:eek: Please do not put one of these :eek: butt uuugly saddles on your [B]lovely black mare !?!?!!!
there will be consequences … just saying …
someone will have to come in the middle of the night and STEAL … Ella !!
this is not a threat rather a promise …:winkgrin:[/B]
HAHAHAHA! :lol:
Hey Zu Zu - I hope you’re doing well!!!
This post has a very strong advertising odor! Poster just joined yesterday, and only 2 posts, both hyping Badlands Equine and BUA saddles…
I went to their website. Did I read correctly that this was designed by experts from the automotive industry???
I clicked on every link looking for details on tree design and benefits for the horse. Everything I saw was very general and in Ad language.
Initial impression:. Not great.
I’d be willing to buy something ugly that was designed with the horse’s best interests. I don’t think this fits the bill.
Yes, this gives me pause too.
Well said.
G.
OMG, we’ve found The Blue Saddle! :eek:
:lol:Save
Yes, sorry Mara, my apologies for the strong odor of advertisement. I work for neither BUA nor Badlands. I just really am that impressed with the saddle. And I should take this time to make it very clear that I ordered my own saddle for full cost - I have not received any kickback from either company. I strongly encourage a trial if you are even remotely interested in the saddle (if you can get past the appearance!).
I checked out the website, and I have to say it’s terrible! The pictures are TINY, and you can’t enlarge them to even get a good look at the product. I looked at the endurance saddle and the pictures show more “gear” than saddle.
Can’t imagine spending that kind of money on a saddle without even being able to get good closeup pictures, from all angles, and both sides.
I thought so too in looking at the available pictures, but to me it doesn’t feel that way. The only mistake I made was adding a Mattes pad under the saddle once - that was a terrible idea. With the Mattes pad I felt like I was hovering above the horse, and the entire balance of the saddle changed. Won’t be doing that again!!
And for the WIN !!!
[B]The blue ribbon goes to Altag !!!
:lol::lol::lol:[/B]
For what it’s worth, I have a good friend (who doesn’t spend her time on line 
) who rode in a BUA recently at the tail end of a very long hunt for a saddle to fit her high withered TB that has some back issues. She said that it was by far the most comfortable saddle she’s ever ridden in, and that her horse immediately went better than in any other saddle she’s tried. Even though the cantilevered design separates the rider panels from the horse panels to a great extent, engineering wise the riders weight will still be distributed along the horse panels. I found that the web site had good information and and fairly long video, so perhaps it’s been undated. The saddle won’t be for everyone, but I’m glad to see that someone is thinking outside the box and trying to apply new technology to our tradition bound sport.
Hi, Just joined as I’m thinking of trying a Bua saddle. There are a LOT of positive reviews from people who’ve tried them (barely a negative word) and I’m wondering how everyone’s getting on with them later on down the line. Hinderella, do you know if your friend with the TB is still happy with hers? Hope you see this - i know the thread’s from last year! Thanks in advance. Beanz
Will a Bua fit my horse?
Currently, Bua has one tree size/shape. Other seat sizes are planned and tree shapes may be as well. For now, Bua is
still able to fit a wide range of angles. The panels attach on the bottom portion of the tree, so are able to rotate a great
deal. Excuse my cardboard “horse,” but here are pics of Bua fitting 80, 90, 100, and 130 degrees (in case you need to
fit a floor-shaped horse! The gullet is also wide to avoid impingement on spinal processes or pressure the trapezius
(about 3.5" or 9cm at the trapezius) and throughout the length of the panels it’s around 2.5" or 7cm. This fits well with
the "3 finger rule some know for english saddles and it’s also a soft gullet, so it might narrow a bit with weight in the
saddle, but the foam still protects the spine. There is also a bit of leeway to narrow or widen the panels via velcro.
^^^ screams of not understanding saddle fit!
So . . . the entire staff of BUA just joined COTH?
I bought a BUA saddle around 8 months ago and absolutely love it. My mare, who has always been “tricky” about saddling/girthing, has changed noticeably - for the better. I have used it on a few different horses and found it to fit them all very comfortably. I think the main difference is that there are no “points” on the tree going down the front of the saddle, therefore no risk whatsoever of impinging on shoulder movement. I have GP flaps on mine, and have done dressage, a LOT of forestry/farm riding, one day events, and hunting in it.
I went and looked at the website. I do think it’s interesting to have someone try to reinvent that saddle as it really is a very 18th century technology we are using!
My impression is though that for all the modularity, there aren’t really much options for addressing how the tree fits the horse. Besides gullet width and height, the crucial thing in saddle fit is that the tree has to be the correct curve for the horse’s back. The ideal is getting a saddle built from scratch after fitting a bare tree to the back of the horse (around here only handicraft Western saddle makers do this). Or with an English saddle, choosing the best match you can find and having the wool panels flocked to fit.
Looking at Bua, I think that if it was a good fit for your horse, you’d be fine. And if it wasn’t a good fit for your horse, it would be unusable. It might be interesting if they provided a range of trees, and perhaps a range of panels. As it is, it’s modular (with all the potential structural issues that entails) but not particularly customizable.
I also don’t love the idea of having my saddle rely on velcro and zippers. I know what happens to velcro and zippers at the barn!
Jellybeanz, sorry, I"m not here often & didn’t see your quote of my earlier post. My friend did not keep the BUA saddle. Her horse has some other health issues and may be retired, so she didn’t want to get a saddle for a horse that won’t use it for long.
Red Barn, I really don’t understand your statement about “the entire staff of BUA”. Most of those who have posted on this thread have been around quite a while, and if you look at their other posts are clearly not any part of any saddle company staff. Perhaps you were just surprised to find a number of riders interested in new saddle technology?
Have had my BUA for a little over a year now and still loving it. I have consistently ridden a variety of different horses in the saddle and all go comfortably in it. The leather components have held up well and still look brand new after a little cleaning
If I had to choose just one “best” thing about this saddle I would say it is the security of the seat. I have ridden some challenging horses in it and I consistently refer to the saddle as my “seatbelt”, keeping my secure through bucks, over-exaggerated jumps, spins, etc. The shock absorption of the cantilevered tree really helps with that!!
Like with every new thing, years down the road we may be happy with it, or think, what a flop, didn’t work for xyz
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