I’m seriously aggravated with how glitchy the new site is. I might just give up. But I did manage to login. The posts are kind of out of order for me, so if you already figured this out-- sorry
There are lots of people who love their custom saddles. You just need to understand that it isn’t quite as simple as riding in a demo and then ordering one that has been customized for you and hoping it will feel the same. I have a custom Roosli dressage saddle (custom for me to fit my femur). Mine came out great. My trainer at the time worked with the factory and knew exactly how to measure for it. I’d ridden in her saddle and I like mine just as much.
Since then, I’ve heard too many horror stories and have found that there are enough saddles already out there that I like and that fit my horses. Plus, I’m fickle. I’ll ride in a saddle for a couple of years and then want to try something else so I don’t want to be in too deep to get my $ out. The used market is saturated with saddles right now so it’s difficult to sell anything but the most trendy brands unless you are willing to discount. The flip side is, it’s a great time to buy a used saddle.
I recently sold a very nice Hastilow event saddle. It was pristine except for a crease on the sweat flap (my fault!). $3K saddle retail. I paid $1K for it and sold it for $850 because the seat was too deep for me. The woman who bought it said it was the deal of the century. And it was a very, very nice saddle for the price. BUT, it’s not unusual to find a saddle for 1/3 off retail right now. There’s a saddle for sale right now that I’d love to buy if I could justify it. Very nice english bench saddle, retailed for 3K. Appraised for $1800. She’s had it for sale now for months and would take $1K for it. I don’t need it but it’s so tempting!
If you love the Loxley and can’t find that model used and there is nothing else out there that will fit your horse, by all means order one. It is a great price for a custom saddle. But before I would buy a custom saddle I’d look really hard for something used that would do the job. Your money, your mileage may vary.
I think it will be difficult to get one saddle to fit both horses since it doesn’t sound like their backs are that similar. My horses are essentially the same shape but different widths. I can use the wider saddle on my gelding if I pad up, but I choose not to because I foxhunt and padding shifts too much. I actually bought the same saddle in two different widths because I like the model so much. I paid less than $2500 for both of them.
I think I was misunderstood. I’ll have two saddles. One I’m buying now (adjustable maybe, but I might be getting a barnsby for a hell of a deal) will work for the other horse. The custom will be fit for my main horse, but can easily be used with the other or adjusted completely to fit her if need be.
Any off off the rack saddles I should look for that might work for a rhino (wide needing hoop tree horse)? If I can find it in Dover, I’ll never have to pay for shipping to trial them. So if that’s possible I’d like that. But their selection isn’t huge, but it’s some where to start, even if I order it used from else where.
I sat in Dover’s monoflap jump saddle and if you don’t have super long femurs it was pretty damn nice for the price. There was just no way the flap would fit my leg, despite the saleswoman claiming it would.
Regarding trying a saddle and having it be different once you order it…that happened to me when I bought my Stubben. I had the rep out and tried several saddles, including their Zaria Monoflap. I absolutely loved it because at the time I wasn’t riding with short enough stirrups, so it fit my leg. I ordered one…or so I thought. I got their new monoflap, which was an Excalibur. It was horrible. The tree was killing my horse’s back (confirmed by two chiropractors) and no matter what I did to it, it never softened up/broke in. Stubben was not willing to work with me. Thankfully the rep made it right and ended up trading me the Zaria monoflap that I had originally tried. So even though it wasn’t full on custom, it was a fiasco.
I think you should have a long discussion with Kate. Make notes beforehand, takes notes during, then think about everything for a few days/week/two weeks.
BTW - new site is weird…
