One horse, 7ish saddles. Maybe 3 of them have any value that would make selling worth the effort. 2 of those 3 are in regular use. The third, and a fourth that is cheap and i could probably sell for close to what i paid for it, i probably should sell. Was hoping to save them for resale projects, but life has interfered with getting that dream off the ground. I have a passier gg that needs a seat replacement. It is expensive but i may just go for it as that may be my favorite. I can use it on my current horse, but he does better without a point billet
One saddle, one horse. I recently donated my gorgeous Barnsby Raven dressage saddle to a therapeutic barn’s tack sale because it never sold on consignment; I had that one for thirty years and three horses and it broke my heart to get rid of it. But I have nowhere to store it and now that it’s gone, I don’t miss it. Out of sight, out of mind. However, if I did have a place for it, I’d definitely keep it on display.
My current Passier is actually older than the Barnsby. My very first saddle was a Crosby PDN that I eventually sold.
I think we get so attached to saddles because it’s the one constant thing when using it on different horses. It’s like coming home–it’s familiar, like a comfy pair of shoes.
My name is tabula_rashah and I am a saddle hoarder
I have sold a few here and there if they 100% weren’t working for me or the horse and I needed to replace them with something else.
This thread inspired me to get three more saddles today!
I hang onto saddles that I think will be useful even if I don’t have a horse to match in my current string. I am capable of letting go of ones that I don’t find useful. Currently own six, just bought three, might sell a few that don’t seem to be working out. Three horses under saddle, two are only light riding. Fourth baby horse likely to spur new saddle shopping spree in a few years.
Current tally is my old heart horse’s Portuguese Relvas saddle - not been on a horse since 2005, can’t bear to part with that one!
Then I have a dressage and a jump Wow saddle and dressage and a jump Enlightened Equitation treeless Vogues, oh and a Christ Lamfalle Iberica sheepskin saddle.
I have one rideable horse
I can justify it as I use the treeless ones as work saddles on my liveries that I exercise and horses in for starting so not too bad.
I have bought and sold a dozen or more saddles over the last few years, so I don’t think I’m too bad
I’ve bought and sold so many trying to find something that works, so I just don’t get very attached to them. I am very proud that I made it through 2022 without buying any saddles though. That was some kind of record, lol.
Right now I have two horses in work and three saddles. One dressage saddle for each, and a jumping saddle they share. Now one of the horses has decided she likes other mare’s dressage saddle better, so I’m eyeballing the unused one and wondering if I should sell. Probably won’t though, as it was a needle in a haystack to find an XW hoop tree that also fit my long femur. The other is a Black Country Vinici, the only saddle I’ve ever had custom made, and it fits a lot of horses, so it is not likely to be going anywhere.
I have one of those too! And one of her dressage saddles. Very helpful to have a saddle that can work on so many horses.
Yes.
I am a ‘hoarder’ because the post 1986 American made saddles are garbage leather because of the EPA regulations. However it seems in recent events those regulations are selectively enforced.
I started riding again this summer after a two decade hiatus. I kept the saddle I bought in 2000 and brought it back from my hometown last month. It really did feel like coming home when I sat in it at my last lesson.
And I am totally a saddle hoarder: no horse in over 20 years but I kept my 3 saddles. I am going to say it paid off since I’m using one of them now!
I’ve only owned 2 horses and only really count the one b/c the second was kind of forced on me (long story that I don’t want to go into but to give some context: that barn sucked and was waaaay sketchy in many many ways).
I haven’t ridden a horse regularly since about 2016 and haven’t owned a horse since a year or so prior to that, but still have all my tack stashed away. It was the first tack I’d ever purchased as a horse owner and I bought it as a college student with a none-too-big budget. The bridle was a cheap Henri De Rivel I bought new for maybe $70-$80 at the time, saddle was a used older-model Collegiate dressage saddle.
Even if I upgrade to newer/better stuff someday, whenever I finally get back to riding, I don’t know that I’d be able to part with the saddle. I bought it used for like, $100 using a combination of Christmas and birthday money when I was 19 and it’s as much a memento of my first horse as anything else at this point.
EDIT: Also I do remember liking the saddle I took lessons in when I started riding at a better barn in my early 20s. I believe it was an Ainsley brand saddle, not sure what model, might’ve been an Ainsley Chester b/c I remember looking up the brand online and it looked like that specific type. The one I rode in was just an old lesson saddle at that point.
EDIT 2: I also still have my favorite pair of breeches, my tan breeches that didn’t get much wear b/c I didn’t get much chance to show, tall boots, paddock boots and half chaps. I have at times busted out the tan breeches with the tall boots (boots were hand-me-downs, old pull-on black field boots from the time immediately before zippers became common. Yes I know field boots once upon a time in the OLD old days were brown. No, I have never bothered to get zippers put in mine.) and paired them with a black turtleneck just b/c I can. I once wore exactly that to a county commissioners meeting a month or two back.
I actually REALLY liked the tall boots for riding in so have told myself even if I get more modern tall boots w/zippers for showing, I will keep those ol’ things around to ride in sometimes.
Saddle hoarder dilemma-
I have a super custom Bob Marshall endurance saddle fitted to my Rocky Mountain mare and previous weight me. Problem is that it no longer fits me and it’s no longer comfy. Comfy is an issue when our goal is to do our first 100 mile endurance ride by the end of this season. I am definitely going to sell it because I don’t plan on ever having it fit me again
But… do I sell it before or after I get her a new saddle? It would be awesome to have the funds from it to get a new saddle. It will be a duplicate of my Arab’s saddle (Specialized Ultralight) , it fits her and I both very well. So yes, I can use the Arab’s saddle on my Rocky but often I recruit my horseless friends to come do conditioning rides with me so there are times when both horses would be out on trail together and the Arab has to go in that saddle as he was really wonky to fit.
The saddle hoarder in me is saying hang on to the Bob Marshall until the new Ultralight comes in (sob their production is currently 3 months I think and I haven’t been able to find it used)
I would sell it after. Then, you have something to ride her in and you can compare the two.
My dilemma is being a bit short on cash and needing a new saddle. My plan is to measure my mare, using the saddle shop’s online guide, and taking that, plus the old saddle, to a big saddle shop not too far away to trade it in.