what do you think? How far back is the stirrup bar?
Thumbs up! Love this saddle! Well worth the investment…
I’ve used the FB Enduro for about eight months now and put about 750 miles on it so far (conditioning and competition.) It was professionally fitted and flocked for my mare’s back and she has not had any soreness whatsoever. Her vet grades are great and we’ve been doing really well in competition.
For me it was a close call between the Arabian Saddle Company’s Solstice and the Frank Baines Enduro as I wanted a dressage-style saddle but made for long distance and with good weight distribution. What sold me on the FB was exactly what you are asking about: the position of the stirrup bar. With the Solstice I didn’t exactly have my heels underneath me the way I wanted but the FB worked right away without adjustments. Aside from that, it’s very well put together and extremely comfortable even without sheepskin cover (which I always use anyway, for sweat management…)
The one nit-picky thing about the stirrup bars I have is that they are fairly shallow. I was told that is for safety reasons so that the whole stirrup leather can come off easily and the rider doesn’t get dragged in an emergency. Well, the down side to that is that if you do some rigorous riding, e.g. steep climbing as we do, the stirrup leather may come out! It has happened to me once so I put little rubbery caps on the end of the bar as “stoppers.” (These are from the hardware store and you can see them on the handles of tools for instance.)
So yes, go and demo an Enduro and hopefully you’ll like it as much as I do. Good luck!
I hated it. Way too much saddle between my horse and I. The large knee rolls and THICK panels, combined with a scoopy seat made me feel all sorts of akward. My horse behaved oddly in it as well, even though it was quite wide enough for him. He’s a saddle fitting mess to begin with though.
I recommend getting one on trial before buying one. Trumbull Mountain Tack has a few in different sizes. The one I trialed was high quality and seemed like a very well made saddle, but within the first moments of sitting and riding in it, I knew it was NOT for me.
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but was wondering if there were any other opinions out there on the FB Enduro? Pondering that as an option in my saddle hunt, thanks!
Me too … I’ve been looking for one to trial locally (of course there aren’t any). Might have to bite the bullet and pay shipping.
My best friend has one and I’ve been keeping her horse in condition while she is out on injury. This is a super comfortable saddle, she does 50s in it and I see how. It’s pretty well balanced for endurance and is lovely leather. I’m an eventer, so the balance was a bit different than what I am accustomed to but once I got used to it, I very much like it.
Thanks for the good feedback! I have one coming on trial in a few days, will be interesting to see how it goes 
I put little rubbery caps on the end of the bar as “stoppers.” (These are from the hardware store and you can see them on the handles of tools for instance.)
Had to laugh about what I wrote here a year and a half ago… Needless to say, these stoppers didn’t stay on for very long and I didn’t bother putting new ones back on after I lost the first set.
The stirrup leathers have come off twice more since, once at a spook when my mare stopped so sharply from a fast trot that I just went forwards onto her neck and my legs flew backwards, leathers coming off. Which is what they are meant to do in situations like this, I guess, so you wouldn’t be dragged should your horse run off in a panic after you’ve lost balance. But still, a bit unnerving to have them fly away! So the shallow stirrup bars are my only beef with this saddle. Other than that, it’s as comfortable as ever and I still recommend it highly.
Can’t wait to try it! I wish it was coming tomorrow but I don’t think it’ll be here until Monday 
[QUOTE=Lieselotte;6089528]
Had to laugh about what I wrote here a year and a half ago… Needless to say, these stoppers didn’t stay on for very long and I didn’t bother putting new ones back on after I lost the first set.
The stirrup leathers have come off twice more since, once at a spook when my mare stopped so sharply from a fast trot that I just went forwards onto her neck and my legs flew backwards, leathers coming off. Which is what they are meant to do in situations like this, I guess, so you wouldn’t be dragged should your horse run off in a panic after you’ve lost balance. But still, a bit unnerving to have them fly away! So the shallow stirrup bars are my only beef with this saddle. Other than that, it’s as comfortable as ever and I still recommend it highly.[/QUOTE]
With the shallow stirrup bars, do you think it would be unsafe to go over small jumps in it on occasion?
I love the Frank Baines Enduro saddle for my hard-to-fit, high withered, super short backed, bouncy reactive Arabian. It is very secure up and down steep hills, and the cushy knee rolls and sticky buffalo leather work like velcro to keep me seated when he suddenly leaps 20 feet sideways at the sight of a suspicious white rock or upside-down-leaf (I am not kidding). I have not had any issues with leathers slipping off the stirrup bars, but just got it in September and only have about 540 miles on it. I got mine for $2200 at the Saddle Room in Ocala, Fla.
For my 2 other endurance horses I use the Arabian Saddle Company Solstice and the ASC Rubicon. I paid an extra $100 for the Rubicon to have a built-up seat to create a smaller twist, which relieves the sacro-iliac pressure which causes low back/leg pain that some people get from riding a wide-backed horse for 50 miles or more. I also have a Stubben Scout endurance saddle and highly recommend it.
I have the Enduro and I love, love, love it! I use it hacking out and also school dressage in it from time to time (3rd/4th level). It is one of the most comfortable saddles I think I have ever sat in.
I haven’t really done any jumping in it, except when my horse leaped over a bank of snow while galloping through a meadow. I think you’d be fine over small jumps.
Wow, it is a very nice saddle! I have one on trial (it came today!) and I rode in it tonight and I am looking forward to trying it again tomorrow! My horse was moving out nicely, all in all, I rather liked it
