Western saddle fit check

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8133307]
There are a couple of Billy Cook saddles on eBay that actually appear to be Longhorn saddles…my internet research didn’t turn up much other than Simco and Longhorn are the same thing. Are these “fake” Billy Cooks? Are they decent saddles at all? Do they fit anything like a Billy Cook, or why are people calling them Billy Cooks?

I keep coming back to this saddle as well: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=141651990715

Anything I bought on eBay I would be sticking my neck out on. Kind of scary, but I have also exhausted all of the local options. I signed up for a show at the end of the month too…[/QUOTE]
The original Billy Cooks are just that. The Longhorn Billy Cook are some sort of buy out or something years ago. Different saddles for sure. Longhorn BC are less expensive but that’s all I know.

Now the Circle Y on EBay may be a good option. Is there any new Circle Y saddles in that tree you can try on? New may be out of your budget but at least you would know if it would fit. I know there are several people on here that love the Flex2 tree.

[Draftmare]

I don’t think any of my western riding friends have one. I almost brought home a Circle Y trail saddle from the tack shop but couldn’t get over the codura material for the skirt and fenders. I don’t think they were wides though, just regular quarter horse bars.

[Draftmare]

Wishing I had more to spend… http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=131502607585 Looks like exactly what I need!

I messaged on the other circle y with some question.

[craz4crtrs]

Darn it. Had a long reply and it disappeared.

That last new saddle on EBay is from a great shop in Olympia, WA. Call them, they are wonderful about fitting and at least in used, sending out via shipping saddles to try.

[Draftmare]

The Circle Y that I just posted? That one is more than I can spend, but I could see what else they have.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8133747]
The Circle Y that I just posted? That one is more than I can spend, but I could see what else they have.[/QUOTE]
In my original lost post, I said they tend to have a nice selection of both used and new. Will send you pictures etc. if you have any back tracings, send those to them. And they are open on Sunday’s.

http://www.tackroomtoo.com/

[Draftmare]

That Circle Y is soooo pretty. The other one that I posted looks a lot like it, I think?

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8133809]
That Circle Y is soooo pretty. The other one that I posted looks a lot like it, I think?[/QUOTE]

If you could find a Circle Y with the wide tree somewhere to try on your horse, whether you are shipped a demo or you find one locally. then you know if it will work for you.

I think Horsesaddleshop.com has a demo program or at lease a good return policy. And they sell Circle Y. Another option.

[Draftmare]

The local tack shop sells Circle Y trail saddles, but since they are codura would they fit differently? The fronts of them seemed pretty flexiable which I liked, but I just couldn’t get over the fabric look. Also the fenders were horribly uncomfortable.

edit to add: good shot of the front of a different Circle Y Topeka. I like what I see!

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8133938]
The local tack shop sells Circle Y trail saddles, but since they are codura would they fit differently? The fronts of them seemed pretty flexiable which I liked, but I just couldn’t get over the fabric look. Also the fenders were horribly uncomfortable.

edit to add: good shot of the front of a different Circle Y Topeka. I like what I see![/QUOTE]

Call Circle Y and ask about the difference between the synthetic and all leather. Looks like the gullet may be 7 in. Measuring so low is hard to see the correct width of the gullet. Gullet width corresponds to the gullet behind the pommel. That’s why it’s so hard the measure. You can have a wide gullet but then the shoulder flare is too straight.

I would want to know the gullet width of the regular tree, wide and extra wide.

[Draftmare]

Well I’m glad you mentioned that. Got on their website and found their serial number reading guide. If I am reading it correctly the one I linked is regular bars, not wide (last two digets are 04, should be 05 for wide bars or 06 for draft bars). I couldn’t find exactly what they measure other than them saying it’s hard to measure a western saddle on their saddle fitting guide. They do have a nice pictorial guide to different conformations and saddle types. According to them she is a good candidate for the wide tree.

How much do you think new leather finders would be? Would I be “made fun of” for showing in a codura saddle? Local tack shop carries their codura trail saddle and then their show saddles. They can order me other models but most are not in the budget. They sure had some yummy looking ones in their catalog!!

[craz4crtrs]

This is why saddle shopping is so hard. So many ads will say fqhb and they are really qh. And some qh bars are really wide like some of the Courts. I tried an used Courts Camarillo barrel saddle that even Courts says is full bars and it wasn’t close to fitting my mare. I drove over six hours up and back to get it and then sent it on to the other person that wanted it. I was out fuel and some shipping. I about had a panic attack that the custom saddle I had on order wouldn’t fit. Turns out the tree that fits my horse the best is their BGC tree. 7 in gullet but tons of shoulder flair, but says their qh bars.

Yes, you could get new fenders for the new Circle y Cordura but honestly I would get something else. I have had synthetic, but never kept them very long.

Double C is another little saddle that comes in wide widths. Lots of models and styles. I picked up an used Double C Steinhoff trophy barrel saddle with the 02 tree that was almost wide enough a couple years ago. Decent leather and can be really plain or blinged out. Some dealers will call the 02 tree full bars but it isn’t. The 03 tree is full bars and 04 draft bars.

