I ride English but would like to buy a stock saddle to trek and hack out in. My horses are 15hh Warmblood/Arab cross and therefore are wide with low withers. I ride in a 17" dressage/gp saddle so would I look for the same size or 1/2 inch smaller? I am 5’1" and weigh 50kgs. I saw an Aussie Downunder Longreach endurance saddle on a site and liked the look of that. Can anyone give me some much needed guidance on what to look for please? Thanks.
By “stock saddle” do you mean Australian stock saddle? Because that’s not the same thing as a “western saddle.” If you mean Australian stock saddle, the Downunder people are quite helpful (I’ve bought 2 saddles from them).
Since you said your weight is 50 kgs, you must not be in the US. Downunder has Canadian and UK affiliates linked from their web site (http://www.downunderweb.com/).
I’ve got the cheap synthetic version of the Longreach endurance saddle (also from Downunder). I don’t like the way it’s rigged. Not sure if the Longreach is rigged the same way, though. Mine has the billet straps contained within a channel sewn to the inside of the flap that runs all the way to the bottom of the flap. It sort of forces the saddle to be center-rigged-ish, which doesn’t work well on my current horse.
If you mean western saddle, I’ll defer to others who are more knowledgeable on that than I am.
I tried an Aussie saddle, the seat was comfy and it fit my horse, but I felt trapped in it and found it more difficult to mount and dismount out of it. I kept it around a few years, but sold it eventually. Since you ride dressage, check out a decent quality barrel saddle. I am amazed how nice my leg is in the little Steinhoff trophy saddle I picked up is, and it is the most comfortable western saddle I have ever had. And, I have had quite a few over the years including 2 custom saddles. Having a hard to fit horse has opened my eyes to saddle options that I never would have considered. The flared shoulder on this little Steinhoff fits my hard to fit horses nicely. I am considering getting the same saddle in a little wider tree and slightly bigger seat, but every time I ride in it I like this saddle more. Just a thought.
That’s all very helpful thanks. Yes I was thinking of more of a an Australian style stock saddle but open to anything. WE don’t have much choice here in NZ so really have to do some homework before I go to the expense of importing something. I’ll have a look at the Steinhoff - I have never heard of them. You are lucky to have so much choice over there. Yes, I’ve been looking at the Downunder Longreach Endurance. They look good for my type of horse.
Double C is the saddle maker, small US company. The Steinhoff family are ranchers with 3 daughters that barrel race. This saddle is what they ride in. 
http://www.teamsteinhoff.com/index.asp
Here is the Double C barrel saddle page, they really don’t have very many dealers…really small company. They do lots of trophy saddles and the quality is quite good.
http://www.doublecsaddlery.com/cms/index.php/saddles/barrel-racing-saddles
I tried an Aussie stock saddle (coming from a dressage background) and sold it. There was way too much saddle between me and my horse and I couldn’t use my legs. My perspective of course, but giving the close-contact I was used to, I felt perched on this saddle. Some Western type saddles are closer contact. Actually I saw a synthetic Wintec being ridden by a kid the other day and it looked much closer contact.
Of course the endurance type saddles come in English and Western persuasion so look at an English type endurance too.
Wintec Synthetic Western http://www.amazon.com/Wintec-Semi-QH-Synthetic-Western-Saddle/dp/B002HTSX60
English type endurance saddle http://www.amazon.com/Exmoor-Endurance-English-Saddle-Black/dp/B0001GSN2A/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1371312849&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=englis+endurance+saddle
Paula
Well, if you’re willing to spend some $$$, check out Kent Saddlery (www.kentsaddlery.com.au). They are in Queensland, Australia. The guy here in the US who made my stock fender saddle knows them and said they do good work. I actually tracked down the US saddlemaker through the Kent Saddlery web site.
I used to have a saddle from Downunder Saddlery’s Down Under product line (like the Longreach is) and was quite pleased with the overall quality. The only reason I sold it was that I sold the horse it fit and it sat in my tack room unused for a few years. I’m even quite pleased with the quality, comfort, and fit of the super cheap synthetic Downunder I have, aside from the rigging style that I mentioned previously.
