I got a new horse and of course my saddle is the completely wrong tree shape for him 
The fitter came out today and is ostensibly an independent fitter who does lots saddle repair, flocking changes/conversions and is well reputed, but she does seem to do a lot of business with Ideal (unclear if sheās an official rep). The saddle that he really liked was an Ideal Tonishia. I do love that itās wool, fits him great and seemed high quality for the price point, but Iām not thrilled at the idea of ordering a new custom saddle for a 4 year old. The lack of name recognition for Ideals in the US also makes me nervous about resale potential should he outgrow it.
This has now spurred a search for Ideals online, but it seems like they are very rare on the used market here and almost all are Jessicas, which are not the right tree for him. There seem to be a number of threads talking about how people like them, but someneed to sell them for an outgrown horse, but where are these people selling? Iāve tried the usual suspects like Pelham, Trumbull, Fine Used saddles and my local tack shops. Just trying to evaluate my options before biting the bullet.
If you know what you need, you might try buying from the UK.
What size? Please PM me. I might know of one.
They are pretty new in the US (doing the custom saddles). Maybe check w the rep to see if they have one that is available?
I got my Ideal from England, shipping was $75 and it was here in less than 10 days. So many more choices in England!
Thanks for the responses. I have been casually looking at international ebay. Are there specific UK based used websites I should be checking out?
This fitter has a few used ones but said that since theyāre very upgraded it wouldnāt really be cheaper than a custom base model. TBH I think that sounds like a gross overestimation of the used saddleās value since it seems like even the trendiest brands lose like 30-40% of their value on the used market even in excellent condition, but she sets the prices so who am I to argue.
Tds saddlery i think it is in the UK.
ive literally just bought a Tonisha too (paying for it tomorrow) They are fairly new to Australia too and gaining in popularity rapidly, the upside for me has been the ability to buy them really cheap second hand as they had no brand reconizability here.
wonder what the upgraded ones are upgraded with?
Have you looked at buying from ideal direct yourself?
What about Hastilow? I think they carry Ideal saddles and had a large number of used saddles when I was saddle shopping a few years ago.
I didnāt read through all the posts. Had a Jessica and ordered it direct from Ideal. Look into the exchange rate between the American dollar and the British pound. With brexit, the pound could be cheap right now which would be a bargain for you.
Upgrades to leather (buffalo leather, brushed buffalo seats, etc), upgraded knee rolls (Velcro for example), upgraded colors - the cantle lined in colors costs extra, designs put on the back of the cantle, etc. I am in the process of buying one, and have done some of these upgrades. For me, buffalo leather is a āmustā.
The demos seem to hold their value well around here. The rep easily sells the demos for almost full (new) price! Partly because they are decent quality and SO much less expensive then some of the other custom brands in the area. When a new custom Schleese runs $8k or more, and an almost new Ideal is $2,500 to $3k, fitted to your horse - well, itās quite the comparison!
Not sure where you are located but the saddle fitter I work with has several Ideal saddles. She is an independent fitter but really likes the Ideal saddles. She works closely with the company and the horse owner to get a truly custom fit.
I bought a custom jump saddle and picking all the options was fun. She had swatches of leather to choose from and colors for piping. Super nice saddle for under $1800 and my horse moves fantastic in it.
Iām in CA. I bit the bullet and ordered a new one Thursday. I agree the price point on the news is pretty awesome given all the options. I opted for Velcro blocks as my only major upgrade. Itās really nice that they could do shorter flap, shorter panels, different width twists and seats, etc with no price difference. Iām still suspicious about the resale potential but my horse was clearly happy, it seems very good quality and is easy on the eyes and my butt.
Hope you love it.
im loving mine, and my horse has freed up in front from the last saddle (also an ideal that he outgrew) which i had no complaints about.
UK website with saddles for sale; https://www.preloved.co.uk/
PS. Used stuff in the UK is called āSecond Handā.
I am not a dressage rider, but am a hunter rider, and have an Ideal, and a couple of my students had Ideals. Only one student (she was a child when she got it) outgrew it and needed to sell; I donāt know if she even did sell. My other student ordered a new one directly from Ideal this past year, and loves itāshe has no intention of selling it. And, I have no intention of selling mine, either. I had a client who bought a couple of horses that came with their Ideal saddles; one was a dressage saddle, the other a GP. If I recall, she had no trouble selling them when the time came. They are an excellent company to work with, and very good quality at a reasonable price. Iād say it would be worth it to get a new one.
Did you go through a fitter or did you go through a UK retailer? I am trying to buy an Ideal now but the closest fitter is more than 1000 miles from me. (Sheād also rather sell her higher priced saddles than the Ideal, and jacks those prices up too.)
I went through a fitter. She does all sorts of fitting/flocking, but also reps for ideal. I donāt think she advertises this widely. All her promo stuff reads as an independent fitter. I think if I had been a stickler for budget she would have come up with non-ideal options but I basically said I wanted what heād be happiest in within a few grand price range.
