You usually get what you pay for, to some extent. There might be a lot of saddles in the low range you mentioned but often, the older ones you must check for gullet channels that are too narrow, flocking that is too firm, warped trees, or billets that need attention. Some leather can be quite dry and many of the older saddles have billets attached to linen that could be rotting.
That’s not to say that you can find good ones but make sure you are aware of what you are trying.
I think it really depends on 1) Whether or not you care about or want pretty/popular/etc. 2) Whether or not you and horse have any ‘special’ fitting needs that narrow your choices significantly & 3) How much time you’re willing to put into looking.
I’ve never had a new saddle, always bought used. And I’ve had everything from $400 Wintecs to a $3500 Stackhouse and all kinds of in between. Right now I’m riding in two sub $1k saddles - an Albion and an Ainsley. I also have a 40+ year old monoflap that my mom picked up for <$500 that I adore and is still going strong (though I’m now keeping it just for a spare/babies as a way to continue preserving it). I tend to buy quality older stuff over newer.
Try LOTS of saddles, figure out what you like and what fits your horse, and then take the time to shop around. I’ve gotten a lot of really good deals because I was smart with my searches and timing. And yes, while the expensive saddles can be a bit of a treat for your bum, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be just as comfortable in a cheaper/older saddle. I loved my Stackhouse. It was beautiful, balanced, and oh so comfortable… but since then I’ve ridden in a lot of less expensive saddles and been just as happy. I happen to love my Ainsley too 
For the $800-$1200 range you should be able to find a solid entry-level used stubben or Prestige, probably 5-10 years old. I’ve had both, and they’re great saddles.
To put it into perspective… my new-to-horses boyfriend was shocked at how little saddles cost given the amount of craftsmanship that it takes to create a good one. And this is after I quoted him ~$5k to replace my antares that’s showing it’s age… (I will probably end up spending ~$3500 on a used one).
I think the worst part is, you might suck it up and drop the big bucks, only to have it not really fit anyway, or to have it fit for a while and then have your horse’s back change (or of course, your horse gets injured/goes lame).
About 5 years ago I spent $3400 on a new Vega, which I thought was the most amount of money imaginable to ever spend on a saddle. And yes, it was amazing for me. But then the horse went lame for an extended period, gained a bunch of weight (draft x), and even when we got the weight off him (in a different saddle), it never really fit him right again. ARGH! And now the same saddle is over $4k. That’s twice the rate of inflation!
Sure you can, as long as you don’t want a French saddle! I like the English and German saddles just fine and they are not as expensive. If you are willing to buy a brand that’s not trendy, you can do even better.
I have two recent model Kieffers - I love them but they are not as popular in the US.
A Norbert Koof FL (paid $525)
A Hintermeyer ($550)
One I bought from an individual; the other I bought from Middleburgh Tack Exchange.
I have a County Extreme that I bought about 10 years ago for $700.
I bought a Stackhouse jumping saddle for $700 and a Schleese for $750 (it was practically new!).
I bought a County Eventer for $280 off of Craig’s list.
Some of those ended up not working for me and I flipped them for about twice what I paid for them – or more!
They are out there. You have to be patient and open minded. Some saddles that I think are very good value? Kieffer, Ainsley, Jeffries, Kent & Masters – all very good quality and generally undervalued (IMO)
I don’t know why saddles are so expensive here, it’s to do with fashion I think. People are also obsessed by leather it’s strange to me. I bought a m2m top of the range Black Country jump saddle in England for £1,100. Black country for some reason aren’t so popular in the UK, Albions are much more popular. When it was a year old I had to sell it and I struggled to get £600 for it. I ended up selling it to someone here in the US. Then I come to the US and I see pretty beaten up second hand Black countrys for more than I paid for mine brand new!
We also don’t have the obsession with calf soft leather in UK. In the land of mud and riding in the rain we want leather that is tougher and lasts. French saddles are popular among some but never for day to day riding. We know the narrow rails and foam panels aren’t so good for the horses backs to be ridden in for a long time. They are performance saddles to be used for the half an hour jumping session.
So I have found myself very out of fashion here! BUT in a way it’s good because I know I am happy in brands that are less well know here and cheaper.
