I recently read a post on a facebook group page I frequent, in which a member asked for advice on buying a “good” trail saddle in the “under $1,000” price range. Reading many of the responses was almost physically painful to me!  It was painfully obvious to me that there are many, many people out there who have absolutely no idea what a good trail saddle is. It was also quite obvious that many responders have a very narrow perspective from which they judge what a good saddle is, but promote or defend their view almost with religious zeal!

I read recommendations ranging from people who apparently consider a half-hour ride around the neighborhood to be a trail ride, to those who consider 50-mile endurance rides as trail rides!  Most riders fall somewhere in between these extremes, and therefore, the saddles they should consider also fall somewhere in between the recommendations of these two extremes. A fairly large “grain of salt” is in order here.

The fact that a saddle is comfortable on a half-hour ride can’t be extrapolated to the conclusion that the same saddle will be comfortable for the horse and rider after 8 hours in the saddle. Nor can the fact that an endurance saddle didn’t sore the rider or horse after five hours and fifty miles on an endurance ride be conclusive evidence that this same saddle will work well for a horse that is in less-than top condition and a rider who might be a bit overweight on a 20-mile ride over 8 hours or 100 miles over 5 days.

I decided to add my two-cent’s worth to the fray.  After posting it, I realized that I, too, have a fairly narrow perspective from which I judge what a good trail saddle is.  Still, maybe some of my readers will find it of value.

Disclaimer:  This is not a discussion about saddle fit. That is an entirely different religious and political argument!

So, here goes.

To start off, let me just take a few lines to make sure the reader understands the perspective from which I judge a good trail saddle.  I ride long, hard miles, through some very difficult country.  A trail ride less than half-a-day in duration is not common for me, other than the occasional short group ride or training rides. I have, on occasion, ridden 40 miles in a day with no trail, through difficult country (measured by GPS) with horses loaded with game meat and personal gear. I often carry up to 30 pounds of gear hanging from my saddle.

My saddles must have multiple attachment points for gear, such as saddle bags, pommel bags, breast collar, crupper, canteen, bedroll, coat, slicker, rifle scabbard, limb saw, axe, and more.  My saddles must be heavy-duty and have a strong saddle tree with no flex to cause pressure points on my horses’ backs.

The covering material must be strong, durable, resistant to foul weather, and comfortable to both myself and the horse. For my needs, lightweight saddles made for endurance, or inexpensive saddles with plastic trees and fabric covers, or flexible trees, are simply ruled out. That doesn’t mean my saddle must be heavy, just that it must be heavy-duty.

Having these parameters in mind, there are some things that must be considered when I select a saddle to fit my requirements. While price is a limiting factor for me, it can certainly be an indicator of quality. However, I consider price to be a consequence of quality craftsmanship, rather than a determinant of it. Time can temper price, often making used saddles the best option if price is a limiting factor, as it is for me. One can easily find quality used saddles, in need of a little care, that far outstrip the quality and durability of a similarly priced new saddle.

We have all heard and read the many recommendations extolling the merits of saddles with flexible trees or even without trees.  The party line (it’s very much like a political argument) is that the saddle tree (or lack thereof) allows the saddle to flex to conform to the shape of the horse’s back, making it comfortable to the horse.  Anyone must admit that this sounds like a good and reasonable assumption, and it is clearly used to market such saddles, but if you really analyze it logically, this idea fails.

Stop and consider what happens when a flexible piece of wood, such as a popsicle stick, is held by the ends and a weight is placed in the middle. It flexes down in the middle. Right in the middle. Where the weight is. This is exactly what happens with a flexible saddle tree. It flexes down into the horse’s back exactly where the weight on top of it is! Now, this may not be a problem for a horse that is ridden for two or three hours at a time, as the flexible tree will, in fact, spread the rider’s weight and it may actually be comfortable for the horse. But, for a horse that is on the trail for 20 miles, climbing and descending, with a rider that weighs 180 pounds, like me, and with another 20 pounds of gear hanging on it, it is easy to see that a saddle tree that flexes will flex the most where the most weight is placed on it and will impart pressure points into the horse’s back. It is simple physics.

