I need good leather tack that doesn't make my piggy bank faint

Ok, so right now I have synthetic tack, which is fine at local shows, but I am moving up so I wna tot move to leather, which I am excited about, but my piggy bank isn't, lol. I want a good leather saddle for under five hundred, I am trying to find used, as for girth,leathers, bridle, I can find those but I need help looking for a saddle. I like stubbans, but very expensive, and colligate. If you know of any other good sturdy brands that are decent price, let me know, I have never bought leather tack! Thanks!

Check ebay for a used saddle. You can get better quality for much cheaper. There are some saddles that look like they've hardly been touched.

I agree, Ebay is a fabulous place to buy used tack at great prices. Or check out tacktrader.com. I've found some great deals there too. Actually, I'm selling a courbette bridle you might be interested in. It's in very good condition and only going for $24.99 right now with no bids! Check it out, it's item number: 150315509792 I'm also selling a few used saddles but honestly if you have $500 I would suggest getting something a little nicer then what I have. :) The saddles I have are good starter or schooling saddles. Stubbens are ok. They are very sturdy and last forever. I love collegiates and my favorite to recommend to people are Pessoas. You can get a great deal on a used Pessoa on ebay.

What tree and seat size do you need? I'll do some digging for you .

Thanks guys! I know the seat size can be between 15 and 16 inches, and for the tree, I will have to measure mine, but I wil check out ebay, I love that place! But how is shipping for saddles on there?

Depends on the person selling it. They can either give you an exact number after you type in your zip code or what most people do, just put down an estimate. The last several saddles I've sold were right around $40 (including the box and packing materials).

Just to add.... a 15 or a 15.5 is a pretty small saddle. Even a 16 is almost pony sized! If those are your western saddle sizes, you need to add like, 2 inches for an english saddle (I don't remember the exact conversion). I'm about 5"2 and I use a 16.5 or a 17.

Yes, a 15 is a SMALL Child's saddle and a 16" is a large child's saddle. If you have an inseam of 29-32", you'll likely need a 17" adult saddle, or even a 17.5", depending on what your waist size is. My daughter is only 9 (10 in Feb) and she uses a 17-17.5" saddle without any problems. The 17.5" is only a bit too big on her, lol. She wears a 16 in kids or a size 3 petite in Juniors. My mom wears a size 4/6 and she takes a 17" saddle as well. Both her and my daughter could fit in a 16.5", but it would be on the snug side...

ETA: Upnover is right (CUTE name by the way!). If you use a 15" western saddle, you'll likely need a 17" English. If you use a 14-14.5" saddle, you might fit in a 16-16.5", but with English saddles, it goes off your leg length more than your rear size. That flap needs to fit your knee to hip length properly for you to be in the correct position.

In my english I have a 16.5 and it is perfect size for me, I have no trouble, but for 17 people tell my saddle is to big so I will go with 16.5, I am like 5'2 with I think a 26 waist, but not sure. I were a 12/14 in kids so I don't know if that helps. I have been looking on ebay and found some good ones so I hope to find other good deals!

Alright, 16.5" it is . What size tree do you need? What brand is your current saddle and what tree size does it have? Medium, Wide, Medium-Wide? If you're not sure, it should be stamped either on the metal stirrup bar or on the little flap that covers the billets. If it doesn't say, then take a picture of it from the front for us and measure the space between the padding, at the level of the front d-rings.