I’m sure it would be easier to find a good used saddle if I were;
In the UK
On Facebook
But alas, I’m neither. My choices are US consignment shops or eBay.
I’d like to hear more about this also.
Loxley hoop tree! Can find reasonable used and not horrible new. The twist was the most comfortable for me on an XW horse - they build it up a bit for comfort. They also offer upswept panels which you may need.
Detente is also affordable used and very very wide, but they put me in the chair seat.
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I’ve had good luck with County saddles and will be selling tow of mine.
Sophie is a Registered Irish Draught Sport Horse, basically a Guinness barrel on legs
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I had pretty decent luck with HIghline/Fineline used saddles but they are going to be more expensive than your budget. They sent me saddles to try and one came the closest to fitting. I ride a short beer keg with a very short back which just adds to the saddle fit challenge but I will say that having ridden and bred many beer kegs over the years, the hoop trees haven’t typically been the answer - UK saddles in W or XW often have been. This time around I ended up with an Antares (French) which does have thinner and much flatter panels. When I turned over all saddles I had to choose from after receiving the ones of highline/fineline it was clear which one came closest to mimicking my keg’s back. The Antares is a wide. Having said all that I bought the saddle as an interim because I finally have a fitter coming next week to check it out and bring all potentials she has for me to try. My keg is moving better and I’m sitting better in the new to me saddle but I know it’s still not a perfect fit. Good luck!
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Loxley is a good shout. Black Country would be a decent candidate too. They offer hoop trees and have some flatter trees, which is usually what these horses need, IME. All of my PRE’s have popped a wither as they’ve advanced in their training. Their entire front end changed, in a good way.
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Somewhere I have a photo I took of my former Paint gelding (RIP 
) where I actually did place an entire table setting, cup and saucer included, on his back. I rode him huntseat in a wide tree Stubben Roxanne.
I have no advice regarding a dressage saddle, but your “beer keg” of a dappled PRE is a most handsome fellow and I wish you many happy rides.
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I’ll sell you my XW Lovatt & Ricketts?Arabian Saddle Co. Berkeley dressage saddle. Can you ride in a 17.5". Has bling, in beautiful shape-- soft with no fading. Oh, and it has serge panels. It fit my Arabian Wide Load whose back looks a lot like your horse’s.
I’m in SC, but I can ship.
Also, Adrienne Hicks in Eagle, ID sold this to me/sells these and she’s a pretty good saddle fitter.
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Does it have a flat seat and forward flaps?
ETA I looked at pictures of that model and the seat is way too deep for me. Thanks, though!
I’m looking at an Albion SL and County Connection, both of which I have ridden in and liked. I’ve also been comfortable in a Kent and Masters, but didn’t like it as much.
Found her!
With the caveat that I’m not a saddle fitter, he doesn’t look like a hoop tree back to me. I think you can get a W/XW from several of the UK brands to work.
In general, a hoop tree saddle will be an upside down “U” shape and a standard tree even in a wide width will still have a “V” shape. The hoop trees are really helpful if there’s no withers at all. Your lovely guy looks like he has some withers and just needs enough width in the tree to fit those broad shoulders.
I had two Arabs with wide, short backs. I found Smith Worthington to work well and their trees are adjustable by a fitter. They are unfortunately out of business now, but I’ve seen a lot of used ones at Pelham Saddlery and some are in your price range.
In the $1K range I’d look for Smith Worthington, K&M, and Thorowgood cob. Some others that may work but will be harder to find in that price range are County (although be careful with the panel length), Black Country, Loxley/Bliss, and Albion.
I personally hated the Duett I tried but they work for a lot of wide horses.
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Here are Pelham Saddlery’s wide and extra wide used saddles. I’m not sure what seat size you are looking for, but they have a few options under $1K and this may give you some ideas - https://www.pelhamsaddlery.net/tack/dressagew.html
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You’ve been so helpful. Thank you!
I had great luck getting a Duett saddle for my Friesian keg on legs 
She did fairly okay in a Fryso for a while that “didn’t not work” with some shimming, but the Duett seems to be the best fit for her. I thought Albions would fit her (I LOVE them and used one on my old boy), but alas…no dice!
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Thorowgood Saddles have the same trees as Kent & Masters, and are synthetic so less expensive.
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Thanks. The Thorowgood T8 saddle is the hybrid leather and synthetic. The T4 is full synthetic. Both are a cost effective option.
County Warmblood and Schleese Obrigado have fit my XW/XXW Arabian. I found them used on Ebay. I had the Thorowgood Cob saddle for a little while, but it was not the right shape, not hoopy enough.
Duetts are made for sausage horses. They are really nice and allow for good shoulder clearance. I have a Germania Klasse, which are also made for round horses. Mine has a hoop tree and fits my Fjord quite well. Black Country are also really nice.
I have a DP Saddle, but if you don’t tighten them, they will roll. That said, they’re interesting saddles and a lot of people who have really round horses like them since they allow for shoulder clearance and tend to fit round horses.
I tend to recommend the Duett and the Klasse. The Klasse is a bit cheaper than the Duett, and they are very comfortable. Plus, they’re more cost effective than the Duett.
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Albion K2 tends to fit really wide.
I have a very wide Oldenburg, so wide he goes in a County XW - I didn’t know they made County in XW!
In my search for very wide saddles, I have bought a few saddles from eBay.co.uk (UK eBay), TheSaddleBank and Sheepham Saddlery…sometimes their deals are so good they offset the international shipping and I can still resell in the US without losing money.
Good luck!
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