The worst saddle sore I ever saw on a horse was from a heavy rider on a saddle “made for gaited horses” with short skirts and a flexible tree (he was riding a large Tennessee Walker), for which he paid in excess of $1,500. During a long difficult ride, the saddle tree flexed, spreading the bars apart, allowing the cantle to essentially sit on the horse’s spine. Despite the heavy wool-felt saddle pad, by the time we stepped down from our saddles at the end of the day, the sore was ugly and raw.  The following year, the same horse on the same ride with the same rider and similar gear, now sporting a well-made saddle with a rawhide-covered wood tree, not only showed less fatigue, but no sores or tenderness at all.

Again, for my requirements, a flexible tree or treeless saddle is not even in the running. If you are a heavy rider or if you make long rides through difficult terrain, this is something you should consider.

I prefer saddles with rawhide covered wood trees. Despite the sales pitches to the contrary, these are the trees the best custom saddle makers still use. A wood tree allows a very small amount of flexion, just enough to keep the saddle tree from being brittle, and a well done rawhide covering is one of the toughest materials known to man.

Rawhide covered trees have been around for over 200 years and there are saddles still in use with these trees that are over 150 years old. I am not afraid of new technology nor am I saying newer manufacturing techniques may not be equally tough or better. I am only saying that a well made rawhide-covered saddle tree is a proven commodity, and, according to the best saddle makers, still the king.

There are good quality saddles that use trees that used to be called “ralide” trees. These trees are plastic or fiberglass. Some brands that have used these trees are Simco, Bona Allen (sold by Sears and Montgomery Ward), Colorado Saddlery, among others. These trees are a big step down from the rawhide-covered wood tree, but they can still be the basis for a good trail saddle.  These “plastic” trees are far better than a wood tree without the rawhide covering, like some older production-line saddles had.

I wouldn’t recommend them for the kind of riding I sometimes do, but for what most people call a “trail ride” they are perfectly sufficient and are essentially the same kind of tree that many medium-quality, moderately priced ($700-1,500) saddles are built on.

The problem with these plastic trees is that they tend to flex more than a wood tree and they generally have less surface area in the bars. In other words, the tree bars, which spread the weight on the horse’s back, tend to be about 2″ shorter and 1/2″-1″ narrower than rawhide/wood saddle tree bars on saddles of similar seat length and size.  This means there is less surface area to spread the weight over a larger area of the horse’s back.  A good, heavy leather in the skirts can mitigate this somewhat, although most saddles made with plastic trees are also made with lighter, lower quality leather than saddles with rawhide-covered wood trees. They are, however pretty tough and often carry a manufacturer’s warranty that far exceeds that of a rawhide/wood tree.

In recent years, certain tree manufacturers are making fiberglass-covered wood trees. I have read some good things about these trees, but they are still not as popular among the best saddlers as the rawhide-covered wood trees. Could just be tradition, though. My experience is limited here.

Years ago, my father purchased a half-dozen or so Simco saddles for a riding school our family had. These all had Ralide trees. Many years later, we still had a couple of those saddles.  The tree on one saddle failed and my father called Simco to see whether we could get a new tree for the saddle. The company told us to send the saddle to them and they would take care of it. Dad shipped the saddle off and several weeks later received a completely refurbished saddle from them at no cost to us! Simco is no longer in business (although their brand name is still used), but the older Simco saddles, made in the 60s and 70s,  are still sought after as a good quality used saddle. They are easy to find in the $350 to $500 price range and are worthy trail saddles if the leather is in decent condition.

Endurance saddles are made for a specific purpose: To ride far and fast in a very short time. They are built on very small, lightweight trees, not intended to carry heavy gear and not intended to carry a heavy rider.  A good endurance saddle, such as the Tucker pictured below, is a well-made saddle. However, it would not be suitable for a horse pack trip. Nor would it be suitable for a heavy rider for a long ride. There just isn’t enough surface area under the saddle to adequately spread the weight of a heavy rider with gear over a long ride on a horse that isn’t in top condition. I consider “Aussie” saddles to be in this same category, although there is a very wide range of build quality in these as well.

Fabric-covered saddles are, by definition, “cheap” saddles. They may be comfortable to ride for those on a tight budget, but they are not durable. These are not saddles that will ever be handed down as family heirlooms. Nor should they be considered for those riders who are heavy or who intend to put a lot of miles in the saddle on horses they care for.  Saddles made with fabric coverings are very lightweight saddles. They are comfortable to ride and much easier to lift onto and off of the back of a horse for a person with physical limitations, than my 40 pound saddle. However, they should not be considered in the same vein as lightweight endurance saddles. In my mind, these fabric-covered lightweight saddles are analogous to wearing flip-flops on a five-mile hike; comfortable at first, but less so as the miles pile up.  These saddles use lightweight trees, as well as fabric sweat flaps for the stirrups. This material tends to wear on riding clothing and eventually wears out itself.  A much better option would be to look for a good used leather saddle in the same price range.

