Best saddle for equitation rider around $2k?

[Renn_aissance]

[QUOTE=Pumalume;8754158]
Thank you again for all the info. At this point I am riding a variety of school horses. Hoping that once my trainer gets a better feel for how I ride and I find a horse that suits me best I’ll be sticking with one school horse and then maybe a lease down the road. Which is another reason I’m just trying to get my research done and taking my time to buy. prob 6+ months out.[/QUOTE]

Since you don’t own, you might consider buying a saddle with a pretty generic fit and a good shim pad to allow you to adapt the fit to most horses. Note I’m not saying all- regardless of Tad Coffin’s advertising campaign, a single saddle cannot fit all horses. But factors that make this work better include a generic tree size, a wider gullet to allow for extra room to shim, and a moderately curved tree. County does a pretty good job with this. :yes:

[Pumalume]

[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;8755078]
Since you don’t own, you might consider buying a saddle with a pretty generic fit and a good shim pad to allow you to adapt the fit to most horses. Note I’m not saying all- regardless of Tad Coffin’s advertising campaign, a single saddle cannot fit all horses. But factors that make this work better include a generic tree size, a wider gullet to allow for extra room to shim, and a moderately curved tree. County does a pretty good job with this. :yes:[/QUOTE]

That’s kind of what i’m thinking. Its another reason why I really like the county stabilizer i’m riding in. It has fit a quarter horse, thoroughbred, and a draft horse. It seems to fit every horse pretty well that it’s been used on. So as I’m doing research into it I’m starting to really consider finding a used County with very similar specs to the one I’m using now. Just want to get Buffalo or the XTR so the leather is a little more grippy. Everyone has been so great with all the info! I appreciate it sooooo soooo much!!!

[spaceagevalkyrie]

[QUOTE=Pumalume;8752456]
@lucassb have you or do you know anyone who has purchased a saddle from ebay? I’m just nervous i’m not going to get what i think i’m getting. Just want to be sure its totally reasonable to purchase a saddle from ebay or if i should use a more reliable site/vendor.[/QUOTE]

I did. It was a virtually impossible to find older saddle and I’d been looking for long enough that I took a chance. It arrived exactly how it was described and after taking it out of the box and shrieking with glee for roughly 47 minutes, it went straight on my horse and no one died in the process :winkgrin:

[Pumalume]

[QUOTE=spaceagevalkyrie;8761149]
I did. It was a virtually impossible to find older saddle and I’d been looking for long enough that I took a chance. It arrived exactly how it was described and after taking it out of the box and shrieking with glee for roughly 47 minutes, it went straight on my horse and no one died in the process :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]

This makes me so happy:) I’m going to demo a bunch an see what exactly i want/need and keep my out on ebay. I’m getting excited! thanks everyone!

[LaBelleEtoile]

I would second (or third or fourth) getting a used butet if your focus is equitation. They are impeccably balanced, and it’s very easy to find used butets with a medium width, more suited for a TB. It’s much harder to find butets with a wide tree used.