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gaited saddles

12K views 40 replies 20 participants last post by  Darrin 
#1 ·
I have a 3 yr old MFT gelding. I was told a gaited saddle would be better for him to gait well. What is the best gaited saddle built for a woman that is light weight and comfortable and well balanced. I am flexible in the style.
 
#2 ·
It's not a "gaited saddled" that you need but a saddle that fits your particular horses conformation. Any one horse's conformation in any gaited breed whether it be MFT or TW can be so very different form another one. Make sure your saddle gives shoulder clearance for movement, wither clearance, short enough that it doesn't interfere with the hip and the tree fits the whole length of the saddle without bridging or causing pressure points. When all these issues are addressed you are closer to having the right saddle...call it whatever style or type you want. Of course then you get into the part of it fitting you and leg placement etc,,, happy hunting.
 
#24 ·
A lot of female riders, especially the older and a bit heavier ones swear by Dixieland saddles on Tenn Walking horses.
 I really love my Dixieland gaited saddle. And I am 15 and 104 pounds, it's definitly the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in, by far! You don't have to be old and fat to like these saddles, ya know! And they sell saddle pads and matching saddlebags. You also have the option of adding padding on the seat. VERY comfy. =) Their costumer service is first class too.

 
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#9 ·
Don't fall for the "gaited saddle" fad, as mentioned above just find a saddle that fits your particular horse. I tried about 15 saddles before I bought one, I have a RMH/gaited Morgan cross. Very short backed and square, I finally took him to a saddle fitter and got a Dakota Barrel Saddle with full QH bars. Fits beautifully and he moves out great in it!
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#28 ·
I was checking out the Dakota saddles. They are light weight which I like. Is the leather really soft. I want a easy to break in saddle. I measured my boy with a wire and he measured 8 inches across-- which I had measured 3 inches down middle of wire and then across. He is short backed and stocky. So what size would you suggest in the tree size. I use a 16 seat. Thanks
 
#10 ·
You might want to check out hillviewfarms.com and order the "catabook" (catalog).
She has her own saddle system. Sounds a little different but this lady has done some serious riding and horse camping with her whole family so I give her points for that. Also she has some very useful information and unusual tack and accessories that you can't find anywhere else.
When I order from her she answers from the back of her horse on her cell phone and always gets the order right. Amazing!
 
#11 ·
The difference between a regular western saddle and a gaited saddle is...
The bars are narrower allowing for an easier turn radius and the gullet is taller. The bars are also a tad shorter. The gullets should be about 6 inches wide and about 8 inches high. This type of saddle will fit any "Normal" horse wether it be gaited or not. Mine is a Big Horn #1647, Infinity Trail Saddle with Sil-Cush. A very nice saddle But at 30Lbs a bit heavy.... Still nice though. Love it.
 
#12 ·
I disagree on any "absolute" number for saddle fit on any class of horse. Withing a given type of horse you can have a very narrow range of size. When the Army ran the Remount Service they produced a TB style horse that was so consistent in size that the Phillips Officers Saddle, the last official saddle of the U.S. Army, it was made in only one tree size.

So one size can fit all if all are the same size. :)

With gaited horses since you can run from a Paso Fino to an Icy to a Walker to a Marchador to a Peruvian to all manner of crosses the idea of one "gaited saddle" is just silly. Even within breeds such is very difficult unless the breed is so uniform that it approaches Remount Service consistency.

Well engineered and built saddles will accommodate a range of horses. There is no real necessity for an individual saddle for each horse. But the "gaited horse saddle" remains a marketing approach, not an operational type.

G.
 
#13 ·
I agree wholeheartedly with you. I only meant to give a few minimum dimensions and would hope the buyer would access the fit from there.. I should know by now that some folks would take my earlier post as a sure fire way of fitting a saddle to a horse. My mistake. I sometimes give people to much credit to figure these things out! LoL! Happy Trails!
 
#15 ·
I have bought a saddle from Hillview too and was very pleased. Their saddles have a flexible panel on the underside of the tree that molds it's shape to the curves of your horses back. It can bend in where your horses back bends in or bulge out where your horse it wider. It can flex to different widths of back so it can fit a narrower back or a wider one. It has nice wither and spine clearence. I have had mine since 1996. I have 10 saddles and it is my favorite..
 
