saddles

[sally]

Do any of you have opinions about saddles that would
be good for "struggling" adult female rider? What of
these" ansur" saddle( quite pricey) adaptable to any
size horse? opinions? sally

[Outrider]

I would say it depends on what you want to use it for and what kind of riding you intend to do. What are you struggling with? If you are just doing trail riding, nothing can beat a good western saddle for security. If you are jumping, a western saddle is not what you want. Been there and got the horn in my belly button to prove it! lol :) The great compromise between Western and English saddles is a good Australian Stock saddle. Be a bit more specific and perhaps someone can give you some good saddle advice. Happy Trails!

[sally]

well, i ride english and would like to jump a bit--have
found(in the past) just small cross rails to be thrilling!
And where I ride has nice trails, too, so when the weather
breaks, we will be out there just having fun.
The issues I "struggle" with are balance and legs flying
forward..I know, I know I have more work to do in the basics,
but just wondering if people feel certain saddles have
helped them..so ..now what do you say? :) sally

[Showjumper]

The Griffin saddles are nice. As you want to do a bit of everything, a General Purpose saddle is what you need. Griffen's are synthetic instead of leather, so they're lighter, cheaper, and rquire less cleaning as you don't soap them, only wipe them with a damp cloth. Unless you have your own horse, though, there's no point in investing in your own saddle.

[Wally]

I have a lot of trouble with manufacturers that claim their saddle will fit anything.....it won't!!

Try lots on your horse, ride in them, jump in them, if you intend to jump. Don't buy one in the hope you can slap it on any horse and it will improve your riding. If you slap it on the wrong horse it may well be your downfall! A saddle has to fit the horse as well as the rider! the main difference being, the horse is caused much more pain by an ill fitting saddle than the rider!!

[sally]

well thanks for your thoughts and those of any others.
will think about it all.sally

[intouch]

have a website on, would you believe, http://www.ansursaddle.com.
I seem to remember someone on this forum having one - try searching the archives. I'd love to try one, but as you say, they're a bit dear just for an experiment.

[Emma_G_NZ]

Wintec saddles are excellent. http://www.wintec.net.au I love my Wintec 500.its synthetic but it looks like leather.So comfy and stuff.It fits every horse i have had it on coz it has "Interjustable gullets" where u buy the gullet and just pop it in.And it has adjustable knee rolls so you can jump,do dressage whatever and just put them where you have to to suit what you are doing.Mine was $900 New Zealand dollars which is about 300 pounds.Really lovely saddles though.you can find out more about them on the site.
Emma G
New Zealand

[JackiAH]

Hi ya!

I am actually looking at buying a wintec 500 all purpose. They cost about $341 and are beautiful. I think they are nylon, the only drawback is that you cannot do shows in one. They do seem nice though.

Another alternative is a Lancer. I have heard wonderful things about these and they are leather.

[Cathy Reynolds]

Wintec are the only synthetic ones our local saddle fitter (and saddler) will fit - because of the gullet system. Several people I know have 2 saddles for their horses - one leather and one sythentic - depending on whether they are riding out or doing dressage.

[Outrider]

If you aren't planning on competing for jumping, an Aussie stock saddle with or without the horn may be just right for you. Even though I am a western rider, I would recommend this saddle to a person who normally rides english as a good compromise between the two types of saddle. You can get it with or without a horn, and it will feel more like an english saddle to you, but it has front fenders that I would call swells that your thighs fit up against, giving you a much more secure seat than a regular english saddle while at the same time, it doesn't have the weight or general bulkiness of a regular western saddle. Happy Trails!

[jillaroo]

Sorry, just as an aside because your post got me thinking about this again Outrider, I posted some info on Aussie stock saddles in response to a post of Frances's a while back - it may be useful.

Frances - any luck on this front?

[fionahogg]

Another one you could try is Heather's TG saddle design.
But like Wally said, try as many as you can and make sure it fits the horse properly, as well as you!

[claireh]

I tried a wintec 500 on Pageant because the saddler said it was an excellent idea for a youngster who is still growing and likley to change shape- good advice I thought- change the gullet as the horse changes!

Not to be- for a start Pageant needed the last-but-one widest gullet, so not much room for changing gullets when he grows, which he still is!

Main problem however was that he absoulutley hated it. Full stop. Wouldnt have it at any price- I never even attempted to girth it let alone to get on it! He bucked, reared, whinnied, tried to bite it, tried to bite me- just with it put on his back!

Thought 'Oh god, something terrible has happened to his back whilst hes been stuck in the barn due to FMD' Wrong- put his old, nearly knackered leather saddle on him, girthed, led him up & down- no problem- trotted him up & down- got on, walked him around,absoulutley fine- back to his usual laid back half asleep self!

So, no good for us- but I can vouch for them being easy to clean, practically horse proof and very forgiving!!

[floppy]

I think your best bet would be to just try as many saddles as you can because dont forget when its your horse..the saddle has be comfortable for yo uand especially your horse... i have ridden many horses and some of the saddles i have had to sit on have made me dismount and walk extremely funny (i dont have much in the means of padding on my rear end) but then these saddles are fine for the owners. my wintec saddle..hmm...i wouldnt say its the most comfortable saddle i have ever used but it suits me because i dont do any shows etc and i spent most of my time ridin out in miserable wet weather conditions so i bought it mainly for the synthetic purpose ad its durability thru msierbale wet weather...i have recently bought a sheap skins seat saver for my wintec and it does keep my rear end nice and warm int eh winter and offeres that little extra comfort.

[floppy]

also i forgot to say...maybe you should try to improve your riding position...try riding without your stirrups...to slowly give you a more secure seat...