All saddles are crap except British ones?

[Rth88]

Nope, not expecting someone to look at the tracings and get the suggestion right on the first try. More looking for someone who could look at them and say “your horse will need a pretty flat tree and panels but decent wither clearance so I’d suggest looking at brands x, y and z.” Im just looing for someone to point me in the right direction of what might work in my budget. I was hoping the fitter would do that but she won’t give an answer as to whether anything might fit if it’s a not one of the British brands. Just a general suggestion of what direction I should be looking rather than me taking a guess off the pictures online and shipping ten saddles back and forth as a result.

Costco muffins it’s not letting me reply with quote but it was a medium wide

Exracehorserider your post made me laugh :lol:. Mine wasn’t that bad,

[Rth88]

Nope, not expecting someone to look at the tracings and get the suggestion right on the first try. More looking for someone who could look at them and say “your horse will need a pretty flat tree and panels but decent wither clearance so I’d suggest looking at brands x, y and z.” Im just looing for someone to point me in the right direction of what might work in my budget. I was hoping the fitter would do that but she won’t give an answer as to whether anything might fit if it’s a not one of the British brands. Just a general suggestion of what direction I should be looking rather than me taking a guess off the pictures online and shipping ten saddles back and forth as a result.

Costco muffins it’s not letting me reply with quote but it was a medium wide

Exracehorserider your post made me laugh :lol:. Mine wasn’t that bad,

[Rth88]

Whoops, sorry for the double post! It’s being glitchy telling me it can’t post then posting twice.

Scribbler yes, that’s where her cert is from. If that’s the case her feelings about other brands makes more sense now.

[sheltona01]

As far as I know, we are only required to work with 3 different brands. Not necessarily British, but I could be wrong. I know several SMS fitter that sell German saddles. However the more you know about saddles and saddle fitting, the more I appreciate British saddles for the quality control since they actually have independent standards not set by the saddle companies. That does not mean that I think other saddle brands are not good and that all British brands follow the SMS standards.

I do hate to hear stories like this because I think it gives all saddle fitters a bad name. Some of us really do try our best to give independent advice. However it is really hard to say this model from this brand will fit, because there are so many different brands and models. That is why I tend to use my saddles as demos about how I would like your saddle to fit and to educate you on how to search for a saddle yourself.

[js]

The best made saddle is the one that fits your horse, you, and your budget. Doesn’t matter where it’s made and while wool flocked is preferable if you find something else that works, then that’s okay. I have a Pessoa with bay flex panels that fits mt TB perfect, she is happy with and so am I.

[Sunflower]

You know, with the pound to the dollar at rates very favorable to the dollar, can you look at saddles for sale in the UK (online) once you know what your horse and you prefer, as another source for a second hand saddle? Shipping might set you back a little bit, but you might find you get a lot more for your money if you can find what you need this way.

[Scribbler]

If you have the tracings, you can take them around to consignments shops on your own, and see how they match up to the various brands’ trees.

[SonnysMom]

Try sending your tracings and pictures to Trumball Mountain or Pelham Saddlery. They both have decent stock of saddles and do remote fitting. I would call Pelham first as they have way more dressage than cc or ap.

Another option may be Rick’s Heritage Saddlery. I don’t know if they do remote fittings (saddlesource.com). They used to have a good inventory of used. Although the last time I was in they seemed to have less than previously.

[foursocks]

Definitely look for used higher end saddles. Black Country is a nice option- good quality, not as expensive as County but can have a similar fit.

I love a County for a sharkfin TB, and you can find some very nice ones used. I used to be a die hard wool flocked only person, but a good friend who is a pro decided to work with a Voltaire rep when she simply couldn’t find anything to fit her weird little UL event horse. She got a jumping and a dressage saddle that have finally made her insanely hard to fit and overly-sensitive TB happy- sharkfin, very narrow, but HUGE shoulders, weird back- and several of us now have Voltaires. My round WB is easy to fit, but I am not, and we both love my Stuttgart. Two other friends have a short, fat little TB and a very large, slab-sided TB, and they both found Voltaires that fit them beautifully.

I’m not saying go for a Voltaire- they are very trendy and probably too expensive for your budget- but I am advocating an open mind. Try out whatever brand you come across that seems like it might fit, because you never know what might end up working out.