Several years ago, in preparation for a month-long horse pack trip, I was searching for a good trail saddle. I found what I was looking for in the local classified ads. I was able to purchase an excellent saddle made by the Utahn Saddle company of Vernal, Utah (long out of business) that was probably made in the 1960s. I paid $380 for this saddle, a rifle scabbard, a couple good saddle pads, a bridle, and a second saddle that was in dire need of repair.  You can read about that score here. I have since put a couple thousand miles on that saddle.

The other saddle, that was essentially a freeby in that deal, I refurbished into an excellent trail saddle that became a gift to my niece. It required a lot of work, but I was able to do it myself at very little expense and I learned a lot in the doing of it. You can read about that experience here.

I will acknowledge here that as I age, lifting my 40-pound ranch saddle onto and off of my 15-2HH horse is starting to feel like hard work. I intend to make a lightweight, yet heavy-duty, saddle for myself. I have already purchased the tree, from Timberline Saddle Trees, Vernal, Utah, which is their Timberline Wade tree. I intend to cover it with high-quality leather, but minimizing the amount of decorative leather and keeping things in the 25-30 pound range. I have researched some designs and I wrote up some of my musings here.

So, what do I look for when I buy a used saddle (other than size and design)? I look first at the tree. I lift the skirts to make sure it is a rawhide-covered wood tree and that the rawhide is in good condition. I don’t mind if a stitch or two of the rawhide lacing has broken, as long as the rawhide itself is in good shape. I make sure the horn and cantle are tight and there is no movement that might indicate a broken or cracked tree or cantle. Next I look at the condition of the leather from an overall perspective. Leather that is dried and curled or scratched can be revitalized with careful cleaning and oiling with saddle soap and PURE Neatsfoot oil. However, leather that is cracked and checked may not be so easy to revitalize.

That is sun damage and it cannot be undone. Sometimes it is so bad that I feel the saddle is not worth attempting to revive. Other times, I can live with it and it can be somewhat mitigated and it’s life extended with cleaning and oil.

Leather that is torn or cut may be repairable inexpensively at a saddle shop or you may be capable of repairing it yourself, as I do.

Next I look at the fleece. Is it in good condition? Is it original or has it been replaced? If it was replaced, was it done well? Is it actually real fleece? Some cheap saddles have fake fleece that is not durable.  Stay away from these. That fake fleece is indicative of the overall quality of the leather and tree. See this post.

Some old saddles had felt instead of fleece on the skirts. That isn’t a problem. Fleece on a saddle is not actually intended as padding. It is there to keep the saddle from sliding around and keep the saddle pad under it. I don’t worry too  much if the fleece is in poor condition, because I can replace it without too much effort for about $100. You can have a saddle shop do it for around $350. It makes a good bargaining point, though.

Is a good cinch included? Are the stirrup leathers, stirrups, and buckles in good condition? These things can be replaced, but, again, make good bargaining points.

 

 

The above saddle is a Hamley, nearly 75 years old, still a sought-after saddle. It was handed down to me from my wife’s family. I refurbished the saddle and it is very comfortable and strong.  It fits my narrow-built horses well. Hamley, Pendleton, Oregon, is one of the oldest surviving saddleries in the country and their saddles are very hard to come by…at any price.

In summary, the time factor brings excellent, well-made saddles, maybe in need of a little refurbishment and care, into the realm of possibilities for those, like myself, who may be restricted by price limitations.  It is not difficult for one to find in the local classified ads, a saddle that was once a high-priced, sought after saddle, priced lower in the current market than the cheapest new saddle, made in India or China (read very low quality), that you can find on eBay.  Very often, the quality and durability of those older saddles is still there. It may be hard to see sometimes, and may require a little elbow grease and maybe some repair work at a local saddle shop, to bring it out, but, dollar-for-dollar, they far outstrip the quality and durability one will get out of any sub $1,000 new saddle you will find marketed under any brand. All it requires is a little patience, a little searching, a little care, and only a little cash.

Just my opinion, based on my knowledge and experience. Your mileage may vary.

TH