I’m looking for a treed endurance saddle. I’ve been an English rider for most of my riding life but find as I get older that I prefer the security of a western saddle on trail rides. But I hate the horn so i’m looking at endurance saddles. I also feel awkward posting in my western saddle, if that makes sense? I feel like I’m in too much of a chair seat to comfortably rise. I currently have an older Tucker western saddle. Any help would me much appreciated.
Take a look at Specialized saddles
I like my Abetta saddle better than my leather ones. They are light (under 20 lbs) & tough. The stirrups are hung further back than I like, but you might consider that ideal. They make a variety without horns.
I went from an English saddle (Passier dressage) to an Abetta endurance and an very happy. The Abetta Serenity was not for me - I have the regular model. Dressage saddle was 18 inch and my Abetta is 16 inch.
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/abetta-endurance-saddle/SLT901117/
I have a Renegade Endurance from Allegheny Mountain Trail Saddles and I LOVE it.
I have 2 Abetta endurance and they are comfortable to ride in and good quality for the price. I would go for the padded seat. I have both padded and unpadded( very old one) and it makes a difference.
Hmmmm…appreciate all the responses. I actually have an Abetta endurance that I bought years ago for my husband who informed me that he “didn’t do English.” Since I “didn’t do western” at the time I compromised and bought him an endurance. He has used it…let me see…NEVER. I rode in it one time and wasn’t a fan. I’m thinking it has an unpadded seat. Very unpadded. I’m thinking about ordering a Lovatt & Rickets Solstice and possibly a Tucker Bayou Plantation Endurance only because I have experience with both brands. I had a Solstice years ago and really liked it. It’s hard to spend the trial/shipping money on saddles I have no experience with and have never even seen…
my daughter just cut the horn off her Wintec, all it took was a hacksaw
1 Like
I’ve ridden a Stubben Scout, their police and military saddle, for almost 15 years. I don’t do Endurance but it is very comfortable for me and the horse. Some of the lower end saddles skimp on engineering and quality of construction. One vet bill due to a sore back will go a long way towards a really good saddle (no matter what the shape of that saddle).
This is an area where quality doesn’t cost, it pays! 
G.
Love my Solstice, just finished 50 miles in it! I was all set a more endurance-style saddle (like a Specialized) when I found the Solstice, and it just fit great. I think the Specialized and a few others do make great saddles, just find the one that fits for you and your horse. Is there a local saddle fitter that you can try on the different saddle types? That was what sold me, a local saddle fitter has a literal truckload of different types, it was so helpful to try the other types. Good luck!
Irish Horse, what kind of horse do you use your Solstice on?? There are a couple Solstice saddles out there, one demo which is slightly discounted, but I’m struggling to figure out sizing. I bought mine for my Arab who had a decent wither and average back, then a warmblood cross and it fit them both just fine. I’m thinking it was a medium wide but don’t remember.
I use my Solstice (wide tree) on a big shouldered Arab. He has a decent wither, I’d say is medium to narrow through his body, but is 15.2 or 15.3 and big for an Arab. (Photos of him in the link in my signature). I know a lot of people with Arabs of different sizes who love the Solstices, when they come up on used endurance tack sites they usually get picked up quickly! Those are good places to look for saddles.
Mr. Squirrel has a Tucker Equitation Endurance that he says he likes. I use it when I ride his appy mare and find it very comfortable even though the seat is a size too big for me.
1 Like
Guessing saddle widths is worse than figuring out womens clothing sizes.
Not sure if this helps, but I own two other English models of Lovatt and Ricketts- the Elan and the Ellipse. Both are wide, which I was told at the time of purchase was their most popular size. My horse is a 15.2 half-Arab with a decent withers, wideish shoulders. His back has a little curve from front to back (tried a Duett once and it was too flat and bridged), and a big barrel with well sprung ribs. He was measured to a M for the gullet plate for Bates/Wintecs but the one we tried still didn’t fit well riding. He was too wide for a Keiffer Wein MW. I think he would be a wide in other British saddles like Frank Baines or Albion.
I second the Tucker Equitation Endurance. I’ve had mine for many years and find it very comfortable; I post in it with no trouble at all. It does not have a horn but does have a high-ish front pommel which is good to grab if needed and to attach things to. It has free-swinging English-type stirrup leathers rather than the fixed-in-place Western fenders, and you can choose whatever stirrup you want. I use an Endurance-style stirrup which has a wider foot-bed than an English stirrup, and I find it more comfortable for long rides, but still easy to move your feet out of the way of things on the trail, unlike the relative fixed Western stirrups. It has a padded seat that makes hours in the saddle in changing terrain more comfortable to me. Also comes with hooks that make it easy to bring drinks, snacks, and other things with you on long rides.
1 Like
