Endurance Saddles

[Denali6298]

I’m sure this topic has been done to death but my search turned up little with the parameters set forth by my friend. She is looking for a comfortable trail/endurance saddle for her mustang. She is aiming for a 25 LD this coming year and is starting to do some camping with her mare.

I’m guessing she would prefer a more English type saddle from the links she sent me. She has found a saddle rep near her that sells Kent and Masters as well as Thornhill saddles. She is also not opposed to buying used.

Any recomendations for saddle brands and where where she could find them in her budget of $1500 or less?

She hates wintecs so those are out.

[Guilherme]

@Denali6298

I’m sure this topic has been done to death but my search turned up little with the parameters set forth by my friend. She is looking for a comfortable trail/endurance saddle for her mustang. She is aiming for a 25 LD this coming year and is starting to do some camping with her mare.

I’m guessing she would prefer a more English type saddle from the links she sent me. She has found a saddle rep near her that sells Kent and Masters as well as Thornhill saddles. She is also not opposed to buying used.

Any recomendations for saddle brands and where where she could find them in her budget of $1500 or less?

She hates wintecs so those are out.

Used Stubben Scout. It was designed by Stubben Switzerland after WWII as the primary saddle for the Belgian military and police. That means it’s a “man’s saddle” as there were no women in those uniforms on horses in those days. But if it fits her it is very well constructed, has lots of d-rings for stuff, and fits a wider range of conformations that some other designs.

G.

[Denali6298]

@Guilherme

Used Stubben Scout. It was designed by Stubben Switzerland after WWII as the primary saddle for the Belgian military and police. That means it’s a “man’s saddle” as there were no women in those uniforms on horses in those days. But if it fits her it is very well constructed, has lots of d-rings for stuff, and fits a wider range of conformations that some other designs.

G.

Where could she find such a saddle? I don’t buy into the whole “women’s” saddle shtick. Twist and center of balance is different in all saddles. Like when I went golfing and rented clubs. The guy dragged out female sized clubs. Way too short. I looked at him and said could you golf with these? He says no I’m too tall. I say well I’m about your height so why on earth would you think they would work for me!:lol:

[Guilherme]

@Denali6298

Where could she find such a saddle? I don’t buy into the whole “women’s” saddle shtick. Twist and center of balance is different in all saddles. Like when I went golfing and rented clubs. The guy dragged out female sized clubs. Way too short. I looked at him and said could you golf with these? He says no I’m too tall. I say well I’m about your height so why on earth would you think they would work for me!:lol:

As for shopping, Google is your friend!!! They are not a common saddle but they do appear from time to time.

As to “women’s issues,” this may be one place where they are real. Men and woman have different pelvic conformations and while they may not be all that Earth-shattering they do exist. My wife does NOT like my saddle at all. She rides a Stubben Siegfried VSD/DL which is visually very similar to the Scout but is different.

One downside, here, is that the smallest Scout seat is 18".

By the way, the Siegfried VSD/DL saddle is also a very good trail/endurance saddle and we bought hers used and sent it back to Stubben USA. They put 10 d-rings on it for a reasonable price and now she can hang all kinds of stuff, too!!! It comes in smaller seat sizes as well.

The Stubben tree in an all purpose saddle is tough to beat for rider and horse comfort. It also seems to fit a wider variety of conformations than some other tree designs.

A quick scan showed a few dozen Stubbens on E-Bay and there were some nice looking Siegfrieds starting at under $400.

I don’t often recommend specific sellers but I’ve done business on three occasions with usedsaddles.com and have been very satisfied with them. In each case they actually delivered a bit more than was promised at a very fair price. Just a suggestion, as it’s been a few years since my last transaction and things do change!!!

As you might guess, I’m a Stubben fan based upon their engineering and quality of build and material. Not cheap, but you do get what you pay for!!!

G.

[Denali6298]

Thanks for your advice I’ll pass it on! As for women’s issues, well that wasn’t a thing until recently and yes the twist of the saddle can make a difference. However, I have never in my almost 30 years needed a “woman’s” saddle.

[smilesthepony]

I was looking for something similar for a hard to fit horse and I ended up with a Duett. I loved it, and it has been a great saddle for many miles. Another brand to look at is the reactor panels, everyone I know who has one seems to love them and you can get one used in that price range. Black country also makes saddles that are good for the wide beasties. I’ve never liked the thornhills, balance always felt strange to me in all of their models and they felt cheap. There was a saddle shop in PA? that specialized in black country and would do a consult based on a tracing, that might be an option. Good luck!