New saddle help

[Vicky Arabian]

Hiya

I'm looking to replace my worn out saddle but it has been quite a few years since buying a new one, and the world of saddles seems to have come on quite far. With treeless and self-adjusting saddles, I'm at a bit of a loss.

My boy is a chunky Arab, and we really just do long distance riding, with a bit of jumping just for fun.

Has any one got any experiences with the different saddles? Or any thing they would recommended or would stay clear of?

All the company right ups are very complimentary but obviously they are all biased, so im looking for real world experiance.

I havent got a huge budget, and we arnt by any means looking for a serious competition saddle. Happy hacking is our life really.

 

[Vicky Arabian]

This is the boy in question

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[Sugar_and_Spice]

If you haven't got a decent budget your best bet is to buy a good quality saddle second hand rather than a cheap as chips new one.

I like ordinary wool flocked saddles best myself, because they're easily adjusted by a normal saddler and if the flocking in the one you buy is horrendously lumpy you can have it all removed and replaced with new, so this is why I like wool flocking I think it's the most versatile. I don't like Cair flocking found in Wintec and Bates saddles because I read an article once saying it caused more pressure not less. Flair is lovely but if you're likely to need it adjusted with the seasons it's a pain because you need a saddler trained in adjusting it.

I don't like adjustable gullet saddles, I prefer having a different saddle for summer and winter if the horses weight varies that much, or using pads in the winter to accommodate a slight weight fluctuation. I can't see how the adjustable gullet saddles will last as long as a non-adjustable one, the screws holding the gullet in place are just something else to go wrong I think. Plus, changing the gullets isn't the 5min job the manufacturers like to imply it is, it can take ages and be really fiddly so not something I want to be doing on a regular basis.

What brands to go for depends on the shape of your horses back and your butt, not something I can advise on really other than to say I like stubben because I find them impossible to fall out of. I've had loads of different brands of saddle and different models within the brands too, almost all bought second hand and most good as new. All the decent brands have had good saddles, I didn't like a few budget saddles made by decent brands though.

For hacking I'd always choose a GP saddle. I've bought jumping and dressage saddles before but do nothing much more than potter about these days so I find I just don't use them. Dressage and treeless saddles particularly are annoying with the short girths that are more difficult to adjust when mounted.

Treeless, I've had Freemax and Libra and loved both, but I'm useless at mounting from the ground anyway because I'm stiff and with a treeless it's guaranteed to slip round unless you girth up far too tight. If I get off on a hack I don't want to have to walk home because I can't get back on.

Not a new invention but I must say I absolutely love suede seats and knee grips on saddles, makes me so much more secure and less likely to fall off whatever the horse gets up to. For saddles without a suede seat I use an Acavallo Gel-In seatsaver, expensive but worth every penny IMO. I don't like the Gel-Out because it glues me in place too much.

Hope this helps some :smile3: .

 

[Vicky Arabian]

Thanks Sugar and Spice.

Your thoughts much mirror my own, all these new fangled things I just get the feeling a good old fashioned flocked saddle is the way forward. I like the idea of treeless very much but your advice has certainly made me think twice. My boy doesn't really wait around once mounted so the thought of him starting the hack with me underneath him does not sound appealing lol.

The trouble is whatever saddler I seem to find someone's always got something bad to say about them, or the really top notch ones I think would laugh in my face with my budget and think it wasn't worth their time.

I really do want to get a good saddle thats the best fit for me and the boy, perhaps I should read the Facebook gossip columns so much, I just feel a bit lost and I've saved money to be able to afford this and dont want to be ripped off.

Sigh perhaps i am just over thinking the whole thing. Would you ever buy a saddle privately, if you didnt know the previous owner all that well. I've heard horror stories of broken trees etc, but also is a saddle something you can really fit yourself. I'm an experienced horse owner but have always had saddles fitted by a proper saddler, sadly he has retired now so i am at a bit of a loss.

 

[fuzzymooch]

HiVicky,

Not sure if its of any help but I had my chunky Arab (extra wide) a saddle made to measure by a company called equestrian of Walsall for 800 quid. It's a traditional leather treed saddle cut a bit straight at the front for a wide shouldered chap. Sadly lost our Arab but surprisingly with very little tweeking that saddle has gone on to fit my big guy (hispano arabe).

Have had three saddles from equestrian first two were second hand and brill, so comfortable.

Good luck

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Sigh perhaps i am just over thinking the whole thing. Would you ever buy a saddle privately, if you didnt know the previous owner all that well. I've heard horror stories of broken trees etc, but also is a saddle something you can really fit yourself. I'm an experienced horse owner but have always had saddles fitted by a proper saddler, sadly he has retired now so i am at a bit of a loss.

The majority of my saddles have come this way. I've had two broken trees in about 40 saddles, the occasional twisted tree and a few with uneven flocking. Currently sitting in my tack room is a Passier x2, Stubben x2, Thorowgood x2, Eldonian, Calcutts, Barnsby, Antill, Freemax, plus a few unbranded but good quality saddles, some are ancient but all are good as new and I paid about 2K for the lot. Private sales there are bargains to be had at the moment, second hand tack isn't having that much value especially if it doesn't have an adjustable gullet.

ETA with saddlers telling me that saddles fit which my horse says "no" to in no uncertain terms, then yes, I fit my own saddles. With the range of sizes and widths and tree shapes I've got I always find something suitable. The exception is if they come with uneven flocking, my horse has even muscle development so in those circumstances I'll have a saddler out to adjust flocking to suit him. There are good saddlers out there but they seem to be so hard to find and I gave up.

 

[Vicky Arabian]

Wow thanks Sugar and Spice and Fuzzymooch you have certainly given me some things to think about and more confidence to go out and buy something second hand!