Please educate me on Western saddles! (I FOUND ONE!)

[MSP]

[QUOTE=PletchersMom;4875267]
Originally I wanted a Billy Cook, however, the waiting list was 10 months for the trail model I liked.

I tried a Dakota saddle and I love it!! They run well under $1000 and well worth the $$. I have had mine for 2 yrs now.

You can also get them customized (ie: seat color, and suede, leather or ostrich)

I added a horn cap on mine to go with the silver accents that came with it.[/QUOTE]

I did a custom Dakota as well! Fabulous to custom order a saddle just the way you want it for $700! Can’t beat it.

[MSP]

[QUOTE=Justmyluck;4875366]
Pony is 14.2 I am concerned with weight not for me lifting but for the horse. =)

Also Im 5’7" and around 125 pounds as long as its not finals week and I’m living off of cheese burgers.

So 15-16’ based on seat type. I’m gonna go to the tack store soon and sit in various saddles. But I didnt want to walk in and not know where to start.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn’t worry about the weight. My roping saddle is on the heavy side at 32 lbs. My mare is barley 14.2 QH and I far out weight you!

The western saddle distributes its weight across a longer area so unless you are looking at parade saddles its more about fitting the horses back and buying a really good pad.

You will build your muscles throwing that saddle on! And no one has mentioned but oh the pain of breaking in a new saddle. The first two weeks riding was like torture, made me wish I had bought a used.

[Sacred_Petra]

I have to disagree with everyone on the barrel saddle. Sure they’ll suck you in, but take a horn to the gut and you might change your mind. I really like roping saddles. The horn is big enough to prevent too much damage should you find your stomach/chest/bra/pelvic area in an up close and personal situation with it, but they’re small enough you can still grab on. Even with the seat being 1.5" too big, I rode a “duck and run” spooky horse all semester long and felt secure the whole time.

Personally, I think a 16" is going to be huge on you. I’m 5’5" and 170lbs and the biggest saddle I ride in is a 15.5" that fits like a 15". If I was going to get a hard seat saddle or any type of ranch saddle I would look for a small 15" or even smaller, but I like my saddle to hold me in a little more.

[kypeep]

I like our cutting saddles for starting horses and trail-riding the greenies. However, (a) I wouldn’t want to sit on one for a long trail ride and (b) that horn can be dangerous if you ever get anything caught on it.

One of the worst wrecks I’ve heard about was someone who was an excellent hand, but got his chaps got on the saddle horn when getting off a youngster (as I recall). Huge blow-up, he lost half an ear in the ensuing accident and apparently was real lucky that’s all he lost.

By the way, the horn on the cutting saddle is best used by pushing on it. Pulling on it is likely to send you over the horse’s shoulder in any quick manuever. Usually takes awhile for pushing on the horn to become natural for those of us not raised on cutting horses.

[headsupheelsdown]

Go with the barrel saddle. The rounded skirt is what you are looking for, I think.

[katarine]

meh- try a bunch. I hate barrel saddles you are stuck in a position and 99% of the time in a chair seat. No thanks.

If you want new for that $$ Fabtron synthetics are good.

Thank you for clarifying bucking strap vs. rear girth. Saved my fingers

[jeano]

I think I will join Bluey in debunking the “security” of the Western saddle vs the English saddle. My horse used to prop, drop her shoulder, spin and bolt and believe me I came off of my high cantled, sticky suede seated, lock you in swelled saddles every blessed time. And hurt myself with the horn dramatically in the process more than once. Come nearly but not quite off the front of a horned saddle and you will discover new dimensions of pain if you get speared in the thigh or worse.

I am old and decrepit and cannot quickly (or maybe even at all, by this time) DISMOUNT from a Western saddle.

I love Aussies, but I’ve been spun off them too. Better, perhaps, to train the prop and spin out of the horse with lots of despooking in a confined area.

