Looking for second hand dr saddle, any info welcome on all brands !

[goldengryffindor]

Well at the moement my new horse and i have been borrowing his old owners dr saddle until we get our own.

We have looked at some stubbens, bates and keiffers.

Reallly i would just love to know what you all think about these brands and there dr saddles?

Thankyou.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

Just bought a Bates Dressage saddle, not tried it out yet, went for Bates as we have a couple other Bates, close sontact & GP. They're comfortable & adjustable with the interchangable gullet & have the CAIR system. It only takes 5 minutes to alter the girth which is handy as my lad sometimes changes bewteen medium & medium narrow. They really are a saddle for life, they will fit almost any horse & a replacement gullet is around £15, got to be cheaper than buying another saddle.

If you do go for a Bates you really need to buy Bates leathers aswell. Other leathers tend to heavilly mark the saddle however the Bates ones don't. They don't stretch either as they have webbing sewn inside which prevents it happening.

Good Luck in your search.

 

[Hattikins]

well i have a 2nd hand ideal jessica dressage saddle and it is fantastic - love it and couldnt be without it now

it had only been used once so not really that 2nd hand but still it was way cheaper than a brand new one

also isabel werth dressage saddles are fab too ive ridden in a couple of my friends ones who have them and also brilliant

 

[Governor]

I tried a Kieffer and found it too hard (and probably more suited to someone with more leg than me). Same with the Stubben really although I have a battered old Stubben for jumping and I love it because I feel so balanced in it.

I have an Albion (K2 Legend) and it's fantastic. They're very well made and mine fits my horse like it was made to measure.

 

[JLav]

Agree totally with Governor. I dislike Kieffers intensly but love the Albions. The Ideal Jessica that was mentioned by Hattikins is also a lovely saddle. I used to use a Stubben jumping saddle in my eventing days but never really took to their dressage saddles.

 

[Tierra]

Stubben - Be careful with these in regards to their dressage saddles. The stirrup bar is very far forward and wont allow you to sit correctly! Stubben, in my eyes, started making dressage saddles as an after thought and never considered moving the damn stirrup bar.

Keiffer - Dont like them - find them out and out uncomfortable and while Im a huge advocate of the fit to the horse being priority, I couldnt spend a considerable amount of time in one of these.

Albion - Very nice saddles in general although they have never suited my boy. Albion now do the SLK ultima (not sure on others) on a genesis tree which allows it to be fully altered should the horse change shape. These alterations have to be done by a saddler though I believe.

Jaguar - dont get on with these for some reason

I used my trainers jaguar on my boy when we first bought him and it rubbed the top of my thigh raw

Aside from that, again, I didnt find it overly comfy

Bates - Dont have a clue on these!

Im riding in a wow dressage (with standard dressage blocks, not the giant ones) and find it the best dressage saddle Ive sat in. The stirrup bar(s) are situated well and you do actually have a choice (this is handy should you want to use it for jumping). The back bar allows for a correct dressage position. Also, as their site claims, the muscle development my horse has seen since using a wow has been staggering! It also helps me sit to his huuuuge paces which is a plus from my perspective!