I just wanted to know if anyone has this saddle or any Schleese saddle and what your thoughts were? Does it hold its value? Does it hold up over the years, my last saddle I have owned for 12 years and has worn very well.
I love mine! My horse is the princess & the pea of saddle fitting, and we can get the Eagle exactly right for him due to the adjustability of this saddle (tree & flocking). The shape of the seat & balance of the saddle suit me very well. I feel like it’s easy for me to be in the right position on the flat & over fences but still with plenty of freedom of movement- I never feel stuck in it.
I bought it used after keeping an eye out for used Schleese jumping saddles for over a year. Based on that, it seems like the Schleese jumping saddles hold their value quite a bit better than dressage saddles. I assume that’s because there are fewer of their jumping saddles out there, and they usually only have 1 or 2 models being made at a time & don’t change them as frequently as the dressage saddle models.
I didn’t know that the tree is adjustable. Is this a special option or do all the saddles have it? I am looking at a used one as well. It is about 1000 cheaper than a new custom one. I haven’t tried it yet so I don’t how it fits my horse or my self, so we will see. But I wanted to know about the saddle before I try it.
I have a Schleese dressage saddle (a fairly heavily modified HK.) I absolutely love it, and part of the reason is their adjustability (you can read about the tree here: http://www.schleese.com/Adaptree-Patent-Information.)
I’ve never sat in their jumping saddles although a friend has an Eagle and likes it quite a bit. It seems to have quite a deep seat, FWIW. She does the bigger jumpers and also does some XC, and says it offers a lot of security. I personally like a flatter seat on a close contact, but that is just a personal preference.
I have found the company to be really good to work with, although I think a lot of the experience you have is dependent on the fitter. I ended up using a Schleese fitter on the west coast (Karen at Art2Ride) instead of our local person and she was absolutely fantastic.
Sent you a PM. 
[QUOTE=bluecharm7;7379638]
I didn’t know that the tree is adjustable. Is this a special option or do all the saddles have it? I am looking at a used one as well. It is about 1000 cheaper than a new custom one. I haven’t tried it yet so I don’t how it fits my horse or my self, so we will see. But I wanted to know about the saddle before I try it.[/QUOTE]
Yes, the tree is fully adjustable in both width & angle. The Schleese saddle fitters have a machine that does it. That way as your horse grows & changes shape, changes muscling, gains or loses weight etc you can just get the saddle adjusted & not have to keep changing saddles because they no longer fit your horse. All Eagles have this adjustable tree- Schleese’s patented “Adaptree.” At least some Passier’s also have adjustable trees but I don’t know if they all do.
I had an Eagle as a “flip” saddle and hated it. It put me in a major chair seat and it was extremely hard to get in a 2 point, much less stay out of the way over fences.
I have several Schleese dressage saddles. I’d recommend you get reviews of your local fitter before purchasing. Mine has been… less than stellar…
I test rode a Schlesse Eagle and had the same problem as Jo. The saddle put me in a chair seat and made me feel stuck. It fit my horse beautifully, but it did not work for me.
I think your biggest concern in looking at Schleese is the fit guarantee if you order one. I bought a dressage saddle from them and it arrived looking like it was made for a different horse. Several people, all experienced dressage riders, said it looked like the tree shape was completely wrong. My horse HATED it. Getting my money back was a pain in the @$$. I will never work with that company again. What I found unforgiveable was the fact that Johann himself did the fitting and measurements, they used all sorts of gadgets to make those measurements and it still came out horribly wrong.
some people love SChleese, but I’d steer clear. If you want to sell a jumping saddle, buy one from a company that specializes in that type of saddle, not a dressge company that just happens to be getting into it
I have a Schleese Eagle J and I pride myself on my reputation for being fair. I paid full price for it new in 2008. Does it hold its value? Just like a new car, there is a good amount of depreciation once you “drive it off the lot.” Schleese is no different IMHO.
