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Post a photo of your favorite saddle :-)

12K views 74 replies 35 participants last post by  Kato 
#1 ·
I thought this might be kind of fun, seeing as we have such a diverse group here on the forum! Post a photo of your favorite saddle and share a little about it. I'm a tack junky and love looking at tack.

Please keep it positive so all are welcome to share!

This is my favorite saddle. It's a Scherer custom saddle that I found at a tack shop in South Dakota when I stopped on a whim to look for boots about a week before I graduated from college. They had it sitting in a corner on the floor, and had no idea what it was. I fell in love with it. I had never felt a saddle with leather that wonderful before, and when I sat in it, I felt so comfortable. They were asking $800 for it, which was steep for me, so I asked if they would hold it for me for 24 hours and I'd see what I could do. I went back home and googled it, contacted the maker, and found out it had sold for $3500 originally. I called my dad and asked if he had time to go buy it. He asked if I'd like it for my graduation present..... YES! So, long story short, that's how I got this.

I love it. It is truly one of my most prized possessions. It fits nearly any horse well, I have ridden thousands of miles in it, and for Christmas last year, I bought myself a breastcollar from the maker to match the original tooling on the saddle. I've ridden in it nearly daily for 16 years, and it still looks good.
 

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#2 ·
Ott to be a fun thread to look / check out / read about folks saddles on here . I have a couple saddles I really like . I suffer from being a western quality /premium gear TACKAHOLICK . It was a tough choice but if I had to pick one I would say my favorite saddle is my J . STEAD wade ranch saddle (High Back Saddle Company ? Custom Wade Saddles And Custom Hunting Saddles). I bought it from a guy in Colorado with a bunch of quality tack included for $1000 . Most of the other tack I have sold so I might have $650 in this saddle . Has stingray seat . New these saddles sell for I believe like around $2700. Like I said it was a tough choise between this one and a almost 18 year old Circle Y wade I also own .
 

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#3 ·
Oh wow. I've had so many in the course of buying to flip them... and sometimes they never leave this place. I poach my inventory.

Okay. My favorite saddle for riding is my Connie Combs half-breed gator racer. It's a Saddlesmith made saddle, I bought it for $300 bucks from someone who just 'wanted it out of the way' with the intention of flipping it... and then I made the mistake of playing dress up with Trigger and riding the darn thing. Since then I've a LOT of ladies try to buy it off me, but it fits Trigger well (He's notoriously hard to fit) and I like it.

The second saddle I LOVE (For looks ONLY) is my daughter's Sulphur OK made Billy Cook Ranch saddle. I put the monel style stirrups and the zia slotted conchos on it (Ordered them from a place in New Mexico). It came with a tripping collar and fully rigged. It's sooo comfy on the butt, but it's a little narrow in the gullet, so we can't just throw it on anyone. It also weighs, I am not kidding: A little north of 50lbs. That is a TON of saddle to have to throw on a 15 or 16 hand horse and get it to land in the sweet spot. It's a beast. I'm encouraging her to sell it... I see these sell for triple the money she paid for it, all day long, on eBay, and get a more sensible SRS ranch saddle from Paul Taylor's. But LOOK at it!

And the last one, is purely for display and/or parade/Sunday Best only. It's my 76 ML Leddy 'barn find' saddle that I had Leddy's refurbish. It FEELS so alive and warm, and the leather still creaks and squeaks like it's new.

Of the three of these, the $300.00 Connie Combs is the ONLY one I wouldn't sell, not even to triple my money. Okay... maybe I'd be tempted at a triple my money offer, but double, no. With that ESP pad that has the shoulder relief, it fits Trigs like a dream and it fits all our other horses just as well. I'll ride it till comes apart.
 

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#4 ·
I bought and sold so many saddles when I first moved over here, Western Saddle shopping was new to me, and it too took me a little wile to get the whole "quality pays" thing...but then I adopted it GOOD. Had quite a loot of horses at one time, and had a nightmare trying to saddle fit, but found I had a knack of picking out some lovely little bargains, so bought and sold a few.


Then I touched a Reinsman saddle in a local store, used, on consignment at $1200, money I just didn't have, but boy I loved the look, and feel of that saddle. I got even more serious in buying and doing up saddles, and then one day on Ebay, there is was, the very saddle I was looking for, barely used and I got it for $800. I was so excited waiting for it to arrive, while knowing that A) it would not fit my horse, and B) I would hate it.


Well wrong on both counts, fit him beautifully, and I hopped up and just did a quick turn down the road and back, and I was sold, have never sat in anything as comfortable before...I was only half joking when I said when I went horse shopping I was going to take my saddle, if my saddle doesn't fit, not buying the horse..Well so far, so good, this Reinsman has fit everything, I am too scared to try it on Stella yet, the thought of new knee on new horse, is scary, throw change of saddle in the mix and it is SUPER scary.


My lovely Reinsman trail saddle



Horse Mammal Vertebrate Horse tack Mane


Horse Mammal Vertebrate Halter Horse tack


Horse Bridle Vertebrate Halter Mammal
 
#5 ·
My favorite? Well, since we ARE a diverse group...my under $400 new Abetta trail saddle. Beauty is as beauty does, and it just DOES for us:






Feels almost English to my rump, since it has a small footprint and I rarely come in contact with the cantle. Plenty of grip when I need it. I think it weighs 17 lbs including stirrups. I customized it with some $40 stirrups with a 3" thick foot bed.

