What do you ride in & do you like it?

[doublesstable]

I have tried many saddles over the years new and used… it really depends on your horse and what you like riding in - however I find a few saddles rise to the top - ** Many saddles are very difficult ordering and ALL can have fit issues even if you are buying new. Something to consider from what you hear from different brands.

** Butets Very nice and comfortable saddles. Softest seat I have ever ridden in. twist is very comfortable for me. Not for a wide backed/no-wither horse type. Very popular saddles in the Eq ring. Puts your leg and seat in a very correct position.

** CWD Nice saddles and hold up well. Leather coloring is even and good quality. Seat is generous and secure. Leather has good feel and grip. A bit heavier saddles. Long order time. Fits a variety of horses. I do have one that is a 2010 and looks brand new still.

** Meyer Love this saddle for my wide backed horse. Leather coloring not as dark and nice as my CWD. Very comfortable. Difficult to order. I have this saddle as well.

Devocoux similar quality to the Butet. Nice saddles but twist was a bit wider than I like

TC felt hard and too flat in the seat Nice leather

Voltair felt hard and stitching seemed cheap to me. I didn’t like the feel of it at all. The twist was super wide. I felt like it was a western saddle.

Equupe very similar feel to the Voltair. Leather not as nice as the Butet and Meyer.

Pessoa Nice saddles for a smaller budget. Leather not as nice as the Butet. A bit hard in the seat.

Bates All the models I tried felt hard and never fit any of my horses well

County Leather felt stiff and seat was long and too high in the back for me

[fordtraktor]

@ToTheNines

I agree with fordtraktor on the Tad Coffin. You are welcome to come sit in it. It’s a 17.5, so a bit big for you probably. I actually don’t know anyone else around here with one.

Fits all my horses, with various half pads. But I can speak only for the flat seat with the SmartRide. I like a flat seat, and don’t like saddles that position me into a single position tho. My diifferent horses like different seats. Keif likes me taller and deeper, Snoop needs different seats such as for his change, JR likes me to perch and leave him alone, Mel is uncomfortable so I stay off his back, etc etc.

I had an A5 before and loved it as well, I just needed the slightly higher wither clearance the TC2 offers. I mostly ride TBs and the A5 sat on the withers of my current main horse even with an Ogilvy type pad. It was OK with a Supracor but I didn’t like how high it made the saddle feel off his back. The TC2 rides very similarly to the A5 IMO. it is still a very minimalist saddle with excellent balance, at least for this tall, long legged, hard to fit person. I like the minimalist feel but it definitely isn’t for everyone. It feels a lot like my old Crosby PDN I used as a junior, with far better and more comfortable leather, and a tiny knee roll. I love it most because of now much my horses like the tree.

[anmoro]

I had a County Stabilizer for many years. I miss it more than you can imagine. Unfortunately, it didn’t fit the horse I am riding now, so I sold it to a girl I know after my horse passed. Hands down, I swear by County. It has been the best for every horse I rode as well as rider. One day I will find a wide in a 16" in my budget. :-(. Anyway, I temporarily tried a Prestige Meredith X, loved it, would recommend it. Custom to fit, it’s very reasonable (the price of most French saddles used). I currently have a Prestige Nona Garson (bought it used). I liked it for a few weeks, not so much now, but the WB I ride needs a 35cm tree and finding a wide enough saddle for him, a short, forward enough flap for me is hard.

I really like MD Tack Exchange. Nicole is knowledgeable and gives a generous trial. She has foam and wool saddles. I think out of all the used tack places, she is the easiest to work with. She doesn’t push any brands on you, but will help you find what’s best for your horse.

[x]

I ride one of my horses in my Ideal saddle. I really like it. I have a student that had one of them made for her, and really likes it. It is a good company with lots of choices. I ride my other horse in my Forestier saddle, and like that one about as well. But I think finding Forestier saddles in the US now might be difficult; I got this one new quite some years ago.

[WBmare]

I have a County Stabilizer. Love love love it. Of course the best saddle is what fits your horse the best. But I do swear by my County. I sat in a Tad Coffin once and personally was not a fan.

[mlm7914]

Another vote for Tad. Customer service is always top notch.

[silver_charm]

I’ve never ordered custom, and after seeing barn friends go through heck with multiple different companies, I’m resolved to never buy something that I can’t ride in first.

That said, I loved my Butet, my Childeric, and now my PJ. They were all nicely narrow in the twist and very close contact while allowing me to get out of the saddle. The PJ is my current saddle, a bit more saddle than I’m used to but as soon as I sat in it my seat was instantly more stable - took a minute to break in the flaps but you’d have to pry it from my cold dead hands for flatting. Once the jumps go up I’m going to have to look for something with a more forward flap, unfortunately for my budget.

For whatever reason, Antares and CWD didn’t do it for me, although I bet with the correct flap/seat depth combo I could be convinced. I just didn’t get the locked in feeling and felt sort of like I was riding above or around the saddle instead of in it. I’d love to try a Tad and a Country but I haven’t known anyone who had one. And the Schleese I used to ride a friend’s horse in was a horrifying rock - never again.

[BayWatch]

I LOVED my calfskin monoflap Antares but unfortunately as my horse aged the saddle no longer fit and I had a heck of a time trying to sell it as it didn’t fit a wide range. I have a grain leather CWD currently that my horse and I like very much and is wearing BEAUTIFULLY, though I know based on your experience mentioned you may not be interested in looking.

Good luck on your search!

