Regarding the Horses in our lives...

[Rustys Girls]

I like horses too, new to the site, just wanted to share spring in Texas. rg's

 

[perchie.girl]

I like horses too, new to the site, just wanted to share spring in Texas. rg's

Oh I love babies....

deb

 

[Rustys Girls]

Me too.

Thank you. rg's

 

[perchie.girl]

Me too.

Thank you. rg's

Im sorry I didnt welcome you to the group... lots on my mind these days.... Welcome...

deb

 

[Rustys Girls]

Heck, no worries, I am glad I found ya'll, Thank You. rg's

 

[Hylian]

If you can borrow one to ride in for the day... Some places that sell saddles will let you put down a deposit and as long as you keep it clean and unscratched you return it and you get the deposit back....

Another way to test out to see if you like english is to take a riding lesson or two in one. My old dressage saddle was nothing like the modern ones.. No Knee rolls or built up seat in the back and It had a standard billet system... Three billets instead of two very long ones.

I like three for round bodied horses that have no withers. The girth is wider and you don't have to crank it down in order for the saddle to stay in place.

Used english saddles can be rather inexpensive... An All Purpose is an excellent choice because you can do dressage with them or pop over low jumps and be secure..

deb

Thanks for the advice. I have a bit saved up, maybe I can hunt one down.

 

[Cearbhael]

Thanks for the advice. I have a bit saved up, maybe I can hunt one down.

Since my Adult life was all Arabs, when I took lessons, it was on a Saddle Seat saddle and with a double bridle! That is what Arabs are shown in! (Unless you get one laid back enough for western Pleasure) personally it is not natural for an Arab to carry their head low so I can't see forcing them to learn such an unnatural headset! I love English, but since I fell off a ladder in 95, my core is off and I (who rode bare back all her life) find it really hard to stay upright, even in a dressage saddle. My best saddle is a Down Under Australian bush saddle. It has all the best features of an English saddle (which they are based on) yet has an exclusive feature that is pure Australian (like a thigh brace) which was designed to keep the Australian drover in the saddle while galloping up and down the steep terrain the horse and cattle ranches were on. I am sure we ALL saw the man from Snowy River. Well, I am telling you that saddle is a miracle! It does just that! No way could I fall out of that saddle and it fit my Majiid like a dream.

 

[perchie.girl]

I am always in awe of anyone who can stick to a flat saddle.... I rode in one once and just about died....

deb

 

[Hylian]

Since my Adult life was all Arabs, when I took lessons, it was on a Saddle Seat saddle and with a double bridle! That is what Arabs are shown in! (Unless you get one laid back enough for western Pleasure) personally it is not natural for an Arab to carry their head low so I can't see forcing them to learn such an unnatural headset! I love English, but since I fell off a ladder in 95, my core is off and I (who rode bare back all her life) find it really hard to stay upright, even in a dressage saddle. My best saddle is a Down Under Australian bush saddle. It has all the best features of an English saddle (which they are based on) yet has an exclusive feature that is pure Australian (like a thigh brace) which was designed to keep the Australian drover in the saddle while galloping up and down the steep terrain the horse and cattle ranches were on. I am sure we ALL saw the man from Snowy River. Well, I am telling you that saddle is a miracle! It does just that! No way could I fall out of that saddle and it fit my Majiid like a dream.

Australian saddles are a good idea... Best of English, best of Western. I loooooove riding bareback.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:

For a few years I have tried out probably 10 different dressage saddles on a mule I had. I get pricey saddles "Excellent" condition for probably 30% of the cost on Ebay. I stick to popular names because I can resell them quickly if needed. So stick to popular saddles so it's easy to resell.

The most comfy ones I've tried were Anky Buffalo leather, Rembrandt (adjustable gullet), Isabel Werth (set of tree width gullets) with the Buffalo leather. These are cushy deep seat with large knee rolls . I feel more secure in them than in my various Circle Y barrel saddles. Those saddles are about $2600-$3000 new, and I bought them for around $800-900 "like new". If you like a harder comfy deep seat, there's others like newer models of Stuben and Passier. And if you want super inexpensive, there's the old never die "Hopfner" saddle you can find for under $300.00 to $500.00 that you can find in fair condition but the tree lasts forever.

All purpose and jumping saddles have a flat seat that's not at all like a western saddle. All these saddles use a thin pad because the tree is already padded. Let me know if you have any questions about sizing.