I am very happy trailriding in featherweight wintec english saddles. If you do go for a synthetic Western, run run run from the Wintecs, they are horrid. Abettas. big horns, fabtrons are much comfier. Yeah you will get in shape slinging a 50 pound roping saddle on your pony, and cleaning all that leather might be balm to your soul, but me, I hate cleaning tack and much prefer something I can wipe or dunk vs something that requires an afternoon to get the grunge off. Not to mention turn a lovely green and get fuzzy overnight in a Southern summer…

[mvp]

I’d do it this way:

Ride a buddy’s horse in their western saddle and see who you like it.

Go sit in many at tack stores or friends’ barns. Learn what a roping saddle versus barrel saddle versus trail saddle look like.

Learn what kind of tree tends to fit your horse. Mainly look for too wide or too narrow up front. In back, you don’t want skirts so long and large that they reach your horse’s hip.

At the very end of all that education, I’d buy a used saddle way, way before I’d buy a new one for the same money. Used western saddles hold their value much better than do English saddles. You can get what you want for $500 or so.

[Ride_and_Run]

I agree with mvp. Try to ride as many saddles as you can so you can get the feel of what is comfortable for you. I mainly trail ride and I own a McCall Lady Wade. Some people would not choose this type of saddle for trail riding, but it is a really comfortable saddle to me and I love it. You may be more comfortable in a trail or barrel saddle. You just have to ride in a few different types until you can decide what is most comfortable/secure to you. You can also figure out seat style and size.

Then you need to figure out what fits your horse. I had a heck of a time fitting my horse. Everyone was telling me the saddles fit, but they were a bit too wide and it was causing her back soreness. I went through a couple of saddles and lost some $$ this way.

Once I finally figured out what I like to sit in and what was comfortable for my horse, I found someone who was willng to work with me until I was sure the saddle fit. I talked to the folks at McCall several times, and when the first Wade saddle I ordered turned out to be too big for my horse and too heavy for me, they exchanged it for a smaller, lighter Lady Wade. They were excellent to work with - their saddles are $$, but my point is to find someone who will work with you.

So, my suggestions are:

1. Find out what type/size of saddle is comfortable to you.
2. Find out what size and shape is comfortable for your horse.
3. Find someone who will work with you until you find a saddle that works for both you and your horse

If you are lucky enough to find the perfect saddle that happens to belong to a friend, at least you know exactly what to look for when buying used.

Have Fun!

[rabicon]

The horns can hurt I would think, but I rode years and years in western saddles, from barrel racing, trail riding, crazy horses, jumping (on the trail), and never gutted myself with the horn. You just have to be aware it is there and hold it if need be when something happens.

[DandyMatiz]

if your horse is short backed, you could try an arabian saddle… they are usually shorter (sometimes rounded skirt, some not). That’s what Matiz and my QH mare both use lol. (Matiz is an arabian).

[CR_Gorge_Girl]

[QUOTE=rabicon;4877147]
The horns can hurt I would think, but I rode years and years in western saddles, from barrel racing, trail riding, crazy horses, jumping (on the trail), and never gutted myself with the horn. You just have to be aware it is there and hold it if need be when something happens.[/QUOTE]

Yea… I’ve never been gutted by the horn either. The worst that happened was when my perpetually-green mare decided she didn’t want to walk forward (seriously… that was all I was asking… me and that mare don’t get along) and she threw a bucking-rearing hissy fit, and the inside of my thigh hit the saddle horn once or twice before I came off.

[poltroon]

You might also consider deerskin breeches, saddle-tight et al, and/or a stickier english saddle. Go to the local consignment shop and see what they have in english. Add one of those leather grab straps across the front.

It’s all about comfort. You may be more secure in a western saddle, but you may not.

[Leather]

I’ve got an Abetta Trinity Endurance saddle that is my “spare” saddle for friends that ride with me. It gives the “security” of a western saddle yet there’s no horn to get in the way.

https://buytack.com/products-saddles/act/20554.htm

(I actually find it more secure to grab the pommel than a horn.)

