So I am buying this saddle off of Craigslist. The understanding is I am going to try it out on my horse and make sure it fits us both first, and if not I will get my money back.
It's only $150 but she says it is good quality. She originally had it posted for $350 but got no hits and I guess she needs it gone ASAP.
It comes with a saddle pad, girth, and irons.
Im just getting it to start my horse on, and I didnt want to fork out too much money just yet. But it's Tan. Is this acceptable? If I wanted to do some showing would it be okay?
She said she wasn't sure but she thought it was Collegiate so I am going to check when I get it.
I thought I may as well check it out since it's so cheap and apparently decent.
Yeah, this is really light. The ones I am used to riding are black or havana brown
Fehr,
I'm not sure how to do this.
Do you know of any good places I could get step by step instructions?
Knowing me, I would wing it and end up with a purple saddle or something..=/
That saddle is NOT a collegiate. It looks a heck of a lot like one of those cheepy starter saddles that you can get off eBay for about $125, new. I would want to see PHOTOS of the brand name stamp or plate before forking over the money.
As for the color, I would take it to a saddle repair shop and having it professionally dyed. There is a lot to re-doing the leather properly. You have to remove the finish, treat the leather to pull up the old dye, put on very careful and even coats of new dye until it's the right color, then carefully refinish the leather. If not done properly, you end up with dye all over your pants the first time you ride in it...
Yeah, I -used- to have a collegiate then got Diesel and sold it. I'm kind of regretting that now but you could show me a picture of a starter saddle and the best saddle in the world and I would be hard pressed to tell the differance. Like I said, I am taking it on a trial run, so it's not too big of a deal and I dont want anything fancy just yet. Im thinking about getting a Wintec (though I hear bad stuff but theyre SO comfy) or something nicer in awhile, but for now I just need something to ride in. The colour is just weird to me.
How much does professional dying usually cost do you know?
All the saddles in the links -look- good to me.
Saddle shopping online on a budget is really difficult....
The only problem with getting a cheap saddle is that it isn't quality, and may have different pressure points than a well-made saddle, thus causing your horse pain.
ETA - you might want to consider saving up your money for a little while (literally) and buying a nice used saddle - you CAN find good quality used saddles for a good price.
Wintecs are fine, even the old ones without the changeable gullets. Thorowgood is also a good synthetic saddle.
To buy a quality used leather saddle, you'll need $250-500 for one that's usable and safe. You can find a lot of older Courbettes, Crosby, Collegiate, and Stubbens for good prices. Unknown or no longer made English brands can be good too, like Blue Ribbon, Whippy, Conventry, Aurthur Kottas, etc.
I believe that color is called "London" and hasn't been popular in a very very long time! I didn't know that Collegiates made anything in a London color... I didn't think it looked like a cheap package deal but that's just my opinion.
I'm selling a cheap used Stubben, Crosby, BT Crump, and Pontillo saddle. I'll post a pic of each with prices tonight, but I'd like to get rid of them asap so I'm planning on ebaying all of them tomorrow or the next day if I don't hear from you! Let me know if you're interested!
The stirrup leathers look thin and flimsy. Those irons look like the cheap give-away irons that come in many packages. And it just has that "Asian made saddle package" look... It's hard to explain, but when you've have a lot of saddles come and go and you've shopped around a TON, you just get to know quality vs. cr@p from a photo. It's hard to tell for sure, but you can get a good idea based on the saddle design, color(s), and accessories.
County used to make that color but they are really expensive saddles, even this old color in the County is selling for $1500. Maybe you will get lucky and she doesn't know what she really has. One thing I would make sure is that it is not foam padded in the panels, if it is an older saddle then the foam is no good anymore. Look for a wool flocked saddle that way you can get it reflocked if it doesn't fit your horse just right.
IMO, there are tons more out there for less money. good luck with what you decide to do!
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