And if my saddle ever gets trashed, I'll just buy another. :cool: Heck, his BOOTS ran $200...
 
#8 ·
This was butt magic. It was the saddle that told me I was short and I hated blocks. This saddle made riding the A-hole mare doable. I got it for $300 when I bought it.. I think I sold it for $400 because I'm halfway decent at writing ads and taking pictures. I cried when I put in the box and mailed it away. Part of me wishes I could have kept it and saved it for riding other horses in.


The replacement I got is a pretty comparable shape,though the knee rolls sometimes vex me. It fits the horse though so I'm happy.




I like all these beautiful wade trees. And @bsms I rode in one of those once, and it was very comfy. And you're very right. Beauty is as beauty does.
 

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#9 ·
The first picture, saddle was my wedding present from my husband. 3B Visalia made my Tips here in NV. He(saddle maker)usually doesnt do a whole lot of silver but he made me a cantle concho with my new married initials using my own handwriting along with a choker collar with some conchos with sapphire stones that came off an old collar I had that was beyond repair.
Hooey is modeling... a tarp was blowing in the wind off a hay stack 2 miles away so he was looking kind of majestic... Lol


Second saddle, I think just because it's new. Tom Block cow horse saddle. Its comfortable, fits well on my horses, rides a lot different than my cowboy saddle. But I like how the stirrups move so freely. Love it for an arena saddle.
 

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#10 ·
I love love love love my Dakota Trail Saddle! Super duper comfy, fits both of my horses, I just love it!
 

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#11 ·
Beautiful saddles folks! I like the deep seat in the English style saddle posted by @lostastirrup.


My taste in saddles was set with my very first pony saddle. It was a mass produced 1920's vintage saddle my dad got used in the 1960's.


I was fortunate enough to buy this re covered Hope saddle from a forum member. Because of the antique tree, it will only fit a smallish horse. The original owner used it with a quarter/Arab cross.


Only one of the horses I rode in the States was narrow enough to use it on. It will likely be one of the few saddles we brought with us to the Philippines that will fit the smallish horses we're finding here.
 

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#12 ·
Wow everyone, beautiful saddles!

Here are two of my favorites. The first is a Saddle King Ol' Timer. 16" seat and QH Bars. If you're like I was, you probably think Saddle Kings are a little bit junky, BUT, then I discovered their Ol' Timer! It's built much better than their pleasure and barrel saddles (because it's more of a ranch saddle I would guess) and it is just awesome. I love, love, love the seat! This is my absolute favorite saddle at this point in time.

Second favorite saddle is this one by Rider's Choice. It's a 17" seat and FQHB tree. I just adore this saddle. Unfortunately it's a tad too wide for my current horses. And I decided I like the security of a 16" seat. But this fit my old Mustang perfectly (and he was a difficult horse to fit). So I have both an emotional attachment to this saddle because it was my Mustang's and also just because it's a super, super comfortable saddle for me. So I hope to have a horse it will fit again someday.

What I think both of these saddles have in common is the trees are made by Steele. It seems like the Steele trees are very versatile fit-wise for both horse and rider.


And I guess I should mention the stirrups......these big blocky almost overshoe-style stirrups are my favorites and if a saddle doesn't come with them, I will switch them out to these. They have a nice wide foot base, which I believe is about 3 inches. Having the right stirrups is almost as important as having the right saddle. :cool:
 

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#13 ·
@bsms. You're not alone in your appreciation for the cheap synthetic saddles. This is my everyday choice for the green and problem horses I was riding back Stateside. I got it at an auction for $75. Deep seat, light weight, small pommel, and the stirrups move with my legs the way I like.


This one also looks like it may fit some of the small horses here.
 

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#14 ·
Since this thread has evolved into showing our 2 nd / 3 rd favorite saddles etc which I think its awesome , interesting etc heres my second favorite . My older Circle Y wade imo better built than lots of the newer Circle Y"s . I paid $800 for it along time ago from an English riding school place . It looked about brand new . "Keep Em nice saddles a coming" :thumbsup:
 

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#15 ·
My favorite saddle is a custom made by Ben Terrell for my grandfather. It also has an antique tree, which gives it the ability to fit my narrow little Bones. It is the most comfortable saddle I have ever sat in, and I always feel so privileged that he gave it to me. He hadn’t ridden it for a while because it was too heavy for him in his later years. When my saddle was too wide on Bones he offered that I take it. He had it made after a hired man stole all of his saddles.

My second is my trick saddle. It was purchased from Wanda or Wilma Cagliari, I do not remember which, when I was around ten. It was custom done for her and has Ws sewn throughout the pattern.
 

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#16 ·
Can't stress enough how sweet that baby laying in the saddle seat is!