The big thing for me is the western fenders vs. english leathers. I use stirrup turners and find it much easier to recover my stirrups with western fenders than english leathers.

My absolute favorite trail saddle though is my Black Forest Shasta–light, secure and oh so comfortable.

Recent thread on them: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=252705

[Justmyluck]

So I’ve been riding in my trainers, pulled out once in a blue moon Wintec Western and its already definately helped but it does not fit worth a damn.

So I went to various tack stores and sat in various saddles including a brand new Reinsman that was super comfy. So then we go to this consignment store that just opened and OMG they have everything and everything is in really good condition. So I look and I dont see much and on my last walk through I lift up this syntetic and under it is this saddle. I flip the tag and it says Arabian tree. Which I guess are known for fitting Welsh cobs good. Well I take it over and plop my butt into in prefect. However I am now looking for the price tag which is no where to be found. I ask the lady its 800 dollars 300 over my budget. So we haggle and they have a 5 day trial policy. I take it home fits pony like a glove. So yeah I paid 750 for a 20 year old Circle Y Arabian Equitation saddle. There is not a scratch on it, the fleece is perfect, the suede seat is perfect. Its a beautiful dark oil with no tooling which is what I wanted. I has a padded seat and fits my pony. I rode in it today! Is it bad I paid more for this saddle then my dressage one?

[Bluey]

Those older Circle Y arabian saddles were very nice ones, well made, wholly tooled, most dark oil and fit many horses well, not just arabians.
Some lower end ones, the tooling was stamped, not hand carved, but the rest of the saddle was still good quality.
The sheepskin was full, thick and held up well and the seat nicely narrow, unlike so many western saddles, that feel like sitting like a bump on a log, unless you have super long thigs.

Enjoy it.

Any pictures?

[Justmyluck]

No but tomorrow there will be.

[Mach_Two]

Thank YOU! You beat me to it. and I agree on all counts.
Additionally, cheaper western saddles tend to not have a well done ground seat, and they will torture your seat bones, unless your pelvic opening is very very wide.
I love my McCall Lady Wade for taking on the road with me for trail rides with friends, been on too many saddles that were just too wide for me, and got tired of my hips (with bone spurs now days) hurting after a ride.

Sit in a bunch of saddles, and if you are going to spend much time in a western saddle, look for a smooth unpadded seat…a padded seat tends to grab and rub over hours or riding.

[QUOTE=Pat9;4875320]
I just couldn’t let this one slide.

It is not a bucking strap, it is a rear girth or cinch. It has nothing to do with keeping the saddle in place for ordinary riding, but stabilizes it when you rope an animal. The rear girth is kept from sliding back by a small strap between it and the front cinch. I see on the net that people are calling the rear girth a flank cinch as well. The rear girth always has a hand’s worth of space between it and the horse’s abdomen; it is not buckled tightly.

A bucking strap is used to encourage a bucking horse to buck, and it is well back, a true flank cinch. You do not want a bucking strap. Trust me.

Yes, you can rock a double-rigged saddle up on the front of the tree while you are riding it if you leave the rear cinch off and pull up on the back of the saddle. This never happens in real life unless you make it happen, or if you rope something that’s dallied or tied to the horn without putting on your rear girth first.

A stock saddle can have center-fire rigging and be pretty stable without having the second girth.

I agree that you should borrow a saddle to try.[/QUOTE]

[jeano]

Good deal, those old Circle Y’s are nice, nice saddles. And hold their value well. You paid a fair price, I think. One for anything less than 600 bucks would be a steal.

[MunchkinsMom]

@jeano;4900868

Good deal, those old Circle Y’s are nice, nice saddles. And hold their value well. You paid a fair price, I think. One for anything less than 600 bucks would be a steal.

I agree. I don’t think the brand new saddles are as well made as the older models, and that vintage circle Y is a good one.