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M. Toulouse saddles

14K views 42 replies 13 participants last post by  JoesLove 
#1 ·
Looking for some reviews and input. :) I'm looking at the Aachen with the Genesis system for me and my boy for this fall when I have some money, and potentially the Annice Genesis next year or whenever I need it/can afford it.

For now though, I'm mostly looking for the deets on the Aachen. What kind of back does it fit? Are the seats true to size? What kind of position does it put you in? How does it hold up against use? Where's the best place to get one, for the best price? (So far I've only found them on SmartPak for $1,599.)

I wanna hear any other things you have to say about them, too - good or bad! :) Thanks in advance!
 
#31 ·
One quick word to those of you who mention having very wide horses: Unless your horse is quite mutton withered, adjustable gullets are not going to be your friend, as you loose wither clearance when you widen the three. As much as I absolutely adore some of the adjustable saddles, they will never fit my draft cross mare who has the draft shoulders but the thoroughbred withers. Just something to keep in mind.

That being said, I spoke with a saddle fitter at a show a couple weeks ago. She was carrying a number of high end brands...and M. Toulouse. She absolutely could not stop raving about them, and I really liked the look and feel of them. I used to own an Ainsley saddle with the Wellup adjustment system, and the Toulouse saddles have made one huge improvement on that design: namely, they have added two screws to keep the tree from slipping wider as you ride in it, which used to be a huge problem with the Ainsleys and the Rembrandts, particularly as they got older. Toulouse is also putting a 10-year warranty on the tree, I believe, so they obviously believe in their product. If I thought for one second that I might be able to make it work on my mare, I'd pick up a Legano in a heartbeat. They're gorgeous.
 
#32 ·
I've never had a problem with color rubbing off either.

I was also concerned about the calf skin leather, but it's not really a problem now.
I ride in jeans 80% of the time, and it still looks brand new. The only sign of wear on it, is from my ancient half chaps that bleed black onto it. That comes off though, so when I scrub the black stuff off, it's good as new.

Also, I completely forgot about recent pics.
But, here's the color before I oiled it. After about two oilings, it's about the color of the panels. Less orange, more chocolate-ish. It matches Edgewoods perfectly....


 
#33 ·
Beautiful saddle dejavu! What do you clean it with? I read that you have to clean it with specific kinds of conditioner, but I hear so many different things. I'll have the black dressage saddle so I am a little nervous, I havent had a leather saddle in years and Ive had a synthetic for so long now. I just don't want to ruin it early!
 
#36 ·
I use a Fiebings glycerin bar, or the Lexol foam or spray, depending on my mood, and Lexol conditioner. Neatsfoot oil, every other month or so (very light coats). Nothing fancy. If I clean, I condition.

One of my favorite things for my leather is the tack wipes.
That way, I can just wipe down my saddles and bridles after rides. Super fast, just enough to keep the dirt and sweat off. Also, makes things easier, for when I do a big deep clean with the products posted above. It's basically already clean anyways.

As long as you keep it clean, covered, and in a dry area, all will be fine.
 
#34 ·
DraftX: Thank you for all that! All of that is good to know :) Thankfully my guy is pretty much the flattest backed horse I've ever seen...it's honestly ridiculous. But oh well...hopefully as he loses his winter pudge, his withers will magically sprout! ;)

Ooooh, DejaVu, that is just gorgeous...hmmmmm, I wonder if my coach + parents would kill me if I bought another close contact...? LOL
 
#37 ·
For the record, I usually use Belvoir Step 1 spray-on cleaner on my tack, and then Step 2 Glycerin soap. :) However, my Step 1's almost run out so now I use LeatherNew foam to clean and condition. Apparently it gets dirty faster if you just condition, which I have noticed, so I'm going to do a quick layer of my glycerin soap from now on.
 