[ivy62]

I have a beautiful L’Apogee that fit my shark finned, Mt Witherest,Tb… He loved it and so do I. I know Kitty probably would look at your tracings, as she did for me, and see if she has anything that might work…

[jaybird660]

A saddle doesn’t have to be British made to be quality but they do have a certain set of SMS standards. That being said, there are many good saddles made in other places and many that are not great. Usually, you get what you pay for but there are a lot of midrange saddles not made in England. If the saddle is decently made, fits your horse and you like it then that is a good saddle.

I personally like UK saddles as they do have the standards mentioned and generally have good options to make them fit a wide variety of horses.

[invinoveritas]

German and French saddles are very good.
All saddles depend on which brand you buy. Most countries have good saddles and then the cheaper saddles not made as well.
But then some reasonably priced saddles are made better than some very expensive saddles, so buy what you like and what fits your horse.

[ace]

Are you in Western Canada, and does the fitter’s name start with D?

Sounds very familiar. A lot of people seem to like her, but I don’t trust her one bit.

[mvp]

Well, I can’t figure out what “crap” means. You or the fitter would have to be more specific before anyone can agree that this statement indicates a bad saddle fitter.

Does that refer to design? To manufacture and materials? To quality vs. cost?

I could see an independent saddle fitter making an off-the-cuff disparaging comment about the $5k+ french saddles sold by fitters dedicated to their one brand, and claims that they can make that one make of saddle fit every horse. IMO, there are many more British saddle makers who are willing to work with independent saddle fitters. That might explain this fitter’s allegiance to them.

But there something about the claimed statement and the OP’s posts that aren’t terribly clear.

[Rth88]

Mvp, she was not more specific so I couldn’t tell you. She did say that all the french brands made saddles to fit the rider and not to fit horses. But beyond that when I would ask “what do you think about about (prestige, stubben, amerigo, etc)?” the response of either “crap” or “oh yuck” with no elaboration. No idea what issue is with wool flocked Stubbens or Amerigos or any other non-British brands. I was informed that foam saddles ruined horses backs and that is why she would only reccomend wool flocked, but as for why she’s not open to most brands I’m not sure. She isn’t a fan or Black Country and not a huge fan of county either but with no elaboration on why.

Ace, nope I’m in the states

[SendenHorse]

Well, I like my Kent and Masters better then many $ saddles that I have had or sat in, so I’m a convert. They are very well balanced and well made. People are actually surprised with the lower cost, they don’t believe me

[Kerrysmom818]

Trh88 - I had a similar experience with a certified saddle fitter. I will say, she did a better job of fitting my horse, than she did me, but in the end it all came down to brand loyalty over what would have worked best for both of us.

I ended up switching barns and trainers and then saddles. I now ride in a Verhan. And it’s a great fit for both of us.

[Beam_Me_Up]

IME independent saddle fitters prefer wool flocked because 1) they can adjust the flock in those saddles, which is a big part of being a fitter and 2) those brands tend to be more horse-fit flexible (more tree width options, longitudinal shape/length options).

They can evaluate the fit of a foam saddle, and possibly advise on shimming if that is a fit option.

UK saddles are often nicer (design, leather, build quality) than the Argentine (and more $), but fit is more important. IME a lot of independent fitters feel French saddles are a poor value, (more $, fewer fit options, softer but shorter lived leather) though that doesn’t equal crap.

Unfortunately with used saddles there are quite a few costs (the consult, the shipping back and forth, the evaluation of each). You can try a different independent different saddle fitter in person or online for better suggestions. The Saddle Geek also does really interesting consults–she did one for my horse, not free, but it included a wide variety of UK/French/South American options. she posts on COTH sometimes too.

[marley]

Remember that a big part of many saddle fitters’ income is earned through tweaking and re-flocking saddles. And because many of them have studied to become Master Saddlers in England, it stands to reason that they would be familiar with and fans of the English brands.

[anmoro]

Several years ago, I had a saddle fitter come out to fit my horse. She sold a specific brand and my horse (and I) hated the saddles. Instead of insisting it was the best saddle for me, she measured and traced my horse and recommended a brand she did not sell. That showed me that she truly cared about the horse and not commissions. I like a fair amount of British saddles, but I also love Prestige which is Italian and still wool flocked. The leather is butter and the price points cannot be beat. You can get a custom starting at $2100.

I also found that SMS saddle fitters only sell saddles that are part of the SMS group and are very comfortable openly bashing other brands. I’ve seen it from a few. Not saying they all do, but sadly I have encountered a few.