Saddles, how to buy them?

[HearseGirl]

Okay, so…
I first learned how to ride english and started training for jumper when I was a teen. But they only teach you how to saddle up, not anything more about it…

We moved back to Kansas, and everyone pretty much is western here. So my interest went from jumping to barrel. But back then, and I’m guessing still is… No one in the area was interested in teaching anyone anything that isn’t in their family. So forget about western, let alone barrel.

So I was happy with just trailing. Even wanted to do competitive trailing.
But…
I found out that just as much as people don’t want to teach any technique to someone who they don’t see as being on the in crowd, even if you’re willing to pay… They also don’t want to answer questions about any type of tack or saddles, at least not without treating you like your an idiot, and still will give you little information to go on.
So…
I was like, fine… I don’t need one then… From there on out, I rode bare back only…
The only saddle I ever owned was a child’s saddle for the kids pony.
So…
If you will…
How do you buy saddles? How do you know if they will fit you and your animal? And how do you know what kind to get? I know I would want something light for trailing. Shoot, I had even thought about bare back saddles. As I get older, just jumping right up isn’t as easy. It would be nice to have stirrups again when I get back into them… Or… it may actually be a deal breaker to not getting back into horses if its gonna be a struggle all over again.

[Guilherme]

Begin at the beginning.

What do you want to do? Barrels? Jumping? Eventing? Military re-enacting? Mounted shooting? What? The discipline you pick will drive the type of saddle you want. A narrow discipline will have a rather specific saddle. A broader discipline a more general saddle.

Then you find one of the type(s)* you want that fits your horse. Spend some time on Google (or in the archives here on COTH) and you’ll find lots of information on saddle fit. Ensure that the saddle fits both you and the horse. You’d be amazed how many people forget that “fit” is a coin with two sides!!!

Google “how to measure a horse for saddle.” Google “how to measure a saddle.” You’ll find lots of information. You might try Googling “saddle fitters” and see what you find.

Now that you have some idea of saddle size plan a weekend trip to the nearest big city (KC, Denver, OK City).** Enjoy a nice dinner and hit the ground running the next a.m. hitting the biggest tack shops in the area. Find something that measures like it might fit and see if you can buy it “on approval.” You’ll have to pay for it but can return it if it doesn’t fit. Shipping saddles is not cheap so shop with your head not your heart.

If the above will not work for you then find a competent saddle fitter nearby (and that may actually be a couple of hundred miles in your part of the country) and either pay them to come to you or haul your horse to them.

This process isn’t “rocket science” but does take a bit of knowledge and some experience. For you, because of geography, it will also take some time and travel.

You can also haul your horse to The Big City, park in the big tack store’s lot, and tell them to bring out their wares. The difficulty here is that they are in the business of selling saddles for the optimum profit and you are in the business of buying the most correct saddle you can for your use within your budget. If you don’t know what you’re about you can make some expensive mistakes.

These are not “school” answers they are possible answers. Others may come up with better ones.

Best of luck as you go forward.

G.

*There is no law that says you can only have one saddle!

** In the alternative let your fingers do some walking and see what you find in towns near you. You might be surprised to find some good resources.

[Scribbler]

You need to find a good independent saddle fitter, English or Western, in your region, and pay for a session to have your horses measured and discuss their needs.

You can also look up saddle fitting websites on-line.

I have a set of paper tracings of my horse’s back. When I needed another saddle, I did the initial shopping. I went to used tack stores and to individuals selling on Craigslist, and even had some saddles shipped to me from out of town stores. I used the paper tracings to eliminate the saddles that would never fit. Then I bought one on trial, and had my saddle fitter look at it. She said it was a very good basic fit, and then restuffed the panels (English saddle) for a couple of hundred dollars.

One of the reasons that local amateurs are so cagey is that they don’t actually know that much, and are afraid if they answer too many questions, they will soon get to a point where their ignorance is obvious.

Hire a professional, who will be happy to talk on the subject all day long.

[Hunter_Mom]

Are you looking for a western saddle? If you are, check out R Bar B just north of Topeka. They have hundreds of western saddles new and used. I’d say that the vast majority of western saddles at our barn have come from Russ. You can haul your horse in for fitting, too.

