Opinions please - best english saddle around?

[Yuki]

I'm looking for advice on which saddles people prefer to go for and WHY?

Leather over synthetic?
High back on the seat for dressage?
Price range people stick to for a top end saddle and what do they expect?
If it's a high quality saddle brand would you expect it to still need to be altered to fit your horses back?

So much out there and it can be difficult to find the best after sieving through the mediocre stuff!

Opinions please!

 

[Abacus]

As always you get what you pay for. Personally I like the Ideal saddles for quality and value, both the Ideal Susannah and GPs like the Event or Grandee. They seem to fit a wide range of horses well, can be adjusted (and usually are if you buy a new one), are widely available second hand and aren't too expensive either new or used. I have never got on with Albions although I have tried a few. I quite liked a Jaguar saddle which I had on trial but an Ideal Susannah fitted better and I preferred it.

Definitely leather. I have spent up to £1200 on a new Ideal but most of the time buy second hand for around £600 or less. I realise they aren't the highest end, but they are certainly good enough for me.

 

[Greylegs]

I'm very pro Black Country saddles. Currently use their Eloquence dressage most of the time and have a GPX on order. Lovely quality saddlery, hand made to measure for my not-easy-to-fit highland.

Think it's worth looking around though because some makes seem to suit different types of horses. I love Ideal stuff but couldn't get one to fit my boy's broad back.

 

[sbloom]

You do tend to get what you pay for. Basically any saddle needs fitting, quality is NOTHING to do with whether it fits or not, but I like a saddle to be top quality, good value, and to fit REALLY well (but then I am a saddle fitter!). You really are best not worrying about these kinds of questions and finding something that fits, within your budget, from a recommended or trusted saddle fitter.

High back on a dressage saddle - the back is the "cantle", and it relates to the depth of the seat, which does affect how it fits the horse. There are some deep seats with high pommel and cantle that will fit flat backs for instance, but not many. A cantle can be made taller, adding to the original tree shape, but the webbing that then forms the seat can make you tip forwards if it has been overdone. Just see what you like riding in.