Saddle questions...

[hummingbird94]

I recently found 2 saddles I like, but was told on another board not to get them. I want to barrel race just for hobby around the house, nothing big. Please tell me what you think...are they as worthless as these others said? I thought they looked good myself.

http://www.saddleuptack.com/catalog/items/item59.htm

2nd saddle picture (http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/assets/product_images/Equine/CorduraSaddle.jpg)
Dr. J Cordura Barrel Racer Saddle Features include: a ralide tree with 5-yr guarantee, semi-quarter horse bars, padded rough out seat, 13" swell, 5" cantle with leather binding, leather covered horn & pommel. Round cordura skirt, housing & fenders. Comes with blevins buckles, tie strap, off billet, 3/4 rigging with stinaless steel dees. Black or Brown.



Excuse the mistakes...I haven't posted since they changed the format.

[Outrider]

What kind of horse are you using? That can make a difference in the kind of tree you want. Does your horse have real high withers or low withers? With high withers you want a saddle with a high gullet (the area under the horn and pommel). You want at least a 2 finger width between the withers and the top of the gullet. It is tough to get the right saddle when you can't try them on the horse first.

What were the reasons others gave for not getting these saddles? If you are barrel racing for a hobby, I am not sure the saddle is as important as if you were competing. The other thing I would want is the higher cantle as on the Dr. J Cordura Barrel Racer Saddle. That one is better than the first saddle as it has the higher cantle and forward stirrups. That would be the one I would recommend if you think it will fit the horse. Happy Trails!

[kelsey]

Hi Outrider, another saddle question for you. I have a very high-withered wide horse and I need a Western saddle just for hacking (I will not be showing in it). I was looking at Wintecs but they didn't seem very wide. (Unlike English saddles, Western saddles don't seem to come in different widths. Is that true?)

Do you have any suggestions? I don't want to spend a fortune.

Thanks!!!

[Outrider]

Hi Kelsey!

I know what you mean about spending a fortune. I just got a new saddle myself that I had a saddler make from scratch and it is pretty pricey when you do it that way. Where are you?

The answer to your question is, yes, western saddles do come in different widths in the gullet. What you need to look for in a saddle for the horse you described is one with a narrower gullet yet one that has a fairly wide set of bars. That is kind of hard to find as one generally cancels out the other.

Arabs tend to be broad in the back with higher withers than quarter horses, and QHs tend to be broad, flat backed with low withers. TBs have probably the highest withers of all. Alot depends on the shape of the back too. If a horse is sway backed, this will affect wither height.

I would recommend finding a saddler to ask about your specific horse and what kind of tree they would recommend. If there are no saddlers around you, you might find one on the net and send them an email. Barring all that, my best guess would be that you would want a saddle with either "full quarter horse" bars or "three quarter Arab" bars. What you also want is at least two finers width between the top of the gullet and the withers. You might try making a paper copy of your horse's back and then lay it over a rounded saddle stand, placing the prospective saddle on that and see if there are any gaps or pinch points. You are also going to have to try and figure where the withers are going to be from the back to the top. Good luck. Here is a good article on western saddle fitting:http://www.saddletech.com/scientif.htm

When all else fails, see if the store has a policy of return if the saddle does not fit. If not, I wouldn't buy there. Happy Trails!

[hummingbird94]

My horse is a quarter horse. She's alittle over 3, so I'm mainly going to be working with her and may have to change saddles later if she grows anyway, so I didn't want to put too much money in one. The people on the other board said these saddles were cheap and I should save my money and buy a more expensive saddle. They also said that Blk quality saddles were hard to come by, and I should change my choice of color. They were also telling me not to get the round skirt, said it was bad for the horse. But that's strange since I just got a Martha Josey book and that is about all she was using in the pictures was a round skirt. So, of the 2 I showed, the Dr. J Cordura Barrel Racer Saddle, would be the best then? Thanks for your help.

[Outrider]

Personally, I think the saddles you showed are of good quality. Cordura makes a good quality saddle that isn't all that expensive. Expensive doesn't mean quality all the time and for what you want to do, you don't need to spend a lot of money. I would go with the barrel saddle I mentioned. The round skirt will not hurt the horse and a lot of barrel racers use them. I don't favor a black color, simply because they draw heat from the sun which is then transmitted to the horse, causing him to lather more than he might if you were using a brownish color or some other color. Make sure you have a saddle with full quarter horse bars, since I doubt if the store will let you take the saddle home and try it, but don't hesitate to ask that if you do get it home and it doesn't fit, can you return it. Good luck and keep us informed on your saddle search. Happy Trails!

[hummingbird94]

I thought it looked like a good saddle, I am ordering it from Jeffers Equine and they give you 7 days to make sure it fits you and the horse. Once again....thanks for your encouragement.

[Outrider]

Jeffers just doesn't deal in poor quality equipment. I think you are doing the right thing. Happy Trails!