Everyone in the reining world is very impressed with Continental saddles, for what I hear.
Have not seen one in person, so take that for what is worth, they are well recommended.
There are some saying that reining saddles are not made for dressage horses, that they tend to keep horses from coming under you properly for dressage or that they “make a horse keep it’s head down, not what you want in dressage”.
That just doesn’t make sense, as many reining horses work up in front, that is not counted against them if that is how they move and riders use the same saddle with all their horses.
In reining, it is not how the horse moves or looks that counts, but that he does the movements properly, any one way he may do so, properly being technically correct and with as fluid and soft way of executing them as it may, without resistances.
I think whoever made that connection may have had some special circumstances other than the saddle why her horses were not working like any other horse out there.
Maybe the saddle was too wide and sat down in front too much, or who knows why they had that experience.
Reining saddles use the same tree than is used for other western saddles, many that are used for the new western dressage classes.
Mentioning that, as you will see that comment if you look for reining saddle reviews and you may also watch, to see if you may encounter that maybe rare problem.
If you can try a saddle, that would be great, because no matter what anyone will tell you about any saddle, the proof is in putting it on your horse and riding on it.
That trumps all theories and rules of thumb and experiences we can offer.
