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Discussion on Good all around western saddles | |
Author | Message |
Member: Green007 |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - 10:51 am: Please help me! I am an english rider (primarily dressage). I have an older horse for my husband and son to ride, but my son hasn't indicated a lot of interest lately. Turns out he has been teased at school for riding english (its a "girls sport" his friends say). He said he really, really wants to ride "cowboy style" with blue jeans and a cowboy hat, because THAT is cool...Now, we all know that is not true that men don't ride english. My own father (his grandfather) is an avid foxhunter and is very much red blooded male, so he has appropriate male role models. That said, I really don't care whether he rides english or western, so I am happy to set him up with a good quality western saddle if it will get him out to the barn with me! I rode western enough as a kid to be able to help him but it has been years since I purchased any western equipment. Anyone have a recommendation for a good all around schooling saddle for western riding? What brands are the best value, and the most comfortable? I would probably get a 15" so it is small enough for him, but big enough for me as I plan on using it to pony the greenies as long as I have it. Is 15" too big for a 10 year old boy? What brand should I get and how much should I spend? Thanks! |
Member: Chohler |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - 12:37 pm: I have several different western saddles. I have a nice colorado roping saddle, a really nice old roping saddle that we can't identify(it has mohair as a liner), a Billy Cook Saddle, and a few others I can't think of a name. I have austrailian saddles and an english saddle. I'm a good scavenger so happened upon the high dollar saddles real cheap.But I have to say that my Big Horn Cordura saddle has been the best. It has a rounded skirt, and not a deep well in the seat. It is 14 pounds and it allows me constant contact with my horse. I use it for training mustangs, and traipsing around in the mountains. At reining night I don't have the nicest looking leather saddle but I tend to work better than some of the others because of the close contact my saddle gives me. It handles getting beat up well, and not as much money as the others. I just hose off and go when it gets dirty. It is a perfect saddle for kids. There are all kinds of nice saddles the best thing is just to find a saddle that fits your son, that you wouldn't mind using yourself. You being an english person try to find a western that you can still maintain a good sense of balance and close contact in. Size depends on how big your son is. I'm 5'7" I use a 15" seat and i share my saddle with some of the students out at the barn the youngest being 13. I could use a 16" inch seat but I don't like a lot of space to bounce around in. You can find size charts on the internet. I will see if I can find one. |
Member: Terrilyn |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - 12:55 pm: There are so many saddles and so many opinions I almost hate to wade in on this one....Rule number one in my personal experience is that you get what you pay for with western saddles.That said, one can almost always find a good deal by buying something used....and they're broken in. My least favorite saddle purchased was an Aussie knockoff for about $600...junk. My favorite was $200 on a used Crates. Sold it several years later for the same amount of $$ and it was still in great shape. Good brands that hold up well include Circle Y, Tex Tan, and as Cheryl says above, Big Horn. I too really like the synthetic Big Horn, but that is the only brand of synthetic I've liked. The others are hard as a rock and uncomfortable. But yes, they are really light. Ebay can turn up some really nice deals...and some disastrous ones. Caution unless you really know what you're getting...I just bought a Circle Y Arab trail saddle that retails for $1000 for $450 in new condition....just be careful. Good luck, and let us know what you decide on! |
Member: Green007 |
Posted on Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005 - 2:30 pm: Check out this website.https://saddlezone.com/ Wow, I had no idea there were so many styles! I am not even sure what style I want let alone what brand. I suppose we want a trail saddle, but a roping saddle would be great if I use it for ponying. I need a good horn for that. |
Member: Dakota04 |
Posted on Monday, Apr 18, 2005 - 3:28 pm: I use a Crates that I like a lot. It's a trail model and not as heavy as some of those roping saddles. |