Why do non-horse owners own a saddle?

Dreamchaser

Dreamchaser

Total falls: 13
May 3, 2003
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Ontario, Canada
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So.... I need someone to explain this to me...

As many of you know, I have been looking for a part-boarder for Dolly for some time now. What frustrates me is just how many people ask if they can ride in their own saddle when they come. It seems to never occur to them that their saddle will not fit her! Most of these people have never owned horses before and have either just taken lessons or may have part-boarded in the past.

I had a dad who had ridden when he was younger and brought out his two daughters to see Dolly. Only one of the daughters came and she was a complete beginner (both of the daughter have ridden the same amount of time, which had only been a few months). When I say complete beginner, I mean it! The girl was just fine at walking around, although still had some trouble steering, but could trot when being led. The dad was telling me how his children owned their own saddle and would want to use it if they rode her again. No way were they going to do that!

It seems many riding schools encourage their students to buy a saddle as they claim it will "be a good investment". :rolleyes:

Is this just the North American outlook on saddles? Will this outlook ever change?
 
i have to admit that its never happened to me, found anyone without a horse with a saddle. It must be an american thing ;)
Im putting my old saddle in the paper for a tenner in the hope some horse crazy kid will want it and put it on a chair arm and ride it :p
 
*raises a hand*

I got my saddle about 2 years before I got my own horse.
It just seemed the thing to do. I was riding quite a few horses, and my trainer encouraged me to find a saddle that could fit ME. (there's never been this huge pressure to really fit the horse perfectly. so long as it fit 'well enough' we were good to go)

Honestly, it worked out for me. I found a beautiful Pessoa jumping saddle that oddly enough fits most horses 'well enough' and fit Storm beautifully and is like a couch to sit it, and yes, is an investment ;) I'm not sure if I'd recommend buying a saddle before getting a horse again (because I'm pretty sure I got lucky that it fit my horses :p) but it worked out well enough for me.
 
I think I have 5 saddles in all.. Only one horse.. Been buying and selling horses for a long time, don't think I have ever come across someone wanting to use their saddle whilst testing. I have been asked to bring a saddle with me when the seller didn't have one.. But no one has ever asked to use their own saddle, neither have I brought my own for testing..

I find it a bit odd.. But maybe since like you said they were beginners, they didn't know any better?

Nina x
 
My coach encourages us to buy our own saddles. I think most non-horse owners just do it because one, they won't have to worry about finding a lesson saddle that fits them (and some lesson saddles are crappy and uncomfortable), so that's why most riders do that. Of course you don't HAVE to, but most of the riders at the barn do that for a comfort reson. We all just like having a saddle that fits us well and is comfortable.
 
*raises hand*

My RI only has one English saddle that might be used by someone else, so if I wanted to show, I'd need my own. While in the US, I went into a tack shop, and there was a nice saddle there that was cheap enough that if I got it home and it didn't fit Coquette, I could sell it on and get my money back. It's a decent fit so I kept it. I did own a horse at the time, but I would have bought the saddle whether I had owned Topaz or not.
 
Fancy_mover23 said:
My coach encourages us to buy our own saddles. I think most non-horse owners just do it because one, they won't have to worry about finding a lesson saddle that fits them (and some lesson saddles are crappy and uncomfortable), so that's why most riders do that. Of course you don't HAVE to, but most of the riders at the barn do that for a comfort reson. We all just like having a saddle that fits us well and is comfortable.
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but presumably the saddle should primarily be designed to fit the horse, and not the rider?

I learnt to ride in France, and saddle fitting --for the horse I mean-- wasn't widespread. Some people would buy their saddles and use them on several ponies and horses, regardless of whether they fit the horses' backs properly.

Having seen the damage a poorly fitting saddle can do to a horse's back, I don't understand how people still go for a one-size fits all horses approach to saddles... but I see it a lot in France still, and certainly in Russia.

