Over the past year I have gotten more and more into trial riding and camping with my horse and less and less into the Dressage / Eventing scene. I have a 16 H tall wither OTTB (yes my thoroughbred loves the trail and weekend camping).
What is the best trail saddle you can recommend? I know nothing about them and/or how they fit. I’ve been using my close contact saddle for full day trail rides and my knees are about to give out on me.
Thanks , and please, I’m not looking to break the bank, under $800 would work.
The best saddle is one that fits you and the horse.
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Learn saddle fit. Rather it’s Western style, English, military, or Australian. They all fit differently and you need to figure which one you want. Then you need to do all the research you can. Call the people at Horse Saddle shop, they will help you out. Their saddles aren’t cheap buy they help with saddle fitting and they have tons of articles on there website. After you know more you can (1) take your horse to tack shop and try some saddles on or (2) get some templates of your horses back and then take them to your local tack shop. Then put them on some saddles and see what might fit. Hope that helps!
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You need a saddle that fits both you and your horse, like noted above.
With that said, I’m really comfortable on long trail rides in my Wintec Pro AP or my Wintec Pro Dressage. Neither will break the bank and while they don’t fit every horse, you do have a degree of adjustability.
I spent a lot of time swimming my horse at the beach this past summer, and I certainly appreciated being able to ride into the water with my saddle with no worries about it getting soaked. I also appreciated the grippy equisuede material when my horse had momentary brain farts.
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I am very comfortable in my dressage saddle for rides up to 3 or 4 hours. I get tired but I would in a Western saddle too.
I love my Sensation dressage saddle.
Took the words out of my mouth!
At least 95% of my time in the saddle is spent on the trails. It’s how I keep my horses conditioned. My primary discipline is barrel racing so I do all my riding in my barrel saddle. It’s perfectly comfortable for day-to-day use and even if I do happen to do a longer trail ride with friends.
So as said:
- Needs to fit your horse
- Needs to be comfortable for you!
The cheapest way to start trying saddles is ask your friends.:yes: Ask if you can toss it on your horse’s back and see how it fits. Or maybe ride their horse for 2 minutes and see how it feels to you first impression.
If you primarily enjoy trail riding, I would probably suggest looking at endurance saddles or else Western trail saddles.
I have a Barefoot Tahoe, and can ride in that thing ALL day. It fits me and the horse, its light weight, and has some rigging strings I can use to tie my gear off with. I ride with a breast collar, and its super stable.
All of you have such great feedback! May I add, that regardless of the saddle you use, you add a pair of those adjustable stirrups (the ones you can pivot just at the top of the stirrup.) There are models designed for both Western/ AP / trail and endurance. I often wonder whether if I had used them decades and many miles ago, I wouldn’t be facing knee replacements now. Just a thought!
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I enjoy my Tucker Trail saddle. I think they make the best trail saddles but you can’t find them new for under $800. I bought mine of Ebay brand new and used PayPal credit to pay for it.
Also wanted to add that I switched to Endurance from Eventing and Show Jumping. I did my first two seasons of Endurance on my Thoroughbred mare that I used to compete in the jumping sports with. She definitely enjoys life on the trail more. She’s now 18 and can’t stay sound enough for E-rides, so she’s my trusty trail horse.
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This is exactly right. It might be a dressage, Aussie, cut back, western, or whatever you are used to riding in and feels comfortable.
I like to trail ride in my jumping saddle since we like to canter or gallop when possible and if there is a tree or other obstacle in the way we’re over it. I have ridden all day in it.