Also, may have to revise my Not for Sale statement. I'm picking up a used SRS barrel saddle tomorrow evening. IF it fits my horse like I think it will (A borrowed SRS barrel saddle is what made me decide I liked they way they ride), and IF I like it as well as the borrowed one I used many moons ago, I may be selling my Connie Combs and keeping the SRS.
 
#17 ·
I have a High Horse Willow Springs Saddle that I love. It has cordura fenders and a super comfy leather seat. Unfortunately after 160 miles in it this summer it appears that it no longer fits Stitch (white hairs on her shoulders).

I just picked up the Abetta Endurance Saddle for $60 at our local auction (with Woolback pad!) shown here on DH's gelding. Hopefully that will fit her well enough to at least finish the year. I'm going to save up my Birthday/Christmas/Tax Refund pennies and hopefully buy her a new favorite saddle before next season since we hope to start doing 50's!

Jake also needs a new saddle since the High Horse is giving him white shoulders too... Unfortunately I have 2 very different oddly shaped horses.
 

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#21 ·
I don't have a photo of Brooke saddled without me in the saddle but this is her saddle, a ReactorPanel VSD Summit Trail. ReactorPanel is the company, which makes saddles with high density foam panels that the rigid tree rests on, and which in turn "float" on the horse's back. They are adjusted to custom fit the horse using disc inserts. This is possibly the most comfy saddle I've ever ridden in, and it also fits Brooke perfectly. VSD is a German acronym meaning all-purpose; it is designed primarily for flat work like dressage and endurance. Summit is the model name and Trail means it is outfitted with lots of extra dee rings (I have latigos on two of mine) and also billets suitable for trail riding girth lengths. It is a wonderful saddle, worth every expensive penny, to me.
 

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#23 ·
Seventeen years ago my wife dug into the back of her closet and brought out a makeup box filled with $20 bills. She said she wanted me to order a custom saddle for our twenty fifth wedding anniversary. Nearly every payday for the past two and a half years she had put a 20 into the box to save up for the gift during a challenging time financially for us. I counted out 115 bills and called up Doug Koontz of DK Custom Saddlery at Buhl, Idaho and asked him what he could make for $2300. This is what we came up with-
Horse Ranch Steppe Ecoregion Pack animal


16 1/2 inch Bowman Reining tree, 3 inch dally post horn with mule hide wrap, 1 1/2 inch monel stirrups, square skirts, basket stamped, free swinging stirrup leathers, and a flat roughout seat. It is a great arena type saddle. I've used it a lot and now my grand daughter thinks it's hers. I still ride it when she is not around! This is my favorite saddle.

This is the saddle I ride on the ranch. 17 inch wade tree, bucking rolls, 4 inch dally post with mule hide, round skirts, basket stamped with hand cut floral carving, 4 inch monel stirrups, deep pocket roughout seat. The most comfortable saddle to sit in for an all day ride on the ranch. Bob Severe of Severe Saddlery of Burley, Idaho took measurements of me and of my horse and produced a work of art! This is my best saddle.
 

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#25 ·
If beauty is as beauty does, I have a beauty for you. We affectionately call it the world's ugliest saddle. It's a 14.5" no-name who-knows-what I picked up from ebay for about $40. It was once red, white, and blue, but now it's more like red, beige, and gray. In this picture you can't see the missing chunk of leather on the pommel or the pitiful condition of the cantle. It's in "well used condition," but the tree and rigging are solid. It fits 3 out of 4 of my horses well enough for the light riding we do. My daughter was horrified when she first saw it, but now she calls it the sofa because it's so comfortable.

Sorry for the small pic. It's the only one that was left on ebay, and I'm too lazy to walk out to the barn to take a better one.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Rod... that is a wonderful story! Kudos to your wife!






Got the SRS last night. It was absolutely a steal - a good saddle for $250.00!!! The rough out is still like new. I doubt it's ever been ridden. It looks like it was stored in a trailer with something pressing on the left swell and the left side of the seat - it's rubbed there and at first I thought someone had used it for calf roping and it was rope burn, but nope. IDK what they did, but it's not through and through the leather, just rubbed the tooling smooth. The back of the skirt is kicked up a little too - but I have a fix for that. My redneck barrel stand plus a ratchet strap and a deep conditioning, then let it dry for a few days should reshape it.


I'm not sure how I feel about it. Just sitting on it while it was on the back of the couch I'm like... this feels weird... Obviously it's going to sit differently on a horse. Unfortunately it's raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock and I have no where dry to play dress up with Trigger this weekend. I'll have to wait on the rain to break sometime next week unless I can get two four wheelers, two spray rigs, and a ton of Husband Junk moved out from under the lean to on MY side of the shop.
 

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#29 ·
This is such a great thread <3

It's also made me realize I have almost no photos of my tack on its own!

So this is as close as we're going to get:


My Passier and Sohn that I bought used after I acquired Gator. He has shark fin withers and a super narrow back, so my old (but reasonably nice) saddle simply wouldn't fit him. I don't have a super nostalgic or meaningful story to go along with it; I simply had a need and my trainer found me a saddle that filled it.
It's comfortable, it's luxurious, it (most importantly!) fits my horse.... the only thing I'm not a huge fan of is the color, but "beauty is as beauty does" has been mentioned several times on this thread ;)
 
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