#40 ·
I tried the Aachen with genesis on my Arab mare. I loved the genesis system and think every saddle should have it. The leather was super soft with just the right amount of stick to it. The problem I had is the twist is very wide and it was very uncomfortable on my thighs. I ride in a saddle with a narrow twist and it fits me way better. Also the length of the flap was too long. I am 5'3" and at the moment can't recall my inseam but it isn't that long. The flaps came below my ankle even with a longer stirrup length which provided no contact. If it was narrower or the flap shorter I would have jumped all over it.
 
#41 ·
So I rushed home to get the saddle and break it out of the box, and guess what? Smartpak forgot to put in the free calfskin leathers! I know it sounds petty but I am soo frustrated and upset. She said she would call me back tomorrow and see, and they could expedite them. I really hope they dont give me any problems I tore apart both boxes I got (saddle and halter boxes) and all the packaging they came in. The saddle itself looks nice, but I can tell where it's been tried out before, where the leathers go and on the billets where the girth was. I told the lady I hope they don't only give me partial credit if I return it due to other people, and she said they evaluate each saddle before they send them out, so we will see. The twist is fairly wide, intec's website said a medium twist, but hopefully I find it comfortable. I'm taking it to the barn tomorrow so I will get better pics out in the sun, and I will be trying it out and I guess using my leathers and wrapping them so i think since I'll have them wrapped it will be okay to not ride in calfskin leathers just once lol. One thing one person was right on is the billets are pretty stiff, someone said "like cardboard" and I sort of agree. Well, Im just going to take a breath and be patient, I will find out in the morning if it is a keeper or not!
 
#42 ·
Oh yeah, the billets are really thick and stiff. I forgot that part. I was hoping they'd eventually break in, but I wasn't able to use the saddle long enough to find out. A few good oilings might do it.

Good luck with your new saddle. I hope it works for you, and you get your leathers lickity-split!
 
#43 ·
So I ended up trying the aachen today, unfortunately it was not a good fit for me :[ My trainer rode in it first, as soon as she sat down she said she didn't even want to move just sit there since it was comfortable as a couch, and she told me Im not sending it back (before I tried it ) lol! She rides in a wintec since her county is custom fitted to her horse, and she said "Forget the wintecs!" haha! It truly was nice and soft and comfortable, but I believe my problem was the medium twist (or some people call it a wide twist but the website states medium). When I sat down it did feel really nice, but when I started to trot was where the problem was. My horse is not a sensitive horse, he takes A LOT of leg and contact to get going, and with the bigger kneeblocks, and deep seat, it was hard for me to get him going because he does take a lot of leg and some whip. Once I got going when i posted my crotch kept hitting the pommel area, when I sat the trot it rubbed bad at the top of my crotch on the pommel, very uncomfortable and annoying feeling. I did order the 18 inch, I have always ridden in 17.5inch so I really dont think it was the seat size per se, Im thinking it was that wider twist, since Im used to a narrow twist.

We finished our lesson in my AP wintec 500 saddle, it was like going from a nice luxury car to a low quality car lol. I HATE my wintec now, after seeing what true comfort feels like, now I realize how my wintec tips me forward and feels so uncomfortable. I just wish the Aachen had worked for me, it was so nice, but since I just started dressage I do mostly posting trot. I will get some pics up soon, I forgot to take pics of how it fit my horse, but I did get one pic of his back, the medium fit him decently, we thought it might be a little snug but not too bad. I will put it on a chair and get some pics of how it looks. I already called smartpak and now waiting on my return tag :[ So for anyone looking at the aachen, very nice and comfortable saddle for the price, did stain my new white dressage pad though lol after a 15 min ride but thats okay, deep seat (my trainer said it wasnt the deepest one she has seen of course, but to me it was deep haha), keeps you nice and snug, but definitely not a saddle that fits anybody. My friend is opening up her tack store at our barn next month, and today my trainer told me shes having a saddle fitter come. So what Im going to do is just hold off on buying another saddle and wait until the saddle fitter comes, by then my guy will be more muscled and filled out anyways. Hope this review helped some!
 
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