I have no access to a saddle fitter at the moment and it worries me a lot, have had to do my own research to make sure my saddle fits my mare ok until I can get her fitted well.
 
since my saddle costed more than the horse and was the last one made in that model it was taken from a showcase (long story on how i got it and how much work my dad put in finding the saddle let alone purchase it). i raise my hand. if i go to look at purchasing a horse i will tag along my saddle to make sure it fits them well because the saddle is the only thing i will have from my dad when he passes away that means a great deal to me.This saddle no matter how poor i am will always be with me to the day i die and the horses will just have to suit the saddle so to say (won't purchase a horse if the saddle doesn't fit). also if a saddle is taken care of it will last a very long time and i have had some very uncomfortable lesson saddles that i would have wished i had my own saddle.so i don't find it weird. whats weird is if someone has a saddle and hates horses now thats weird...
 
For using at lessons, you would probably be doing the horse a favour (around here) if the saddle was anyway decent, because like someone above said

some lesson saddles are crappy and uncomfortable
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and not just for the rider :( most RS's I know have terrible ancient saddles that could hae broken/twisted trees or anything.

That said, I don't think its common around here for non-horse owners to buy saddles.

From your perspective though DC, thats pretty bad that people would suggest to use their own saddle on a privately owned horse with its own tack?! Why?

I have used my saddle on occasion on horses I was given to hunt, but only if it was a better fit then what was there.
 
It's a funny thing, but if I'm being quite honest, the only reason I don't have a saddle right now is because of NR. Over in the states here, it is generally accepted that lots and lots of saddles can fit one horse, and most riding schools will just have a tack room full of saddles, and you pick the one that will best fit you (and you might not even find that!!). I asked my former RI about buying a saddle, and she recommended one to me, no questions asked and no mention of it fitting the horse. I didn't end up buying one, as I really wanted to wait until I was leasing or buying. And after being on NR every day for the past couple months, I have realized how vital it really is to get a saddle that fits the horse (especially after following your saga with Dolly, Dreamchaser!!)

I'm only now in the market for a saddle now that I'm going to be leasing long term. :)

For anyone who now has a saddle for many horses and is worried about the fit, but can't do anything about only having the one saddle, I would look into those equipedic saddle pads. I saw them at the Equine Affaire last weekend, and OH MY GOSH! They made me put my hand under a regular pad, and then pressed the edge of a saddle down on it, and it hurt! Then they put the equipedic on and did the same, and I couldn't feel a thing. MAGIC!! ;)
 
PonyGirlAsh said:
For anyone who now has a saddle for many horses and is worried about the fit, but can't do anything about only having the one saddle, I would look into those equipedic saddle pads. I saw them at the Equine Affaire last weekend, and OH MY GOSH! They made me put my hand under a regular pad, and then pressed the edge of a saddle down on it, and it hurt! Then they put the equipedic on and did the same, and I couldn't feel a thing. MAGIC!! ;)
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that's a good tip, thanks! My saddle (an expensive brand) was inherited from a horse I used to ride, and it fits me fine, but I don't think it's the best fit for my mare -although as far as I can tell it's an ok fit, and my vet can't detefct any problems with pielena's back. I used galadriel's saddle fitting guide (of NR fame:) )- it's really helpful if you don't have access to a fitter.

I am moving to the UK (land of saddle fitters:D ) so will be facing financial ruin for my mare yet again to buy her a new saddle....
 
I think it is a North American thing, as I have only ever heard Americans and Canadians say they had or were going to buy thier own saddle and they didn't own a horse! I think some people must think that the saddle has to be the right size for thier backsides and not the horse's back which is very silly really! :D
 
Rips said:
From your perspective though DC, thats pretty bad that people would suggest to use their own saddle on a privately owned horse with its own tack?! Why?
.
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That's not at all uncommon. In fact, when we sell horses, if people come back a second or third time, 90% of the time, they come back with their own saddles to see if they fit. When I go out and ride new horses, I always bring along my dressage saddle in the back seat. I'll see what the owners have first, but obviously if I take an 18", I'm not going to try to sit my butt down in a 15" and try to have a good ride ;)

