I recently started shopping for a new saddle for
Salty, my 6 year old gelding who is currently with a trainer.
Since I didn't have him around to measure, I thought I would take a different
approach to the Great Saddle Search, and start by trying out a few saddles
to see what fit me, then see if what I liked could fit him. So, I visited
a tack shop that has a pretty good selection of saddles, English AP, dressage,
western, and many different makers.
What an eye opener!!! I'd been looking at the
Wintec Isabell dressage saddle, and thinking that the deep seat looked pretty
secure and comfortable. Not for me. Tried the Wintec 2000.
Okay, needed a smaller seat size than I thought (17"). Tried a used Wintec
250 (17.5"). Fit me just right, and was very comfortable. (Don't
think they come with the changeable gullet system, though, so it might be a
problem getting it to fit Salty). Tried a Stubben AP, tried a Collegiate,
tried both dressage and AP styles. I needed different seat
sizes in different brands or styles. That was a surprise.
I thought a 17" was a 17".
I also tried western saddles. Several people
had recommended the Big Horn as a good, low-budget saddle that seems to fit
a lot of horses well, and has a balanced seat. I tried one. Way too
wide a twist for me. Tried a Crates, it was okay. Tried a
Circle Y, and it felt good, but didn't have a very balanced feel (I thought I
would have trouble posting). Again, I needed different seat sizes in
different makes of saddle. And none of these western models were endurance
models, which I would prefer.
I have also ridden in an Ortho-Flex Patriot saddle
(size unknown) that was very comfortable for me. And my old, old Tex Tan western saddle is pretty good - size and
balance-wise.
So the big lesson I took away from that visit, was
that I really need to try out the specific brand and size of saddle
before I know if it will work for me. When I look at saddle websites now,
I really look for saddle makers that offer a saddle trial period. I would
not buy a saddle unseen unless I had tried that specific model and
size beforehand. That may seem obvious to many of you, but the wide
variation in saddles was an eye-opener for me.