#16 ·
I have a Dixieland Gaited Saddle and am very happy with it! If you ask them to send you a template so you can send them the exact size of your horse, it's even better. They have saddles with and without horns and in various colors, designs, and patterns. They also sell saddle bags and saddle pads (but the saddle pad only comes in one color: gray). I happen to like the 5-Star saddle pad, myself--one inch thickness.
 
#17 ·
I have three Fox Trotters. Two are 22 yo and one is 6. I looked and looked for a new saddle for him and ended up getting a Freedom Gaited Saddle. They are custom made in Oklahoma. It fits him beautifully. Doug and Sandy Ford, the owners, are wonderful to work with. They were featured on The Horse Show with Rick Lamb on RFD tv.
 
#18 ·
Thank you. I will check them out. I just recently got an english saddle thinking I could change the gullets as my boy grows, but still prefer the western saddles. I just bought a new Issabel Wintec Dressage saddle and may be selling it soon. It's a 17.5 beautiful nice saddle and only used 3 times. My loss.... Haven't decided on price yet. It list for 1,495. Know of anyone looking for a nice dressage saddle.....:
 
#19 ·
I have 10 saddles. I have English, Australian, western and endurance styles. For me they are a bit like shoes, just have to have another one. I have one breed of horse though but within that breed are variations in how they are built. They range from 13.2 to 15.2. Not every saddle fits every horse, because some have round backs with little wither to horses that have a prominent spine ridge and tall withers.
 
#21 ·
so the gaited saddle's would most equate to a semi-quarterhorse as far as the bars go?

I just bought a mare on the weekend who has been fine in the trainer's abetta saddles, fine in my wife's abetta but when I tried our spare leather saddle on her it's a bit wider /lower so ust don't really work well at all.

So i'm in the hunt for a saddle but looking for something off the shelf...
 
#22 ·
"Gaited Saddles" equate to "gaited saddles" which equates to a marketing ploy, not an operational saddle type. :)

If you are looking for a Western saddle I can't help you all that much. If you're looking at English all/general purpose saddles you can't go wrong with Stubbens, even older ones. For "trooper" saddles I understand Tucker is a good brand. A friend of mine has a Haggis Saddle (made in Canada). At first I wasn't all that sure that a sheep's stomach was good saddle material, but he swears by it!!!!! :lol:

For a Plantation saddle you can't go wrong with Steele Saddles. They have an excellent "try before you buy" program. Many other saddle makers use Steele trees.

For a military saddle (McClellan, Jennifer, Grimsley) try Doug Kidd at Border States Leather. There are a number of German Armee saddles on e-Bay at any given time; they are comfortable and well made.

The world of saddles is quite broad and diverse. Don't get sucked into the "gaited saddle" fantasy. Find one that is appropriate to you, your discipline, and your horse (in that order).

Good luck.

G.

P.S. I have a friend who is an amateur saddle maker. He tells me that right now the wholesale cost of the materials, including a tree, to make a basic Western saddle is just south of $600. Add the value of 40-60 hours of labor and you get some idea of the economics of saddle buying.
 
#23 ·
I'm by no means saying to get sucked into the gaited saddle fantasy... just asking if there is actually something to it.

From what I have found it seems that there is something to gaited saddles. I'm not sold on the whole "gaited saddles give more freedom of front leg movement because of the flare" BUT If they are built on a narrower tree (like a semi-quarterhorse bar) then they are a very valid option to look at for my mare since a full QH bar is too wide/low.


what I am really looking for is a syntethic western saddle that fits my horse. must have narrower bars since the 2 different semi-quarterhorse bar saddles I have put on her fit very well. does anyone have any favorite for synthetic?
 
#25 ·
Also, excuse the spaces and any weird symbols in my posts.  The keyboard and mouse are on the brink of death and are doing really weird things to my posts and to our email.
 
#31 ·
.

While it is true some Regular Saddles can fit a Gaited Horse, there is a difference in Gaited Saddles, the bars are flaired more than a tradition bar for more freedom of shoulder movement and they many times have a shorter length bar which helps on some of the shorter backed breeds.

Just like your Shoes, All Gaited Saddles are different, some are designed for the Foundation Style and some sare designed for the narrower designer breeding that has been taking pace in teh last few years.

Instead of shipping Saddles all over the country to try out, find a Maker that has Templates or better yet the Fitting Forms, this saves a lot of money and headaches

.
 
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