palo1
Well-Known Member
Oh the number of times there's a sharp intake of breath because the saddle costs more than their horse - if you're buying a less expensive horse its breeding has had less focus on carrying a saddle, they CAN be tricky to fit, and you'll possibly need to pay a decent sum for a saddle. Still nowhere NEAR the cost of fancy schmancy European competition saddles though, and arguably better quality and longer lasting!
This made me laugh!! We all suck our teeth here at the cost of saddles (any saddles!) but always have to accept the cost in the end. I am often riding for 6-8 hours at a time, over hugely varied terrain, serious gradients, occasional obstacles and at all speeds. I know exactly how important a really, really good saddle is BUT I am ever hopeful that somehow, somewhere there will be a fantastic, second hand saddle that will fit one of our horses to perfection, tucked away selling for pennies. Obviously if my saddle fitter can't find this unicorn then she is not looking hard enough!!! There are so many sorts of cob too that some will be better made as riding horses than others. My lovely girl is definately designed and bred to carry a saddle - clearly a very, very nice one ! The cost of the saddle was sadly one of the considerations when buying the young horse - my entire budget had to take quite a chunk into account for tack. Obviously the more expensive the horse, in relative terms the cheaper the saddle.