Non custom saddles you love

[Ready_To_Riot]

I’m not exactly saddle shopping, but I’m not not saddle shopping. I “need” two new saddles. A jump saddle and a dressage saddle. And honestly, I don’t think I want to go custom. Aside from the inflated expense (generally) I have not felt that a custom saddle is any better than an off the rack saddle. And also, growing up with wintecs, I love the changeable gullets and quite miss them.

I read up on new wintecs and bates (because I’m now a leather snob) and read that bates are junk now. Any experience?

Thornhil was another Brand I was directed towards when I was saddle shopping. Do we love them?

Stubben is an option for one of my horses, but they will never fit my main mare.

At this point, I don’t even know if I want wool or foam!! Or air!!

Just curious if anyone had any off the rack saddles they adored almost as much as their horse. For a readable price (under custom pricing).

[mfleming13]

I personally have not liked any bates saddles I’ve sat in for quite a long time now. I’m not a fan of the CAIR system and think they don’t fit most horses, IMHO. My friend has a thornhill that I’ve been borrowing and it is not my favorite, I find its not the best balanced saddle and I know she had problems making it fit her gelding, but he is a tough fit - however I would place it above a bates and a wintec. Unfortunately, the tree is not adjustable.

I prefer wool saddles and further, wool saddles that have an adjustable tree. Hastilow makes saddles that have adjustable trees with wool flocking, they are custom saddles but run a bit less expensive than CWD, Devoucoux etc. and I know that they have a lot of used saddles floating around as well.

My first saddle was a Collegiate Convertible Diploma saddle, I evented through training level in it. It did its job well and fit my mare well enough to not get in her way. Those saddles run very reasonably. A lot of people like the M. Toulouse’s as well and some of those have the genesis system which allows for some adjusting. I’m personally not a fan because the twists are wide, but that’s just my preference. Good luck saddle shopping!

[Ready_To_Riot]

This board has so much negativity with the m. Toulouses. They swear that every one of them ends up with a twisted tree. I rode in one last year when I was sitting in everything available and I like it, but this board terrifies me of them!

If I got custom, I’ll most likely end up with a county. They are in the same price range as a hastilow I believe. I don’t know much about hasilow. I suppose I can start researching. What sucks about the bates/wintec, is my horse happens to be one in a million and the panels actually fit my horse. At least on the wintec. Never put a bates on her and with recent reviews, I’m scared too. Evidently they literally aren’t made like they used to be!

[mfleming13]

I wasn’t aware the Toulouses had that problem, but I don’t think I know of anyone who’s had their m. Toulouse for more than a year or two. That is a good thing to keep in mind!

My last trainer had an older, beautiful bates all purpose saddle that was so comfortable to ride in, the new ones can’t hold a candle to it. I am not sure why they changed how they made those saddles…

I just ordered a custom Hastilow and I believe they are slightly less expensive then county, but I have not looked at county’s prices in a couple of years!

[tbchick84]

I wasted a lot of money with Bates, Wintec, Pessoa each time having to resell them for a loss due them not really fitting either me or my horse. I finally plunked down real $$ on a used Black Country and am really mad at myself for not doing it years sooner. The higher end saddles are just better period. The leather is better, the saddle is more balanced, you sit better in them, etc. I can’t explain it. They’re just better. I was told for years to not blame the tack, but in my case, it was the tack.

[Scribbler]

Get a high-quality lightly used second hand saddle, with wool flocking. Work with a saddle fitter who can make sure it fits your horse, and who can tweak the flocking.

The high end saddles aren’t really custom, in that they are built from scratch for your horse. Each brand has one tree, and then a certain amount of options that you can pick when you order the saddle. typically, more options for the rider than for the horse. If you aren’t hard to fit and can afford to wait a bit while you shop around, a good used saddle can be affordable, can fit the horse just as well as one ordered new, and is way better quality than the lower-priced saddles.

[Rainier]

Black Country!

[Mango20]

I really like the Jeffries Elite jumping saddle I bought used. They’re actually not terribly expensive brand new, but I don’t think they have a changeable gullet option. My dressage saddle is a County from 1985, so I can’t really give you any advice there.

[sheltona01]

County’s are about $1000 more than Hastilows and Black Country’s just an FYI. I have had some customers who price out both of them.

Hastilows are good saddles with the Simi tree that is adjustable and wool flocked. If you want an adjustable saddle with opinions, they are the way to go.

[soloudinhere]

My favorite “off the rack” saddles are Prestige. Pricing starts below custom but gets up there if you start upgrading options, but I loooooove my saddle.

[LadyB]

You legit get what you pay for. I’ll start with that.