[IPEsq]

My guess is that sizing wise go for the D3D model in the size you’d want to have in the new Biarritz S. The one on MDtack should be what you are used to if you can handle the flap difference.

[Sueby]

Premium Butet, which I love. Fits me and my horse well.

[HP_sblueskyenterprise]

looks around suspiciously I ride in a Voltaire I LOVE it…shhh but I wouldn’t let the word get out.

[Jackie_Cochran]

I do not own a horse now, so I ride other people’s horses, often with definite conformation faults (croup high, short “saddle area” on the back, and curvy/sway backs.)

I bought a Pegasus Butterfly saddle (mine is a Claudia). Since with my MS I have extremely poor side to side balance, I had problems at first. These problems were solved by using a Contender II BOT/ThinLine saddle pad with center shims for the super curvy/sway backs, mohair string girths, getting myself a pair of silicon full seat breeches, and finally accepting the fact that one of my legs is longer than the other.

The reason I did not give up with this saddle when I had problems with it is that it gives the horses’ shoulders GREAT freedom. ALL the horses are more willing to “reach out” when I ask them to even when I could not keep the saddle centered at first. Neither I or my instructors have noticed any back problems even when I was adjusting to the saddle, and the horses seem to have no difficulties in adapting their backs when I introduce new movements (it is a subtle difference, but with the Pegasus Butterfly saddle the horses will try instead of just refusing as they did with my Stubben or Crosby saddles.) Since the horses will try new things with this saddle, I am then able to develop their movement instead of just feeling frustrated for years because I just could not get the horse to willingly move in new ways.

I am pretty confident that this saddle will work with the majority of horses, if I shim my saddle pad properly.

If a person has to ride many different horses this saddle is a possible solution. One great thing is that the front of the saddle automatically adjusts to the horse which means that the rider does not have to deal with replacing the pommel arch “gullets”, and it adjusts to fit horses that have uneven muscular development in the front. I ride most of the time sitting down in the saddle and I find the seat very comfortable and the saddle does not restrict my seat. Other problems with fit can be adjusted by changing the shims in my pad.

[Brutus614]

I tend to prefer a deeper seat (especially compared to many hunter/jumper riders). I’ve owned a Prestige Meredith which I I adored and fit numerous horses (mostly Thoroughbreds, but a variety of sizes) really well. It didn’t fit my new Westphalian though, and he got a County Innovation which is also wonderful (and fits my Thoroughbred with a half pad). The leather on the County isn’t full calf (like my Prestige was), but after two rounds of light oil, it is quite supple.

[jhg140]

I rode in a Butet for years - loved the narrow twist and feel. Upgraded to an Antares about three years ago with the narrow twist (E) and have been very happy.

[Blinky]

I’ve got a Luc Childeric but its probably 10 years old at this point. Wider twist then I would like but for the most part I stay snug in it. I’ll need to replace it in a year or two and would see what they have out now.

Just about everyone at the barn when they need a new saddle has bought a CWD but I’m not too excited about their new look.

[Nickelodian]

@IPEsq

My guess is that sizing wise go for the D3D model in the size you’d want to have in the new Biarritz S. The one on MDtack should be what you are used to if you can handle the flap difference.

IPEsq, not following…the one on MD tack is a socoa, not biarritz S. I am struggling because the 2017 saddle that I bought was a 16.5, 1 flap. The flap was way too straight and small and the seat was too small too. So do I need a 2 flap in one of the newer saddles? a 17? I just don’t know.

[mmeqcenter]

I have a Collegiate jump saddle that I just Loooooooooove. It is so pretty and very very comfortable and it has wool flocking. I get frequent comments on how pretty it is how and nice it looks; people are always surprised it’s a Collegiate and not one of the more expensive brands.

I recently got a Bates dressage saddle with Cair panels and I like it. I won’t say I love it, but it is very comfortable. I have not noticed any problems while riding with the Cair panels, but I would prefer wool. I bought it pretty cheap used but in barely used condition. It did require a few minor repairs and Bates customer service has been absolutely AMAZING. I will not be hesitating to buy a new dressage saddle with flocking (perhaps the Isabell) from Bates when I can afford to.

Both fit my mare beautifully and have the Easy Change gullet system which I just love. Idk that I’ll ever buy a saddle without it again.

The Pessoa’s I’ve ridden in I did not like. Butet, County, CWD, Black Country, Devoucoux; they’re nice saddles, but I personally did not feel they were soooo special enough to warrant me spending thousands more for one. Maybe I just don’t have a very sensitive bum.

[Showjumper28]

Bought a new Devoucoux Biarritz O this past October. Love the way it rides and so does Dublin. Puts me in a very correct position and balance. It also stabilizes during the trot, as Dublin moves a ton through his back and really tosses you around. My only complaint was working with Devoucoux, horrible customer service. Would definitely buy one used.

[Quinn]

Love my County as well. Conquest with a Stabilizer seat. Leather is gorgeous.

[foursocks]

I loved my County Innovation, but it was originally made for my TB and didn’t fit my WB. My friend has a Devoucoux that bizarrely fits nearly every horse, but it is a XC monoflap model. I had a Biarritz that I liked a lot but it was too wide for my horse.

Although it is apparently garbage sniffle I adore my Voltaire Stuttgart. My horse goes incredibly well in it- he is very free in his shoulder, and it fits him with just a Back on Track/Thinline square pad underneath. And, very important: even when we are doing very big fences I do not get jumped out of the tack. It’s nice and cushy without being a chair. I have it in buffalo, which even stood up to my idiot animal rolling in a small pond…while I was on him. I love it.