spot on. Paid over the phone by card and she brought it home for me. Fortunately they said I could send it back and get a refund if it didn't fit as they send out saddles all the time.

Our local saddler wont come out to fit second hand but he has a massive range and he'll let you take 4 away at once to try, no charge (and you can keep them for a couple of days). You just have to give them some id etc.
 
blitznbobs said:
Get your saddler to come out and fit the saddles you think you might like so you know the make and model and the size you need - then search the internet.
Click to expand...

Grrr...this advice make me so mad. How are saddle fitters supposed to make a living?


Yes, I'm in a bad mood today
 
I just have!

I had bought a thorowgood t6 brand new but he just didn't go nicely in it, so called the saddler and asked if she could bring out some 2nd hand leather ones. She bought Barnsby, Ideal, Jeffries and lots of well known "brands" she bought about a dozen and I've ended up with a Jeffries Falcon Event. Even OH commented that it's much nicer than my old one!

My t6 was £425 and I exchanged it for my Falcon which was about £600.
 
My saddler has access to a big range of secondhand saddles, and hasn't once failed to fit any of my horses - including a 30yo. Surely it's worth paying to make sure a saddle fits properly?
 
I'm sure as long as your horse isn't too unusual in shape, then you'll quite easily be able to find a decent second hand saddle, which fits him and that you like. I would use a saddler though, as opposed to buying privately unless you can check the fit before you pay for it, or you can return it easily if it doesn't fit.

A word of warning ... It's far too easy to buy ill-fitting 2nd hand saddles online, which are then almost impossible to sell on for the price you paid !!!!
 
if your saddler has a second hand saddle that fits or can be adjusted I would go with it.

if you buy the same off the internet it might not be the same..... depending on what horse it has been on before and then you might need it adjusting anyway.

have had second hands for the last 5 years, just got my first new and tbh wish I had got one ages ago as it fits both of us much much better but it does depend on finances :)
 
My saddler doesn't sell second hand but was happy to come out, measure my horse and tell me exactly what makes, style and width and size would suit my horse. He also made me a cardboard template.

He did advise not going the ebay route but getting some on trial from a saddle dealer, but I thought a gamble would be worthwhile on ebay as if turned out to be not exactly as advertised you can claim through paypal or re-sell.

Within weeks my saddle popped up, it was a GFS Pro-Event, Med-Wide, 17" in black in very good condition. Well I won it for £215 including the postage. The saddle fitter came back and said perfect fit, what a bargain! It needed minimal adjustment to the flocking and he valued it at £350 - £400. :) :)
 
I've had several Ideals for £200-400. Sold all for about what I paid for them too.

If you can even manage to save another £100 or so, your market will open up hugely.
 
Hi, totally new on here so apologies that I haven't introduced myself yet.:D
Have a chat with your saddler you should be able to pick up something really nice for £400.00, our local saddler has quite a few secondhand saddles that he sells on behalf of clients and takes a commision, if you are lucky you might be able to haggle the price down a bit, I suggest you look at £500.00 range and then barter a bit you never know your luck.
Its always difficuly buying of the internet, unless you know exactly what you need, in your case you say horse is difficult to fit, so you may be taking a gamble.
I am (or was) a saddler, still fit for friends and do the routine checks for them, so if you need a bit of help feel free to ask. If you are local to Hampshire, I may just have what you are looking for (not GFS but Jeffries) in your price range. It is my saddle had from new, just put up for sale today on a different forum! horse retired last year and its sat in the tack room doing nothing! which is a total waste!
 
hello, I'm new too :) How about a saddle fitting party? :D ask your friends to bring their saddles to yours to try on to get an idea of what you are looking for.....you supply the donuts;) I hope you get sorted soon
 
Personally I'd far rather have a second hand saddle than a new one as its already nice and soft and you haven't got to go through all the hassle of softening it and taking special care for ages.

Plus its cheaper!!! BUT its a helluva job getting saddlers who'll fit second hand nowadays (here beginneth a rant...... !!!). All they want to do is flog their new stock, which is fine if you can afford it and/or actually WANT a new saddle, but if you don't then they're not interested.
 
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