The Steinhoff website is all barrel saddles, but they are really knowledgeable to talk with. They even have larger seat sizes. And I know they will send out demo saddles. A nice barrel saddle can be great for trail riding. Are you going to show or rope cows? Then look at other models.
http://www.teamsteinhoff.com/index.asp

The main Double C distributor of all styles is in Florida.
http://www.doublecsaddlery.com/index.php/saddles

This is the saddle I had and I found it very comfortable. http://www.doublecsaddlery.com/index.php/saddles/product/view/1/59

I am not affiliated with this company in any way, just know the saddles are very nice for the money.

The dealer… And they have a bunch of pictures of saddles other than barrel saddles.
https://www.facebook.com/DoubleCSaddlery

Added this picture of their new all around.

https://scontent-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xta1/t31.0-8/10497003_818871364821122_2242530576800353751_o.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoibyJ9

[Draftmare]

I looked at the used codura saddles that they had in store and wasn’t impressed with how they looked. Mostly I just loved how light they were considering my mare is 16.1. The Billy Cook was pretty easy to get on her, the RS not so much. I have no plans to rope, I don’t think I would be able to lift a roping saddle up on her anyway. I lifted a couple at the tack shop and it was not easy. Western dressage, some open shows, trail riding, and some day I would love to try team penning or sorting.

The Corriente I was looking at on Facebook is now up on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=251941543900 Looks pretty flaired up front?

I will check out Double C as well, and am going to keep an eye out for a wide Circle Y as well.

[Draftmare]

If I am reading the serial number right this one appears to be on their wide tree, and they are open to offers: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=371319498858. Visually though it doesn’t look super wide.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8134249]
I looked at the used codura saddles that they had in store and wasn’t impressed with how they looked. Mostly I just loved how light they were considering my mare is 16.1. The Billy Cook was pretty easy to get on her, the RS not so much. I have no plans to rope, I don’t think I would be able to lift a roping saddle up on her anyway. I lifted a couple at the tack shop and it was not easy. Western dressage, some open shows, trail riding, and some day I would love to try team penning or sorting.

The Corriente I was looking at on Facebook is now up on eBay: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=251941543900 Looks pretty flaired up front?

I will check out Double C as well, and am going to keep an eye out for a wide Circle Y as well.[/QUOTE]

The only Corriente I have tried on wasn’t near wide enough. The actual gullet measurement isn’t that wide. The flare may be deceiving because the picture is more from the bottom of the saddle. Maybe it will fit, maybe not.

When saddle shopping I called Corriente and sent pics of my fjordieX back tracings. At that time the guy said no to their saddles fitting my horse. His back was very similar to your horse. My little mare is quite a bit wider than he was, she is so round over the withers. Not a peaked type wither, more of a 3 point.

We have another really wide qh gelding but he has the little peak to his withers, even though he is almost mutton withered. He isn’t as hard to fit.

Unless you are pretty sure a saddle is going to fit, I wouldn’t buy off of Ebay. Besides, the last saddle I bought off of Ebay had a broken tree.

Have you done tracings? You can send copies off to places that have saddles and see how the angles are. And you can take the tracing with you while shopping to check angles.

Two fingers behind the shoulder and at the highest part of the withers is what seems to work while comparing gullets. Back tracings may be requested, but if the front fits the tracings, then you can see how the back tracings work for rock and width or flatness of bars.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8134351]
If I am reading the serial number right this one appears to be on their wide tree, and they are open to offers: http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=371319498858. Visually though it doesn’t look super wide.[/QUOTE]

Maybe…return policy? It doesn’t look narrow. Kind of hard to tell since the measuring stick is so low. I can tell a lot more in person by the spread of my hand under the gullet.

[Draftmare]

I had read in the reviews that they ran narrow, but the seller thinks this saddle is much wider than her other FQHBs saddle. Risky for sure.

I have exhausted everything locally unless I want to buy new. Come to find out the Billy Cook that I posted earlier is “local” (hour away) to me, but the owner has not gotten back to me about letting me try it first. Probably because she expects it to sell on eBay. http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=171771464836

I emailed Steinhoff to see what they have in stock. Their saddles don’t look like what I would expect a barrel saddle to look like. The reviews I read though said most people saw a 3-4 month waiting period for their saddle to ship. :eek: I know that is probably standard for customs, but I would really like to have one to use for showing this summer!

[Draftmare]

Had a nice long chat with a rep from the western saddle shop website. He suggested the Big Horn mutton withered saddle and it looks like they have a draft cross model as well. Anybody know anything about this brand? They offer free shipping and have a generous 2 week trial policy.

[craz4crtrs]

[QUOTE=Draftmare;8135113]
Had a nice long chat with a rep from the western saddle shop website. He suggested the Big Horn mutton withered saddle and it looks like they have a draft cross model as well. Anybody know anything about this brand? They offer free shipping and have a generous 2 week trial policy.[/QUOTE]

I think Big Horn saddles are fine, not high end, but I have heard of people really liking them. I have seen the haflinger trail in person. Really plain but a solid saddle. Stick with all leather for longevity. And leather latigo and off billet. My opinion is that leather is more comfortable for the horse and your hands.

[Draftmare]

Both of those models are all leather. I am trying to sleuth out what the difference between the two are. They are both suppose to fit the really wide types. I just spent some time reading reviews on horse tack reviews and they all seemed positive. Even the negative ones were negative for weird reasons like “doesn’t come in a big enough seat size for my 300 pound husband” and not for the actual quality of the saddle.