I am currently looking for a dressage saddle for my QH cross mare. My current jump saddle is a County Innovation. My horse’s back is very sensitive and I don’t know that much about saddle brands. Any suggestions?
Good info to include would be: your budget (“affordable” differs person to person), and more info about the general shape or features you need on a saddle. Does your County fit well and seem to work? There are lots of used County dressage saddles floating around for what I would consider a reasonable price. What do you mean by “sensitive” when it comes to your horse’s back? My mare is a complete princess and the pea, very sensitive to change, VERY quick to say when she doesn’t like something - do you mean that, or do you mean “sensitive” as in “sore”? In which case, this process may start with a vet or chiro/massage or really good saddle fitter (or combo of all three).
Another thing to consider - what do you need in a saddle? This will greatly influence the cost. For example, I am 6’ tall with exceptionally long legs - both femur and tibia - and I’m thin. I require a larger seat to accommodate my leg, and a more forward flap, plus I need to be careful of the block size. Add to that that my mare is short backed, and my saddle needs to be somewhat of a unicorn. I can’t generally find a $900 used saddle and call it a day.
Personally, I am a big fan of Schleese, and ride in a Heike Kemmer. It is currently verging on too long for my mare, but the swell thing about them is that I can have the panel entirely replaced for one two sizes smaller, which will give me what I need and be a better fit for my mare. Their trees are also extremely adjustable in terms of width and angle, and they are wool flocked so easily adjusted and maintained that way. My saddle was 3k used - but I could easily find something workable in the 2-2.5k range. The fitter who works with our barn is fantastic and she’s made a massive difference to my horse’s comfort and performance.
Other brands that are wool flocked would be: Stubben (not all, but a lot of them), Passier, County, Arabian Saddle Company (formerly Lovatt and Ricketts - I love these saddles and think they are underrated). Passier can be adjusted in terms of width and are wool flocked - but many are built on looong trees, though they do have a compact option now.
There are a lot of good brands. I do recommend buying a high quality saddle used for the best value. It can be helpful to work with a shop or saddle fitter who handles a number of brands to ID what features would best suit your mare (and be in the ballpark for you). I recently sold a 20 year old Passier saddle for a few hundred dollars (just to clear it out of my house). But if you have a budget of at least $1500, you’ll have a decent number of choices; a budget of $2500 will give you a broad range of choices for a quality used saddle.
FYI, dressage saddle brands seem to go in out and out of style, so you can sometimes get extra good deals on ones which are of less interest at the moment (ex. Prestige, Albion, County, Karl Niedersuss…some of this is region-specific).
You could also look at Thorowgood saddles as a non-leather new option. They work for a lot of horses (but not all).
My price range is on the lower side. I do not want to go over 2,000 if I don’t have to. My mare used to be sore from an ill fitting saddle (before the County). We then got a saddle fitter who led me to purchasing my current saddle. I think the County fits her really well, but I knew she was sore from the last saddle. We recently got her adjusted with Chiro, and she has been feeling amazing ever since. I want to have my saddle fitter out soon, and I’ve been searching eBay for anything. Harmony is in a Narrow in her County (We were told the tree runs big). I want to branch out from County. I have been looking at Black Countrys and Frank Baines. What do you know about these brands?
Also Harmony has grown a lot more muscular in the last couple months. My saddle fitter told me her back was uneven a few months ago. The flocking might need to be adjusted on my current saddle, but ever since the Chiro she has been very happy, so I think the County fits her well. Also my seat has gotten a lot better since a few months ago. I’m just anxious about looking for my next saddle bc of all the confusion I went through last time. My saddle fitter also talked about a saddle brand called Cardinal.
I bought a used County Warmblood 15 years ago for $500 and sold it 3 years ago for $750. It was one of my favorite dressage saddles because it fit a LOT of horses, just not the pear mare I had at that time. I got her a $2k Albion on ebay and I like it as well, but it’s a bit more stabilizing/confining of my upper leg. And it fit pear mare, so that was a plus. I know you want to branch out, but if the County tree style works for her and she has a sensitive back that is a bear I wouldn’t poke. There are a ton of County dressage saddles to choose from. Used you would have an easy time shopping in your price range.
I would stick with brands that are better known because they have a better resale value. I love my Albion but it doesn’t fit my horse anymore so I’m selling it to buy something wider. You can get some pretty nice ones for under $1500. Albions tend to keep their value if you have to sell it in the future.
Albion, Custom, County, and Black Country are all reputable brands that will hold value. That said, they all fit differently - and different models within the brand fit differently. I’d suggest working with a fitter who will bring an assortment of used saddles to your barn to try - or sending tracings out to have the horse fitted remotely.
Lots of good advice. If your mare is truly a narrow, you can often find a good used deal (as many of us have wide horses!!). Search Pelham Saddlery, etc. for examples. Sending out tracings to a good shop is a very reasonable approach if you don’t have lots of options locally.
I will also mention that your size (length of femur, length of leg) also has a big impact on how a saddle will fit you. I have quite short legs for my height (5’6"), so I need a fairly short flap. Tall riders often need a larger seat and a long flap to accommodate their legs.
I have looked at many Countys that are used on EBay, Facebook, and Pelham. Unfortunately I haven’t had much luck with finding a Narrow without the Skid Row panels. I appreciate the feedback.
I ride in a Roosli. Bought it many years ago as it was designed to fit me (long femur) and my then horse, a Trakhener. It’s fit a lot of horses going forward and has stood up well. They are not “popular” right now so you can probably pick one up for less than it’s quality would indicate. I’m also a fan of Kieffer saddles, many of which come on adjustable trees. Again, they are not trendy so you can pick them up for a good price but they are very well made.
I bought a like new Albion slk Ultima on eBay last month for 650 shipped. Take your time and you can get great value for your money.
The Stubben 1894 is a wonderful wool flocked saddle for $1999 new. The cost is low because it only comes in a few stock sizes but it is a lovely saddle. Super comfortable, great looking, and fits a wide range of horses.
I agree that Roosli saddles are excellent. Kieffers are very good value. For more narrow horses, Stubbens can be a great choice.
Ditto this. I just demoed one and really liked it. The width of the tree at the wither was perfect for my pony, but it didn’t fit her mid-back.
I have a Frank Baines Capriole that I love and am riding in right now. I think it is a smidge too long for my pony so I’m on the hunt for something with shorter panels, otherwise it is perfect.
Love Rooslis. They also have a good reputation for fitting a wide range of horses.
I was going to suggest County. Some brands offer wool upon request (Stubben), but that might be out of your price range.
I did get a Prestige on ebay with wool panels. I actually have it on consignment with VTO Saddlery. I’m not sure what you’re looking for, but its an 18" medium. Maybe take a look at some of their consignment saddles- they have a good selection.
Other than County, some Stubbens and Prestiges I’d say Black Country or pretty much any English made saddles should be wool as well.
Rick’s Heritage Saddlery usually has a large used inventory.
I was going to suggest Thorowgood as well. They are synthetic but fully flocked with wool. They also make some models with leather seats/knee flaps that run around $1,000 brand new. I just got mine a couple of weeks ago and I love it! Kent & Masters make an all-leather dressage saddle on the same adjustable tree that run around $1,600 new.
I used to have an Innovation. The trees do run wide. If your horse is a Narrow in an Innovation, she is probably a Medium-Narrow or even Medium in a regular County tree. Just an FYI- you said you are having a hard time finding a Narrow tree w/o SR panels.
I personally LOVE my Countys. I have a Perfection for my young horse and an Epiphany <3 <3 <3 for my going horse
