First Western Saddle

[shamumu14]

I have ridden English my whole life, and just recently have become very interested in riding Western for fun. I’m not looking to compete, just looking for a saddle to go on trail rides and light riding around my arena on my horses. I have two Arabians, and I would ideally be able to get a saddle that would fit them both, but I’m very unfamiliar with the way a western saddle fits so that may not be possible. For reference, my gelding rides in a wide gullet and my mare rides in a medium-wide, but I ride them both in each other’s saddles and use extra padding to fit them right. My gelding is 15.2 and about 1100 pounds and my mare is about 15.0 and 1000 pounds so they are very similar. The only difference would be that my mare, who I would most likely ride more in the western saddle, has a shorter back and more protruding withers. I’m also a college student, so I am definitely not looking to buy a custom saddle. I know that a custom saddle is going to be the best of the best, but right now I’m just trying to get some information and suggestions for a good starter saddle to see if it’s anything I would be interested in putting more money into

So questions galore time! What brand do y’all recommend? What type of saddle? Is it reasonable to expect to be able to find a decent used saddle for $400-$500? Do I need to purchase a saddle with the intention of fitting one horse or can I expect to find a saddle that, combined with a proper saddle pad/half pad, will fit both? My dressage saddle is a 16.5 inch and my jump saddle is a 17 inch, so what would be the rough seat equivalent of that? Is there anything I’m missing that I need to know?

Thank you in advance for any and all help, this is definitely not my area of expertise but I’m really excited to learn more!

[findeight]

Western saddles distribute the weight over a much wider area then English saddles and there are many padding options out there, usually priced less then comparable English options…even though they are larger. Kind of a “ premium” on English tack. The Western bridles usually don’t come with reins but the Western saddles do come with a cinch. Oh, the Western saddles are measured differently for seat size. Probably going to be smaller then English seat size. Try to sit in as many as you can before buying to avoid making a mistake.

With Arabs, most will take a medium tree and the biggest issues is the back of the saddle skirt is too long for their shorter backs and rubs. Look for a saddle with round skirts. They do make saddles designed for Arabs, Google search should turn them up. Likewise, careful with pads, they tend to be too long in the back too, look for shorter and you can get rounded back pads.

Yes, 500 should get you a decent used saddle for trail riding. Just figure out what you are going to need and who makes them first then look.

Good luck.

[ChestnutArabianMare]

I highly recommend the old Simco or Circle Y Arabian tree western saddles. Your budget is pretty realistic and should be able to get you what you’re looking for. They traditionally have the round skirt and have more “U” shaped bars - sort of like the western version of a hoop tree to accommodate laid-back shoulders.

I’m guessing you would ride in a 15" seat - there’s generally a 2" difference between English and western seat sizes.

Some examples on eBay, neither of which is mine (one is labeled a “Haflinger” saddle but still looks like it’s on an Arab tree to me, and the other ad has horrible spelling but still looks like an Arabian saddle):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-CICLE-Y-…wAAOSwh3xeawzf

https://www.ebay.com/itm/16-Used-Sim…el!49686!US!-1

[Equkelly]

I really like my bighorn saddle. I’m also an English rider but I have a western for starting youngsters and for trail riding. It fits a lot of different horses.