Personally, I don't regret buying my own saddle before I had a horse. I rode a large number of horses. I got lucky in that it fit the majority of horses that I rode, and the ones that it didn't, well I either found something else that worked or didn't ride them...did it fit all of them like a custom made saddle would? Of course not. But I can say with some certainty that it definately didn't hurt them, or at least not as much as having a rider put in a poor position because of the saddle fit. Now, on the other hand, the saddles that I was forced to ride in before I got my own did hurt ME quite a bit, they either were too big or too small, forced me in a bad position, gave me bruising, lacked any air in their pannels, or whatever. I'd much rather see a rider who was comfortable - and therefore more steady in their position - and a horse who required a pad to help with the fit of a saddle, then a rider forced into a bad fitting saddle all for the sake of the horse.

Also keep in mind that very, very few horse sales here come included with tack. It's almost rarely an option.
 
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I'm sure this is a 'local' thing- I have certainly NEVER come across anyone in the UK who has a saddle but no horse or who would take a saddle to try a horse or even, and no offence meant to anyone, presume to know enough about saddle fitting to know if ANY saddle fitted a horse, let alone hope that they could find a horse to fit their saddle...

To be honest it's something that horrifies me- having seen the results from badly fitting saddles on horses AND the injuries incurred by riders who have been thrown due to 'back' and saddle issues, I would never even use a saddle that came with a horse without getting it checked by a professional first... and given the option, I'd buy a horse WITHOUT a saddle and have one fitted to it... but then I am particularly 'hot' on saddle fitting issues having made mistakes that have had disasterous results in the past.
 
it's certainly a north american thing to have a saddle without a horse. in the UK at riding stables, there used to be many random saddles that were used on any pony. I remember that changing here about 10 years ago when saddlers started to be popular. Now it's a/about the horse fit and then b/about the fit with the rider. I was badly advised 9 years ago and the saddle ended up giving CW chronic back pain. The new (and better) saddler tried to sell it for me and it turned out it was so slim that only an anglo arab type would fit it... CW's a connie X!!!!!! no wonder it pinched! it was fine for me though!

If I ever tried to sell CW and they brought their own saddle for a 'test drive' I would say no!

A horse should fit the saddle. The rider is secondary and if a rider has to put up with being uncomforable until the right saddle is found for both, then so be it! it's only your bum, it's the horse's back!
 
Yes, the saddle someone brings along for a possible horse likely won't fit. But a lot of saddles on owned horses in North America are not an ideal fit either. I think Galadriel once said she found at least 75% of saddles she examined did not fit the horse etc. - and these saddles were saddles for owned horses. :( The basic thing I hear over here is that it fits well enough etc., but without a professional saddle fitter really it is hard to know for certain (I thought Skeet's first saddle fit well enough, and in the end after reading oodles of books and such, I came to the conclusion it did not). Yet I see many issues with horses over here that are written off as behavioural, and I always wonder if a sore back is the culprit; but with no saddle fitters to be had, it is hard to know. You can't even blame the owners, as there are no saddle fitters around and the word "saddle fitting" is not in the basic horse culture - remember I had to go to a custom saddle for that reason. Ugh. Don't get me started on this lack of saddle fitters in North America...very frustrating...
 
ALERT TO SADDLE FITTERS... obviously the US is prime (although I wouldn't want to lose any of our local fitters! they are difficult enough to get hold of as it is!). Am amazed there is a dearth of fitters..

Am lucky in that I have a Wintec so a saddler friend checks it's got the right gusset and will change if necessary for the price of.... a drink in the pub! I LOVE that!
 
Ptaty70 said:
ALERT TO SADDLE FITTERS... obviously the US is prime (although I wouldn't want to lose any of our local fitters! they are difficult enough to get hold of as it is!). Am amazed there is a dearth of fitters..
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Yes, now you just have to convince Canadian or US immigration that there is a lack of saddle fitters (I sure hope this can make their priority list for jobs needed! ;) ), and you can all move over here and have a thriving business! It sure would be nice... :)
 
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