[chesterh]

So I, admittedly, know NOTHING about Big Horn saddles. I'm looking for a decent saddle to ride around in, probably not any serious barrel racing right now, but to do some drill team and training in. So I've been looking at some used Courts and stuff but then I stumbled upon this. I've heard the name Big Horn bandied about some on here but I wanted to get some first hand info.

BRAND NEW BIG HORN BARREL RACING SADDLE W/ BLING SZ 15 - eBay (item 300376947615 end time Dec-16-09 18:09:31 PST)

So... yes... its gaudy and kinda cute.

Are these saddles worth a **** at all? Is this a crappy deal or a good one? My first priority is my horses FAR more than myself and a couple of cool stars slapped here and there. All my saddles thus far have been the best I could EVER possibly get.

So... opinions?

 

[SouthernTrails]

BigHorn makes a Nice Saddle, the buy it now price is way, way below wholesale cost.


.

 

[iridehorses]

But it's a 15" seat and, if I remember correctly, you mentioned needing a 16". There's a big difference in that 1".

 

[chesterh]

So I guess what I'm trying to say is that we're looking for a 16" for my mom to ride in for our gelding, and I sold my too small barrel saddle and am also looking for a saddle for me to ride in, which would fit me better than a 16". I'm not chasing cans seriously right now so I'm looking for a quality saddle that I don't have to invest 2g in used like I did my Black Rhino. What fits me would be a 15" barrel saddle or a 15.5" cutting/all around saddle. I'm 5'10 and about 160lbs, so I'm hardly huge, but my legs are long. I like my barrel saddles about a half inch smaller than my other saddles. My background is in barrel racing and honestly thats what I'm most comfortable and most accustomed to riding in.

I'm trying to decide whether I'm going to go standard bars or full bars as the main horse I'm riding right now is the gelding in the previous post, but I want a saddle that will fit a wide variety of horses also.

OK- to sum up: so I need a saddle FOR OUR HORSE thats a 16" for my mom. And a saddle thats FOR ME that will fit a wide variety of horses, including ours.

That was extremely convoluted so hopefully my main point will have somehow broken through all the other distracted fodder in this post.

 

[iridehorses]

Well .... alrighty then!! :lol:

All that being said (and I think understood). If you don't mind the bling and the writing on the fenders, it's a decent deal. Big Horn is not a bad saddle and the price they want for it, as Kevin said, is way below wholesale.

I think the basic reason for the low price is that the fenders will have the name of the show and the year that the event was won and that is a drawback to many people. I would ask for a picture of the saddle showing the fenders (which they were careful not to post) and then you can decide if you can live with it.

 

[chesterh]

Well. I kind of like the gaudy stars, to be honest... I'm a 23 year old child at hard I guess... The fenders I can get replaced here for cheap. I'll see what I can find out. Since I did so well selling my Black Rhino I'm thinking about buying this one with the reg QH bars, and a courts combo roping/barrel saddle with full bars and just have a blast!

 

[chesterh]

Ok, so I spoke to Wayne at Corriente saddles. For the same price as the new Big Horn I can also buy a new fully tooled Corriente barrel saddle. Which is the better value or quality? Any thoughts? What is my best bet?

 

[iridehorses]

I copied this from another thread where you were asking about saddle fit:

I had a lot of reservations about a Corriente saddle - I had just sold an expensive saddle I had because it didn't fit me (although it fit my horse well) and with finances being the way they were, I didn't want to spend over $1,000 if I could. Used was certainly the best way to go.

I had looked at the Corriente for a long time and for the money I expected it to be junk but the price was a big draw. I ordered the 17" roughout Wade in med. oil with full tooling and round skirts. It was their highest price Wade saddle and it is an unbelievable value for the money. VERY well made and solid.

The problem for you may be that, regardless of the gullet size being 7", it is for a wide horse. What I had to do is to use a 7/8" 5 star pad plus a doubled HD Navajo to keep the gullet off his withers. Sweat marks are good and the bars are contacting all around and after several 4-5 hour rides, he is not sore anywhere so I'm a happy camper. __________________

 

[chesterh]

I was more actually inquiring about how these two brands compare and which would be more for the money. A good deal on a Big Horn vs. standard price on a Corriente. I know neither is high end but how do they COMPARE in comfort and quality?

 

[iridehorses]

Based on my experience with the Corriente, I would buy it again over the Big Horn. A friend of mine does a lot of saddle repairs, I brought him the Corriente to reverse the Blevins and asked him his opinion. He spent some time looking it over and figured I spent $1,500 to $1,800 for it.

Although I've not owned a Big Horn, I am familiar with them and there is no comparison between the two.

I've shown it to a good number of guys I ride with and no one can believe what I paid for it. I really believe that it is one heck of a value. Keep in mind that it is a heavy saddle because of the quality of the leather and the rawhide covered tree.

 

[chesterh]

Well the barrel saddles are actually quite a bit lighter. I, like everyone else looking at Corriente saddles, am thrown off by the low price. They also won't make them custom at all. They will not vary the oil color, roughout color and only offer 2 types of tooling and patterns. When I spoke to them on the phone this afternoon they were VERY nice but also said that they have 150 people working for them and probably make and sell more saddles than Billy Cook. That just makes me nervous. It seems to be more of an assembly line than anything else (although, I'm sure Big Horn is NO better.)
Those are my main concerns but they do come VERY highly recommended by you few guys on here and you can't beat the price. I think my mom decide she is going to get one of their cutters for our little blue gelding. She doesnt care about fancy, she likes good quality and price. Gotta sell the Ammerman first though. Know anyone who wants one? Only 4 rides since new!!!

 

[iridehorses]

I had a lot of those concerns as well. Speaking to Wayne helped but reading reviews convinced me to try one. Roping Saddles

I fully expected to send it back as being junk but I was blown away the moment I took it out of the box. Came with a high quality hat too! :shock:

 

[chesterh]

lol it CAME with a HAT?

 

[iridehorses]

Hat...

 

[chesterh]

ooooo!!! I better get one of those...!!! Or else!