WESTERN SADDLES v ENGLISH FOR HAPPY HACKER

[zeuscleoharmony]

I have been on the looking out for a western saddle, synthetic ideally, which will fit my 16.2 hh ID x Cob. He is currently ridden in a Thorowgood T6, either W or XW (sorry can't remember off the top of my head). Do you have one, do you know of one? How does western saddles compare to english? I'm a happy hacker, very relaxed and thought it might be a more relaxing saddle to ride in, just don't know. The only thing I am not too keen on is the belly strap that runs from the back of the saddle under the belly - is it really necessary? Some saddles I have seen have them, some don't. Thank you. xx

 

[MrsMozart]

Can't remember about the belly strap, but I lived on a ranch for a while and we rode Western all the time. Hated it

. Felt so far removed from the ned

.

I think that it is certainly interesting, and I know many, many people like it, but I guess each to their own

.

 

[Jazzelle29]

Ahhh- western every time!

The back belly strap is called a back cinch- and it isn't strictly needed for hacking.

Check out WES uk or the western saddler (google them).

Bear in mind though that a western saddle still requires careful fitting, plus a good quality saddle pad underneath-beware those Ebay bargain sets- often very poor quality!

 

[MrsMozart]

J - an interesting point about fitting. We used to have one saddle: it was suited to the rider and used on many horses. The saddle blanket took up the 'horse fitting' issue.

 

[Ezme]

How about an aussie stock saddle? I know a few happy hackers who love stock saddles as they're closer to the horse than western but have the comfort factor. I think they're cheaper too

 

[Cahill]

i had me a western saddle for a while,i have got rid if it now because everytime i went to ride i looked at both saddles on the racks and thought `i`ll use the light one,western next time` and so it ended up being not used,it was quite heavy.

believe me-western saddles are just as complicated to fit as english

quarter-horse bars,semi-quarter horse bars and full,then the type of cut then the actual size.

 

[canteron]

ID x .... how wide is you horse - I only ask because I had been toying with the idea of a Western Saddle and asked the Saddle Fitter last time he came.

He thought my horse was too wide and pointed out that the horses Western Saddles are designed for are generally relatively fine boned?

 

[Ezme]

Dunno, some QH's are build like the proverbial Sh*thouse!

 

[horseywelsh]

how about a treeless saddle?? some are in between the english and western style and i know alot of happy hackers that like them.

never rode in western style myslef, but i know some people who have tried and after riding english much prefer english.

 

[Ezme]

I tried western last year at the mendip stud thinking I would love it because I've always been into letting horses carry themselves, think for themselves on a light contact (although not that light!) but I didn't like it..... I rode a schoolmaster and a young horse, and I don't know... I felt like a passenger and like I was just using both mares (even when the baby buggered off with me! That was very funny, luckilly she was in a snaffle so just took up a contact and circled till she calmed!) and I think most of it was down to the saddle. I mean I totally get the point, long distance, working riding but not for me. I am very interested in trying out a stock saddle one day though.

 

[Enfys]

Western, I would never voluntarily go back to an English saddle for hacking about. All my horses will go perfectly happily in both though.

Cahill, I cheated. I have a very comfortable, and lightweight western saddle, frowned upon naturally, but I really don't care. I can lift it without giving myself a hernia so I'm happy. My leather ones sit gathering dust on a stall wall, the cats use them as beds.

Canteron, there are different sizes for western as there are for other types, your saddle fitter obviously has never met a QH (not so many in the UK admittedly, I hadn't either until I escaped) QH's are not generally dinky horses, both mine are pretty stocky. The Paint would take an extra extra wide English saddle, she's built like an outhouse.

 

[Cahill]

i went to a demo about these...
http://www.sequoiawestern.co.uk/saddlery/saddlery.htm

(see how many different widths they have?)

while i was there they fitted a chunky highland,the saddles are fantastic but cost £1000`s