The saddle fitter who originally fit me and my gelding did a good job. The saddle fit him very well and was good for me at the time. He was green and young so I was doing dressage with the intention of moving right into hunters. For this reason, the Schleese Eagle J was a good option. The deep seat was acceptable for Intro and Training Level dressage and the A/P cut of the saddle made transitioning to hunter just fine for my level.
What I wish I had known then was that the deep seat is really not great for all horse types. With my gelding who was a tad bit downhill, it was perfect. For my new mare who has tons of suspension and uphill movement, the saddle is horrendous for me. I am a short 5’ 2 1/2" lady with a post cancer weight problem. The deep seat has caused me severe back pain. I have to strain to post. Because of this, I have the saddle on the market and I am moving to a flat type hunter saddle.
Regarding the company: Thinking the saddle could be adjusted to fit my new mare (I have the AdapTree) and myself, I contacted Schleese to get the saddle fitter for my area. My original saddle fitter is no longer with them. The fitter covering my area comes no closer than a 4 hour trailer haul one-way. Since I don’t have a trailer and my mare is 4, that is not an option.
They advertise on their website that they can assist with adjustments by sending the information to them and then possibly shipping the saddle. So, I spent an entire afternoon gathering old photos of me and my old gelding, new photos and video of my new mare, the last fitting sheet showing all of the adjustments and my measurements, and new measurements of my mare.
I emailed this in 4 separate emails (because the files were large) to the office manager with the request for an evaluation quote so that I could ship the saddle to them. Here is their reply (mind you, I had already advised them that shipping was my only option because of the distance of their saddle fitter):
“We do have a representative who services your area that may be able to come out and do an onsite fitting for you and your new horse. Her name is -----. She can certainly evaluate your saddle and the fit to the horse. She can also give you approximate costs on the fitting. Have a great weekend.”
Seriously, did you NOT read my email at all? That email just confirmed what I had experienced several times prior with their customer service. The home office is terrible. The independent saddle fitters may be fully qualified and professional, but the company that they represent has the most “I don’t care” customer service that I have ever experienced. And I spent $4300 for the saddle, plus had 1 pre-fitting service and 3 post-purchase refits. Each one of those was approximately $300-$400.
Upon preparing the ad to sell my saddle, I also discovered that they told me the saddle was a 17" (on the paperwork), but the serial number and the measurement reflect an 18". A minor detail, but that really was the last straw.
Here is a link to some photos of me in the saddle. For what I needed at the time, the saddle did the job. Was it worth the full price I paid at the time? I thought so. If I had known more, I would have definitely gone a different route.
The good news for others who like their saddles is that there are some great deals on the internet for them. The saddle itself is very well made and fully adjustable just as advertised. I would never recommend buying it full retail or working with their home office.
Here are some photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503557756/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503507625/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503489805/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503491686/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503506503/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadytrake/11503500643/in/photostream/
EDIT TO ADD: You will know if the saddle has an AdapTree if the serial number has an S. My serial number is 8036S0308
[QUOTE=vagabondrider;7379816]
Yes, the tree is fully adjustable in both width & angle. The Schleese saddle fitters have a machine that does it. That way as your horse grows & changes shape, changes muscling, gains or loses weight etc you can just get the saddle adjusted & not have to keep changing saddles because they no longer fit your horse. All Eagles have this adjustable tree- Schleese’s patented “Adaptree.” At least some Passier’s also have adjustable trees but I don’t know if they all do.[/QUOTE]
Only if the serial number has an “S” in it. Not all of their saddles have the AdapTree.
[QUOTE=shadytrake;7381072]
Only if the serial number has an “S” in it. Not all of their saddles have the AdapTree.[/QUOTE]
All of the Eagles have the Adaptree, since the Eagle has only been made since they started using the Adaptree exclusively. Some of their old models have an “H” instead of an “S”. Those models are made on a Hennig tree instead of an Adaptree. I don’t think they’ve used Hennig trees since the late 90’s.
