Synthetic or leather?

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BraveHart

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Girlie is ready for her first grown up saddle! I can't decide between leather or synthetic! I like the Kent& Masters GP cob and also the Thorowgood t4. I realise it might come down to which fits her better when saddle man comes out next week but which would you guys go for? (she is a 14.1 wide fit welshie!) Thanks!
 
I;ve been in a similar position as you in the last few weeks finding a saddle for a young horse. Really struggled to find a decent leather saddle to fit - I like close contact saddles with a narrow twist but this type of saddle doesn't suit the horse.

I ended up having numerous saddle fitters and many second hand saddles "fitted" but none I felt fitted well enough. I'm also a bit of a "saddle snob" and wanted to avoid synthetic saddles!

However I now have a Thorowgood T4 and really pleased with it. Fits the horse like a glove and she seems to be happy with it as well.

And realistically not many people pay much attention to what saddle you're using anyway. To me horse comfort is paramount, which will in the long run improve horse performance...
 
Personally I would never have anything but leather. Will last a lifetime if good quality and well cared for, I've always found it more comfortable and easier to fit to the horse and generally looks smarter too.
 
alittlebitofmagic said:
Girlie is ready for her first grown up saddle! I can't decide between leather or synthetic! I like the Kent& Masters GP cob and also the Thorowgood t4. I realise it might come down to which fits her better when saddle man comes out next week but which would you guys go for? (she is a 14.1 wide fit welshie!) Thanks!
Click to expand...

Between those two the fit will be pretty much the same as they are made by the same co. Until this week I had both but sold my K and M as I never used it I preferred the lighter weight of the T4 and that I could go to the beach or get it wet or muddy without worrying!

I recently got fed up of constantly changing gullets and went treeless and found that my mare goes much better as her shoulders are less restricted
 
I sit the other side it seems as i prefer synthetic over leather.

I just like the ease of care for synthetic and you dont have to worry about getting rained on, scratches or scuffs, or damp issues in the tack room (my tack room gets quite damp and leather quickly get mold :()

I was riding a couple of days ago and it started raining and a fellow livery commented that my saddle was getting wet and I walked in from the arena. When I said 'it's okay it's synthetic' she was amazed, she thought it was leather, as you cant tell it's synthetic just by looking at it!
 
I will only ever have leather. I've tried to ride in synthetics but they just don't have the same feel.
 
Thanks so much for your replies, but after reading hem all I'm still split. Haha. Thanks for the tip re them both being a similar fit - I didn't realise they are made by the same people!
 
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