I've ridden some in Australian saddles and really like them. I also can't stand the bulkiness of Western saddles. I think it could very well be what you are looking for!

 

If you like the saddle, but just want more stick, adding a sheepskin or thinline seat protector and riding in fullseats may give you the stick you want in an English saddle. I prefer to ride in my normal eventing saddle. Some people their dressage saddle. Whatever is comfortable for them. Sit-tight spray is another option.

I don't like the locked in feeling of an Australian saddle, but other people do. I Hate them with a firey passion.

Western saddles are an option, but take some getting use to. I ride my greenies or freshies in a western saddle if I really want something to hold on to.

 

My Abetta weighs 15 lbs and has fenders as flexible as anything can get.

Australian saddles from DownUnder weigh in around 25 lbs with stirrups, leathers, etc. My daughter's old Circle Y weighs 25 lbs, and my heavy duty western saddle is 30 lbs. It would be 35 lbs, but it was custom built with shorter skirts for an Arabian.

The Bates English saddles I used to own were 12 & 15 lbs, IIRC. The CC saddle had a narrow channel - the groove running down the middle - and it put too much pressure very close to my horse's spine. The AP saddle was better, but both had CAIR and I'll never own another saddle with CAIR.

I'd recommend taking a look at several brands of synthetic western saddles. They are only 3-4 lbs heavier than a leather English saddle, and the fenders twist as easily an an English stirrup leather...with less probability of pinching as well. My Abetta is used by my wife and visitors and is holding up well, but any of the synthetic western saddles in the $400-500 range ought to be OK.

 

The best saddle is the one that fits the horse first, and the rider second, IMO.

I have ridden bareback most of my life but I have seven saddles - there was always something to fit each of my people friendly horses and the riders.

Buy something lightweight. Not that the horse can't handle a 32 lb saddle but, the older you get, the more you will come to hate slinging or sliding it up on the horse

I don't like Abetta because I don't like center fire rigging. Maybe they make something these days without it.

The subject of treeless might come up: It has been my observation on these forums that the only people who successfully ride in a treeless saddle are the ones with great natural balance to begin with.

Dressage saddles make nice trail saddles.

Endurance saddles.

The original Plantation style saddles but Kodak doesn't look big shouldered enough for one of those.

If all else fails, you can visit the crestridgesaddlery.com website and have something custom made for under a $1,000.

 

The best saddle is the one that fits the horse first, and the rider second, IMO.

This right here

 

My Abetta has standard western rigging.

 

My Abetta Classic Round Skirt, and the Special Trail model have 7/8 rigging. They are great light weight saddles for me (and my poor old body/shoulders), and a good fit for many horses I have tried them on.

The Abetta Endurance did have Centerfire rigging. It also had quite a different too-wide and squar-ish gullet and angles. It did not fit anything I tried it on.

 

I loathe synthetic saddles. Every single one I've ridden in was uncomfortable and put me in a horrible position.

I had an aussie saddle that I sold to @karliejaye that I adored, but it was too wide for my gelding at the time and I couldn't afford to keep a saddle I couldn't use. If I can ever find another one that was as good a quality, I'm buying it. I like the security and it was just ridiculously comfortable.

I had a Circle A barrel saddle that I loved. It weighed all of 20lbs, fully rigged. But, it had a fiberglass tree and the tree turned to push in key places, so that saddle is no longer useable.

Now I have an older Tex Tan Hereford. It's ridiculously comfortable (which is high praise coming from me, as I don't like the majority of western saddles). It actually doesn't weigh as much as I expected. My gelding is 17hh and I have a bad shoulder, but I can lift this saddle onto his back with zero problems.

 

It's all about comfort to me, both for myself and the horse. I LOVE my Circle Y Topeka saddle which I bought used for around $900. It's heavy, but I started lifting weights in order to handle it better and that worked fine for me. Charlie loves it, too. I have a lot of hip pain due to a not-quite-straight hip, and most of the saddles I've used for long periods of time cause a lot of pain after a while. This one is always comfortable for both of us, no matter how long I am in it.

Of course, it is a western saddle. When I was in Florida with @knightrider I tried several of her saddles and ended up liking one of her endurance saddles quite well. It seemed to combine the best of both worlds, was lightweight and comfortable. I believe, but am not sure, it was an Abetta, though the larger point would be maybe to look into that style.

 

Many endurance saddles are sort of a lightweight mix of english and western styles. You could almost certainly find a saddle with the features you want in a synthetic endurance saddle. Abetta is not the only brand by a long shot.

 

I think an endurance saddle would be great! I don't have one, but I always admire them in @phantomhorse13's pics.

 

My endurance saddle is an Abetta and is very comfortable. However, if you REALLY want to stay in the saddle, I recommend a bear claw barrel saddle. It's a little hard to mount and dismount from it, but that's the whole point--you won't come out of it with big spooks.

 

I use a Sensation Harmony Element treeless currently, although I had had quite a few different Sensation models throughout the years. High quality (made in Canada by Nickers Saddlery) and very comfy! The ones I have owned or ridden in have fit a variety of horses, from my gaited Bashkir Curly cross and my Icelandic to my mom's QH gelding or my sister's former Paso. There are a number of treeless types out there that are high quality yet affordable, and you can get Entlish or western rigging for many of them. Here is my mare in my current SHE.

 

I'll be interested to see what you decide on - keep us posted!

 

Is there a way you could trial some options locally?

 

No. There is one tack shop about an hour away from me with about two saddles in it.

However, I've dealt with suppliers that will let you do a trial, except that you are usually on the hook for shipping and that can amount to a fair bit.

So I am still looking at all my options but am also waiting for my trimmer to come on Wednesday because she rides in an endurance saddle and knows a lot on the subject. I like all the suggestions in here, but being local, she might have good tips for me about how to properly fit Kodak for an endurance saddle.

