New Saddle :(

[DailyNhtly]

I need some advice... had an Aussie saddle (Kimberly Poley) that I absolutely *adored* but I can't use it on my new guy (check out eBay!! :p) so I need something in addition to my English AP (Wintec) that I use for schooling. Looking for something nice and comfortable (that doesn't look ridiculous on my 15hh gelding) to use for trail/camping. He almost needs a barrel racing saddle cut (skirt) in the back because he is so short backed, and the 'dressagey' straight cut in the front of the Aussie seemed to help as well. I'm trying to keep to a budget under $800 so any suggestions, cautions, personal experience would be a great help :)

Laura

[No_Angel]

Have you tried a treeless? There very comfy, great for hacking out and you can get them in differnet sizes and styles to suite your horse. Plus you dont have to worry about keep getting it re-fitted! :D

[DailyNhtly]

Treeless? Do tell...

I'm about to go Yahoo/Google it but if you have any sites that would be great :)

[galadriel]

I'm going to copy/paste a post I just made in another thread--

Since you say that you are "new to this," I'll offer a few words about saddles and western saddles in particular.

I would caution you that, as your horse's first experience with a saddle, the saddle used when backing should fit very well. A saddle which does not fit the horse causes pressure points and pain to the horse, and after a surprisingly short time can cause permanent muscle damage.

Fitting a Western saddle is quite tricky, because the skirts obscure most of the length of the saddle. A saddle may appear to fit but still be a very poor fit. I see about 1 in 4 saddles that actually do fit the horse they're on--usually quite by accident. The rest of the horses are plugging along, accepting the discomfort or not, as their temperaments warrant.

Since you don't want to start off your saddle training with resistances or resentments from the horse, I highly recommend making sure that the saddle fits well. I strongly recommend against any Western saddle with a synthetic tree, as these unfortunately have a very poor design. If you can find a reputable saddle fitter to hire, they should be able to assist with making sure your saddle fits. I suggest *not* asking at tack stores or trainers--I can't tell you how many times I have heard "but my trainer said it fit fine" or "the tack store suggested this one"...

I have a website with a number of articles about saddle fitting (addressing some concerns on both English and Western saddles--website is in my sig). I also have a book packed with graphics to help you understand just what I'm talking about; it's available on the website too along with some pages from the book so you can see some of what's in it. You can certainly ask here if you have questions. There are a number of others on NR who have knowledge of saddle fitting, and you could get some responses from several points of view.