western show saddles

So I was looking at the TT brand, but after reading some bad reviews I am starting to re-think my decision.

I am purchasing a new QH and want a saddle that I can take to both 4-h shows and open shows. I don’t want to pay A LOT for a saddle, nothing over 800 really though. I want something with tooling and silver. I don’t care if it’s used either. But does anyone have any good suggestions? I looked at Tex Tan but they are out of my price range.

Thanks.

okay i know this sounds soo weird but go to www.horses.com they have nice saddles in the 300ds and up they are verry nice i got my western saddle from there and it is perfect

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I’m just starting to show western and definitely have a western pleasure horse. I was looking into buying a decent looking but cheap western saddle and decided that you really do get what you pay for. So, with that in mind what are popular Western saddle brands? I’ve heard of Tex Tan and Circle Y – what do you think of those? Also I have an old school, foundation QH. Would he require full QH bars? How do I know if a saddle will fit him correctly?

I’ve also heard that the "fashion" in the western show ring changes. Would it be appropriate to have a darker, mahogany colored show saddle? I don’t think the light colors would look right on him. He is a golden chestnut color.

I own a really old Tex Tan saddle. I don’t use it unfortunately because it is too small for me. It was seriously probably 10 to 15 years old when I got it and I have had it for 5 years and it still looks great, other than the suede material on the seat is a little beat, but actually the seat itself has held up well. I have never used a Circle Y, but I have heard that they are fantastic. I would love to own one but I cannot afford a new one, I cannot find a used. I just bought a Royal King saddle. It is a lot cheaper than a Tex Tan or Circle Y. They are pretty comfy, but as to getting what you paid for, I cannot tell yet. It looks great but I have only had it for a few months. I will need a few years to see if it was a good investment or not, so far so good, so you can look into that if you’d like.

***also my saddle is a full QH bars and it fits my foundation type just fine.

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i cant find any western show saddles that i like. i dont want one with alot of silver and they all are either dripping with silver or have none. do you know any good places to look???
it has to be good quality and inexpensive too!

I’m not sure what you’re considering inexpensive or expensive…I’ll just throw out a few links of show saddles I found that I think look good! (I hate lots of silver too!)

http://www.chicksaddlery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=1000

http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/showsaddles.html

http://www.smithbrothers.com/category.asp_Q_c_E_25

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i ride reiners and am looking to buy a new work saddle. the ads for western pleasure saddles look exactly the same as reining saddles. are they the same? if they arent, what are the differences? if im just using it at the barn and not for shows, do you think a western pleasure saddle would still work?

thanks for all your help.

I think they are very different. Reining saddles are a lot flatter and also lack all the bling and silver work plus they have a flank strap. WP saddles have a more raised seat at the front (behind the horn) and give you a more tighter feel in the saddle plus are hell of a lot more comfortable. We showed reiners and WP all over the country and the differences are a lot more noticable and pronounced with the higher end saddles especially WP.
I’ve worked reiners, cow horses and cutters in a rope saddle before so if you are not going to be showing on the big circuits, I really don’t think it’ll matter. Here’s links that show how different they are

http://www.sergeantswestern.com/reining-saddle-snowflake-p-10010210.html

http://www.sergeantswestern.com/elite-marquis-steel-silver-p-10010194.html

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My friend has an arabian that she wants to show wp with. I’m helping her find a show saddle. Where are some places that have high-quality (but less than $2,000) arabian show saddles? Thanks!!

go to tack shops and sales and look for saddles with arab trees. you can ask someone that works there to help you find one. also keep an eye out in the papers or at local fairs and clinics, sometimes you can find a cheap used saddle in pretty good condition. i once found a brand new pair of tan suede chaps that were only worn once for $30!!! haha, good luck on your saddle hunt!

edit:
its better to saddle shop in person. that way you can sit in the saddle and see if you’re comfortable in it

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in january, yes i know its still far away but i don’t care. anyway i am putting my ASH in a western lead show to get him used to show surrrondings before i ride him in one and because my horse is a western breed its a western show except you have to show them in a saddle adn i was wandering could i show my horse in my english all purpose or would i have to use a western saddle
an ASH is consdered to be a western breeed and also he would be shown in a lead class but he has to have on a saddle and bridal also at the rodeo (show) i’m planning on entering him its called a western lead show so everyone quit saying what is it if you don’t know don’t answer its simple

I would imagine that if it’s a "western" show, then you’re suppose to use western tack. I’m curious to know what a "western lead show" is? I know that halter classes are horses shown at hand judged on conformation, etc. Showmanship, are classes judged on the handler and how the horse is handled during the class. I’ve NEVER heard of a horse being shown with a saddle on at hand.

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Iam looking for a really big fitting western show saddle because my mare has out grown her full quarter horse bar western saddle already . What brand should I get because I know that some saddles fit differently than others. I also kind of have a price point which is nothing over $1500 . Iam really fusterated because all the saddles I try on her are way to small and they are all full quarter horse bar saddles!

Look on Tacktrader.com…..First 1500 isnt a lot of money to work with when looking for Brand name quality show saddles…If your talking pleasure, then anything by Blue Ribbon, Harris, Bobs Custom are going to run you a bit more, between 3000 to 5000 used….Me personally will always pay more for quality than going cheap and getting crap…the more you stick with a brand name and high quality the more you increase better fit for you and your horse, Blue Ribbon, Harris and Bobs Custom are all Custom made so they come in a variety of tree styles, so a full quarter bar tree might fit differently within the tree varieties, ie like the Equitation tree, or Pleasure or futurity tree, the Dowdy tree…go to the Blue Ribbon site and read up on whats really out there and then even get a saddle fitter to come measure your horse to know exactly what you are needing, then if you find a saddle that you like on tacktrader or other sites you usually can have a trial period to try the saddle and see how it fits you and your horse, my best advice is dont go cheap, you and your horse will pay later, I never take a risk of back injuries will ill fitting, cheaply made saddles, next to your horse it the most important buy you make.

http://www.blueribbontack.com/

http://www.tacktrader.com/

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I recently bought a beautiful Blue Ribbon Western show saddle to replace a lighter saddle that wasn’t fitting my show horse well. I knew it would be heavy, but while I’m small (5′3" and 110lbs) and middle aged, I am strong, especially my upper body. My other saddle was about 35 pounds and I could saddle a 16hh horse easily.
But this saddle weighes just over 45 pounds. Sure, I can carry it easily. I can even lift it to my chest height without big problems. With great effort I can toss it onto my 15.2hh mare’s back (I cannot set it up nicely like I used to, I have to swing like a maniac to get it there) But the problem is – I cannot lift or swing it high enough to get onto her back without removing or shifting her saddle pad!
Hundreds of women show with these types of saddles. How do they do it? My husband will help, but he isn’t around that much, and I ride alone otherwise. Do I make a saddling block? Are there any tricks to swinging better? What now?!

Its so hard saddling big horses or horses with heavy saddles.
I often ride an 18.2hh shire cross. The only way I can reach is to use a mounting block of some sort, like this one:

http://www.horsemenspride.com/graphics/sptoteGraphics/products/2step2.jpg

Swinging the saddle over the horses back can cause problems anyway. It can give a horse a sore back, and if you cant set it up properly on the horses back, it can cause discomfort.
The best thing to do would be to buy some sort of saddling/mounting block. You dont have to buy an expensive one from a horsey shop, something similar and cheaper from a DIY store would be fine. Or you could make one. A large block of wood or something like that would do. Just be sure that whatever you use is strong. I have seen children standing on their tack boxes and other such things in order to reach their ponies, and I cant count the number of times I have seen them fall.
Good luck!

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