[imaginique]

horsesaddleshop.com has a lot of information about buying and fitting western saddles. They have templates you can download to check what size gullet your horse needs and you can take it with you to check out a new saddle. And someone mentioned googling how to measure a saddle. You will find lots of information on how to make a detailed template of your horse’s back so you can use it when you go to buy a saddle. There are also videos on youtube. I have attended multiple saddle-fit seminars at Equine Affaire. Saddle shopping is normally a time-consuming and sometimes frustrating endeavor, but a necessary evil. I hope you have success and maybe even find someone willing to help you.

[HearseGirl]

Thank you very much for all this information!! Definitely feel more hopeful on this working out a lot better. What do you think about bare back pads? As well as getting saddles, Ill want these too. Are there some better then others, or are they all about the same?

[HearseGirl]

What do most people use that do trailing?

[BasqueMom]

Some folks for trail riding ride in whatever they already have from perhaps a reining saddle to a dressage saddle. There are saddles designed for trail riding…
Tucker is one company that specializes in those. Not cheap but quality. Some
have saddle horns and others do not.

[ChocoMare]

Ditto Scribbler. Save yourself lotsa time and heartache…just find an independent fitter to work with you and your horse. They’ll take all the right measurements and then find one that matches you both.

While she wasn’t “independent,” I’m so glad I called my local County Saddle rep. I hadn’t really ridden much in 2 years because I could not find a saddle to fit my Clyde-X. Within 90 minutes, I had my saddle picked and 13 weeks later, it arrived just in time for a clinic.

Don’t waste another minute…

[cloudy18]

Saddle fitting is a pain. I’m still searching. If you can find a good fitter, it’s best to go that route. But still read up on your own. Horsesaddleshop.com, www.rodnikkel.com are two good ones.

I’ve seen good reviews on a few bareback pads, if you search here you can probably find the threads. They are not cheap though. I think I’d put the money into a good saddle and ride bareback with nothing. I have one of the cheap ones and I’m not sure why I keep it. The stirrups are worthless, if not dangerous, and it’s prone to rolling.

You can trail ride in anything from English to Western to Australian stock saddle to treeless. Going treeless can open up a whole other can of worms (and I own one that I like, but they aren’t for everyone or every horse).

[TC3200]

Western saddles vary a lot in how they position the rider. I personally don’t get along with Circle Y saddles because C Y tends to have forward stirrups and the balance point of the seat toward the cantle. They chair-seat me and I hate it. TexTan products, show and pleasure, felt better to me. But since I can ride anything from a 14" to a 15" seat, I bought a couple of old small western saddles with SQHB and FQHB, paid $60 for one and $125 for the other. Then I spent another $100 on the $125 one for new synthetic fleece, new strings, and stainless Jeremiah Watt conchos. Spent $50 on the $70 one for new strings, Jeremiah Watt conchos, and a tie strap.

Both of these saddles cleaned up great. They have round skirts on purpose, to fit more horses. Their seats are the flatter 'bulldogging" vintage type, which allows me to keep up my English style in a western saddle, lol. They weigh in the 35# ballpark, which I can easily lift. When saddles push the 46-50# range like some actual ranch / working cowboy saddles do, I have trouble lifting them up onto 16h horses. Some days, I have trouble lifting those saddles off of a saddle rack, lol.

Companies like McCall make a “Lady Wade”, “Lady Pendleton,” etc that have a narrower built-up seat that fits a lot of women better than the typically wide seats of “male” ranch saddles. There are also “stripped-down Wade” from Corriente and others that reduces a lot of weight and bulk and has a stubby minimal skirt that works on short-back horses, if you need a big seat but a short saddle.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Hey, OP, I live in KS near the OK border - I’m not sure of any good tack shops up your way. I think the biggest tack shop in Kansas is CM Tack in Shawnee Mission. They carry a wide assortment of new and used Western and English saddles, so it would be worth a day trip to go see. When I went there (several years ago) they also had a saddle fitter on staff (not sure if they still do or not).

Red Earth Tack in OKC is wonderful - not sure how much Western they carry, though, but for English, they’re amazing.

There’s also EquiFest coming in February - lots of vendors with lots of saddles to look at.