A while ago I posted about saddle fit for my QHTb. I got a lot of great advise. I think I found a saddle that will work.
Now… in my search, I came across several very high end saddles that did not state if they were narrow, med,wide etc. Instead the saddle is custom fit for a particular horse and changes are made as the horse changes . Now if a saddle like this is for sale, the owner wants a lot of money for it as they paid 5 to 6 thousand for it. If I need a wide and the saddle is set for Med how do I know it will fit my horse if I take it on trial? If I get a saddle fitter out the saddle would have to be sent away to adjust the tree. (Well past the usual 3 day trial) If it does not work at that point I just changed the saddle and I would think the owner would consider it bought and sold. I had to pass up several very nice saddles because I did not want to blindly buy a saddle without knowing it would fit my horse or me
also Ebay is full of very nice saddles , priced in the thousands and no option for a trial. Who wants to take that chance? All those saddles have been relisted and re
listed. I know trial periods are a pain especially if the saddle has to be shipped but there are local tack shops that take consignment, Maryland Tack Exchange in Fla is great to work with. They all offer a trial and handle the customer for a fee which is well earned. I was lucky a friend happened to have this saddle I will probably end up buying.