I will let you all know what I end up doing and will share pics! I'm still trying to learn all I can about endurance saddles and other, similar options. Keep your comments coming!

 

My typical hack out is ~3 miles, I can't really ride more than 5 miles on the properties I have access to, so that's pretty much my limit without a trailer. I am very happy in my dressage saddle (Trilogy Debbie MacDonald) for that. I have also done full-day horse trekking trips in a regular All Purpose English saddle. I am really short so I need a saddle with a short flap or it's very uncomfortable and difficult to use my leg in any meaningful way, which is very important to me!

I don't have a lot of experience riding in a Western saddle, but I never liked how far away the horse felt under all that bulk. Have never had the chance to ride in an Australian or Endurance saddle, but I would like to try one out.

But like people said, I think it mostly just comes down to what you're used to, as long as it fits your horse.

 

I ride in a huge heavy ranch saddle I love it. However I also have a Wintec aussie that I adore. When my mare was spooky all the time I rode in the aussie. She has a wicked spin and can teleport 10 feet directly to the side. That aussie held me in extremely well, not to mention I could ride in it all day. It is also pretty light. My only complaint is the one time I felt the need to bail off my bucking bronco I found it extremely difficult. It was not a pretty dismount but I was able to do so unhurt, thanks to the mud I landed in.

 

I'd say an Endurance saddle would be perfect in terms of what you like and want. They are typically a mix of the features people like in English as well as Western saddles, without the bulk and usually without the horn.

If you have the money to put towards it, Tucker has some nice options and some of their vendors, like Valley Vet, lend out trial saddles for you to try on your horse. It requires a deposit on a credit card, but if you like it, it goes towards the purchase of a new saddle.

 

Well, My Tucker is a western saddle, with a saddle horn....but it's very comfortable.

 

Depends on what kind of trail riding you do.Far as saddles, a well made western trail saddle , is worlds apart from those cheap synthetic ones, or cheap leather ones

People that complain about the bulk or the way the stirrups hang, causing problems, esp if you have bad knees, are riding in either old type western saddles or poorly made cheap ones
I rode for many years, with very bad knees, which now are both replaced, in my balance ride saddle, and I was quite rare to even be riding with knees as bad as that, as I walked like a duck, with bent legs
A well fitted saddle made on a rawhide tree, is not as completely rigid as one built on a synthetic tree, plus distributes weight better.
For endurance riding, you travel very light, with pit stops along teh way, so not the same as truly trail riding, which is also not the same as just riding out a bit
I want awell made saddle, that allows close contact, with that twist , which has those stirrups already hanging correctly. Skirts need to be long enough so that saddle bags can be tied on comfortably, plus strings long enough to add a slicker and warm coat
Back cinch is a must , on a trail riding saddle, (done up, not dangling ) I also use a breast collar. I also ride with pommel bags, as well as saddle bags

 

Depends on what kind of trail riding you do.Far as saddles, a well made western trail saddle , is worlds apart from those cheap synthetic ones, or cheap leather ones

P
For endurance riding, you travel very light, with pit stops along teh way, so not the same as truly trail riding, which is also not the same as just riding out a bit

Ok, well I don't plan on doing true endurance runs that are organized with pit stops, etc. More like short trail rides (2-3 hours probably - though I wouldn't mind working up to a full-day ride). I ride out in the back of my property so no facilities are available. I'm on my own out there so I need to carry whatever I need with me.

 

My trimmer was in yesterday and told me she rides in a treeless saddle from a company named Nickers. She loves her saddle, but I had a look at them and they run about 2000$. However, she said I could come try hers out so I may do that.

I'm really torn. On the one hand, I am very hesitant to order something online with that kind of price tag because I may not like it. On the other hand, if I get a cheap endurance saddle and don't like it, it may just be due to the fact that it's not a good quality saddle.

Found a used Tucker out of Quebec that would fit. Seeing if the seller will ship. It's got more of a Western style, but looks comfortable. Thoughts on it? Are Tucker saddles very heavy? Selle d'endurance & équipement | accessoires pour bétails et chevaux | Lanaudière | Kijiji

Another thing I don't really want is a horn. So while a Western saddle might work well for trail riding, I really don't like having that horn in the way.

 

My heavy ranch saddle is a wade tree. It has lots of tie strings to hold saddle bags and a rain coat on. My aussie has lots of tie rings available as well. I ride 2-3 hours in each comfortably. The only reason I haven't used the aussie lately is I haven't adjusted the gullet since my cow lost 200 lbs, only takes 5 min but I'm lazy, and just throw on the western.

 

Odd the other pic wouldn't load

 

I prefer the look of the first one Kato - but that's just my bias against Western I guess. The only thing I'd worry about is the long flap on it. I've read that for people with short legs (yours truly at all of 5 ft), the longer flaps inhibit contact with the horse. Given that I'm used to riding English, I could see that being problematic for me. That probably rules out all Aussie saddles because they're all made like that.

 

I've had my eye on a couple of more expensive endurance saddles. Apparently I must have one nice saddle of each style.....or so it seems by my collection.

 

I think there are some places online that allow for saddle trials (with free return shipping if it doesn't work?). You might want to look into that, once you narrow down to a saddle you're interested in. I think Smartpak and Dover both offer the trial system. Of course, that would only work if they have the saddle you want to try. Good luck! Saddle shopping is a pain.

 

Thanks NavigatorsMom - I'm in Canada so that further complicates things. Smartpak will NOT ship to Canada and even if an online saddlery is willing to ship here, it's expensive and there are things involved like customs. That said, there are a few dealers here in Canada so I'm exploring those options.