American Saddlery- quality or not

[chebeau]

Hi,

I have come across a saddle made by American Saddlery that may work for my gelding. I know very little about western saddle brands. All I know is it is made here in Chattanooga where I live. Is this a quality brand or not?
Thanks!

Happy riding,
Jessie & the Stinky Pony aka Bosco

[craz4crtrs]

Not junk, but not expensive. How does it fit you and your horse? Are you riding in it 8 hrs a day or just a couple times a week? It may not hold up as well as a high end or it may be great. Big Horn look to be part of the same company and they are midline saddles.

[SouthernTrailsGA]

American Saddlery has two steps of quality, basic and good.

As with any of the bigger Companies, a Saddle made 8-10 years ago is probably a little higher quality than the newer ones.

Do you have a Model number of the Saddle you are looking at? or a picture?

.

[chebeau]

http://www.thecowboyexchange.com/proddetail.php?prod=AS900

Above is the link to the saddle. Part of the reason I am considering it is the fact the tree is the same as the one used in the Abetta.

Thanks!

Happy riding,
Jessie and the Stinky Pony aka Bosco

[SouthernTrailsGA]

[QUOTE=chebeau;6368730]
http://www.thecowboyexchange.com/proddetail.php?prod=AS900

Above is the link to the saddle. Part of the reason I am considering it is the fact the tree is the same as the one used in the Abetta.

Thanks!

Happy riding,
Jessie and the Stinky Pony aka Bosco[/QUOTE]

That Model is well worth the 525.00

I have seen that one several times as I have been to the American Saddlery manufacturing plant on two occasions, I used to sell them a few years back.

.

[SouthernTrailsGA]

BTW, it has short skirts which is a plus and it does not weigh 35lbs, if memory serves me correct it is about 28lbs., which can be a benefit too

.

[Amymcree]

I bought my American Saddlery saddle brand new. The tack shop I bought it from showed me how to oil and condition it since it had a lot of rough leather. I did what they said and it conditioned well. I have owned it 3 years and it has a lot of trail miles on it. Every time I clean it up it looks brand new.

I would say that it is a ’ work horse’ saddle. Not fancy. Just a stout, decent made saddle.

Amy

[HydroPHILE]

I bought my American Saddlery All-American Roper (Rancher?) back in 2003, and I sold it in 2009. It was a great quality saddle. It held up to the rigors of working on a beef cattle farm for two seasons and still looked great when I sold it. Also because of their quality, the value of the saddle held up when I sold it.

I would have kept it had it not been full-QH bars and weighed close to (or over) 50 lbs.

Retail on my saddle was around $1100. Bought it at Hamp’s in Alpharetta for $750…sold it for $700 six years later.

[dandme]

Just wondering how you liked the saddle? I am new to Western saddles … it looks as if this would be a good saddle for a shorter backed horse? And he is a little wide…
Thanks!

[chebeau]

It is still on my list of saddles to try. I picked a very nice, lightly used Crates barrel style from the 1980s. It has similar measurents to what I need. I try it tomorrow. If it doesn’t work I am leaning toward the American Saddlery Arab saddles.