Soon I’ll likely be getting my own horse, and wanted to know everyone’s favorite saddle brands.
I like Stubbens based on experience, HDR’s are alright but a bit slippery. I like soft, grippy leather that doesn’t have a grainy texture.
It really depends on the horse, the rider and the budget.
Once you’ve set a budget, you should have a professional saddle fitter recommend a few brands that are most likely to fit your horse (as some are made for horses with flatter backs, curvier backs, short backs, wide shoulders, etc.).
Once you’ve narrowed down what fits your horse well, you can sit in them and find out which ones have the right balance point and feel for you.
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Yep. Horse first, then saddle fitter, then saddle. Hopefully you can borrow something in the meantime!
Save yourself a ton of money and potential riding woes by going with an independent fitter or used tack shop that has a reputation for a good fitter on staff (like Pelham Saddlery which does remote fittings). Do a little research on key points of saddle fit and sit in as many as you can. A used high end brand is typically a better choice than a new low quality brand.
Also don’t let someone convince you to buy a saddle cause “it fits TB backs!” “It fits WB backs!”. My TB is built like a QH and went in a hoop tree, my friend’s WB had some sharky withers and went in a dropped panel County, etc etc. Wool is great if you can have it adjusted regularly, foam is fine if it fits well (and some horses prefer it 
).
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Thirding what’s been said already—it really depends on the horse. Mine hated the Stubben that I trialed (wanted to buck as soon as we cantered which is his go-to when he doesn’t like something), and my trainer had the same experience with Stubbens on her old horse. My horse is very sensitive as a general rule (not sore, just particular) and will not go in anything that isn’t wool-flocked.
Also seconding what @fivestrideline said about looking for high-end used saddles as opposed to lower quality new—my jump saddle was a demo model that I got for nearly half the list price despite it essentially being brand new. You might have to be more patient to find the right saddle but it’s worth it in the long run, imo.
As far as brands go, though, over half our barn rides in Bliss of London jump saddles and seems to really like them. My jump saddle is an Erreplus which I absolutely love and my horse goes beautifully in (though they’re really not cheap, even with the deal I got), and most of the dressage saddles in the barn are either from Patrick Saddlery or Kent and Masters. I don’t think anyone has a jump saddle from either but the dressage saddles are nice and I’m sure the quality of the jump saddles would be equivalent.
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Stubben are a quality brand, HDR is more economy.
Your big decision is wool flocking (British or German brands like Stubben, County, Black Country, Passier) or foam panels (French brands like Voltaire or CWD).
You are in general much better off with a high end second hand saddle than a new lower end saddle. However the important thing is the saddle fits the horse.
No brand fits every horse. Each brand has its own tree, and while each brand comes in different wither widths the curve of the tree tends to be similar within a brand. That’s why you need an independent saddle fitter to measure your horse and give you tracings to ship with.
All these quality brands come in a variety of leathers and seat sizes. If you are buying second hand you will look for your seat size but leather type will be a bit random.
I would suggest doing a big online search to read up on the various quality saddle brands, and make a list of the names so you recognize them. Then browse consignment stores online to see what is out there and the price range. Generally second hand is about half retail.
Any of the quality brands will be entirely satisfactory if it fits your horse and is the right seat size for you. My horse fits Passier like it was made for her so we have Passier dressage and jump both in 18 inch seats and are perfectly happy. She’s also fit County ok. She will not fit French foam at all. But that’s just us.
My recent experience is to spend the extra money to get the wool flocked rather than a foam flocked saddle, as a wool flocked saddle can easily be tweaked, adjusted or reflocked.
I had a Barnsby Cirrus that I loved, but once the foam panels were compressed, there were no options other than using a seat riser.
I am a big fan of County saddles, not just because they’re good quality saddles, but because there is a wonderful saddle fitter local to me.
I’d find an independnet saddle fitter and get a nice used saddle. I’ve had custom that didn’t work twice and really like being able to see the actual saddle on the horse before I buy.