Lower end saddles, you get lower end quality in the craftsmanship and the leather. Its not worth it if you’re planning on long term use.

I absolutely love prestige. They have models in all different price brackets, and I’ve bought the cheap and the medium range saddles. They are personally great, but this is also because this saddle fits my horse like a glove.

I purchased a Prestige Venus K dressage saddle and a Prestige Passion D jump saddle last year, and I’ve never been so in love. Their beautifully made, the leather is stunning for their price point. The stitching is secure. I absolutely love them, I think I love my dressage saddle more though. Mostly because I’ve never had a dressage saddle with thigh blocks, its just so pretty!

I did own a Prestige Roma Jump, it did the job, it was about $2k(cdn) brand new, and it was slippery. Fit my horse well, but I personally hated riding in it. I would slip all over, because the leather was smooth but not sticky. I hated flatting in it, and jumping in it I was fighting it. This is why I decided on calfskin after that experience.

I can flat in my jump saddle, which is friggin exciting. Its hard to choose on a hack day what saddle I want because I like them both that much.

The tree’s are what throw people off, they are a plastic tree. Which are guaranteed for life. People don’t like the lack of give in them.

The saddles can be foam, synthetic wool or both. VTO is great to deal with, or if you’re in Canada Sprucewood Tack all the way. Nathan was super to deal with, answered all of my annoying questions.

After this being said, you CAN buy higher end saddles, or medium end saddles used for a great price. I do find Prestige hold their value well, but if you can’t afford brand new, a couple years old is totally worth it.

[jen-s]

I bought a demo Prestige Meredith for ~20% off full retail last August. The tree is adjustable up to 3cm each way by Prestige/allsaddles or 2cm by most other people with a press. It’s easy to reflock and so freaking comfy.

[Encourage]

The best “off the rack” saddle I ever owned was a passier military. I’ve forever owned thoroughbreds and have always had luck with passier on them. I regrettably sold my military and I don’t think they make them anymore.

I did just purchase a used santa cruz “justin” cc saddle. Santa cruz’s seem to have a bad wrap, but when I sat in it in the store I loved it, took it to the barn and my mare loved it just as much! It’s wool, so I can tweak it as she changes shape. The leathers great quality, nice and grippy, I’m really quite thrilled with it.

[LadyB]

@Encourage, just be careful with adjusting those trees. The trees are a bit weaker with the Santa Cruz saddles, mine broke

[Bogie]

I love my Jeffries JMX monoflap. In fact, I bought one for both of my horses :). Not a hugely expensive saddle but I love the balance point and the sticky leather. My horses are very similar in shape, just require different tree sizes. I don’t think they are made anymore but if you are patient, they come up on the used market.

I tried a Hastilow event saddle last year, with the adjustable tree. Nice saddle but I don’t like a seat that deep and I never felt that comfortable in it.

I have an old County Extreme that I will keep forever, but I like the close contact feel of the Jeffries better.

[Saskatoonian]

Yup. I love my Butet dressage saddle and Beval Natural as much as my custom Stackhouse. The Stackhouse is custom; the others I bought used for nowhere near its price. I’ve also ridden in a Prestige Nona Garson that was much too small for me (catch ride) but wonderful - and I hate Prestige dressage saddles.

[rascalpony]

I’ve ridden in my M. Toulouse Noelle for years and I’ve never had a problem with it. It fits most horses and still looks great - plus I think it is supremely comfortable. My trainer has an old Stubben I used to ride in - fantastic saddle, but it was like sitting on a stone!

I also have a Philippe Fontaine dressage saddle, but it’s a kid-size (I am 5’ tall). The seat is a little deep for me but the knee rolls are pretty small, which I prefer. For me, the less stuff to get in the way, the better. I really wanted a flat-seat dressage saddle, but I couldn’t find one that was inexpensive and small enough, so this was a good option.

[Encourage]

LadyB: oh boy, that’s good to know! I had a feeling when I bought it it would be an temporary saddle just from what I’ve heard about the brand. Fingers crossed I can just get away with reflocking until the time comes for an upgrade.

[LadyB]

@Encourage, that’s great, if its just a buffer as your horse changes, better to spend a little amount while your horse grows and changes, instead of the big bucks every few years!

[Auburn]

Four years ago, I bought a Pessoa monoflap for Eventing my OTTB mare. My other mare has to have a banana shaped tree and my TB needed a straight tree.

I love this saddle. It has held up well with me riding in it 4-6 days/week. I am much better balanced in it, than in the custom Castelow that we had made for my other mare. It has a thigh block on the front of the flap and a block behind the knee on the back. Most folks do not like then, because it is newmarket (light brown) colored. Since my mare is chestnut, it looks great on her.

Good luck on your saddle quest.