I have a lovely second hand Kieffer dressage saddle I bought for $550 and a brand new Kent and Masters jump British made for $1500. Fortunately for my wallet my horse doesn’t fit the french brands so there’s no temptation there. There’s no way I’d pay $2500 for a second hand saddle.
Also we rarely do m2m in England. Not unless the horse is a really strange shape. Usually there’s so many different brands a saddler brings to a trial that at least one will fit. They are just much cheaper to buy new and second hand maybe because of the competition between brands.
I’m getting my mum to bring over a beautiful KN Symphonie dr saddle, demo condition. She paid £250 for it in England and I know I’ll easily get over $1000 for it here :D.
[QUOTE=HiHopes;8206637]
I don’t know why saddles are so expensive here, it’s to do with fashion I think. People are also obsessed by leather it’s strange to me. I bought a m2m top of the range Black Country jump saddle in England for £1,100. Black country for some reason aren’t so popular in the UK, Albions are much more popular. When it was a year old I had to sell it and I struggled to get £600 for it. I ended up selling it to someone here in the US. Then I come to the US and I see pretty beaten up second hand Black countrys for more than I paid for mine brand new!
We also don’t have the obsession with calf soft leather in UK. In the land of mud and riding in the rain we want leather that is tougher and lasts. French saddles are popular among some but never for day to day riding. We know the narrow rails and foam panels aren’t so good for the horses backs to be ridden in for a long time. They are performance saddles to be used for the half an hour jumping session.
So I have found myself very out of fashion here! BUT in a way it’s good because I know I am happy in brands that are less well know here and cheaper.
I have a lovely second hand Kieffer dressage saddle I bought for $550 and a brand new Kent and Masters jump British made for $1500. Fortunately for my wallet my horse doesn’t fit the french brands so there’s no temptation there. There’s no way I’d pay $2500 for a second hand saddle.
Also we rarely do m2m in England. Not unless the horse is a really strange shape. Usually there’s so many different brands a saddler brings to a trial that at least one will fit. They are just much cheaper to buy new and second hand maybe because of the competition between brands.
I’m getting my mum to bring over a beautiful KN Symphonie dr saddle, demo condition. She paid £250 for it in England and I know I’ll easily get over $1000 for it here :D.[/QUOTE]
hey, can you get your mum to bring over a black country? :winkgrin:
Second the Berney Bros. You can find them used for under $800., they are well made, good jumping saddles and the leather is well tanned and tough enough for hunting and riding in the rain and mud. They last forever and put you in a good, safe position for jumping.
True, Berney Bros. saddles are quite inexpensive here. I bought one for less than $300. Perfectly good saddle but didn’t quite fit my TB. I sold it almost immediately for a bit more.
If you are a careful shopper you can absolutely buy a very nice saddle (one that cost $3500 or more new) for less than $1K. And they are not necessarily very used. And even if you have special requests (for example, I have very long femurs) you can still find those saddles out there.
You need to be patient, know what you are looking for, and research brands that are not as popular here.
Will you find a CWD or a DelGrange in that price range? probably not. But a Stubben, an Ainsley (the old Ainsley Chesters are REALLY nice XC saddles), Jeffries, Kieffer, Passier, Berney Bros., yes. They are out there. And they are not the ones with super narrow gullets. Luckily I don’t have a taste for French, foam paneled saddles :D.
Yes, you may need to have a used saddle reflocked, but that’s not a huge deal. I bought an Ainsley that had the original wool in it 35 years after it was made. For $125 I had it stripped flocked with beautiful soft wool.
Also, don’t discount some of the synthetics. I have a Wintec Pro Jump that I use for rainy day hunting. It’s a well balanced saddle (the old model, not the new one) that fits a lot of horses and requires zero pampering. I have one for each of my horses and I paid less than $400 for each of them. The Thorowgood T8 is a very attractive looking option, too.
When I was saddle shopping last year, I ended up with a nice six year old Jeffries Elite (with nothing wrong with it) for $800.
I tried a County Pro-Fit from a consignment shop. I really liked it but it was too wide for my horse. I think they were asking $600 for it.
I also took home another consignment saddle, which didn’t work out. I don’t remember what it was at the moment, but it was a nice, probably English brand saddle for about $500-$600.
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