Last year I bought a new Bob Marshall saddle and donated it to a non-profit horse organization.

I currently have an older saddle that cost about $1500.00 when new.

I was at Colorado Saddlery the other day, and they have some really nice saddles running up to about $4000.00.

That seems a little pricey to me, but I am currently between horses.

Has anyone ever purchased a truly custom saddle?

I know some of these saddles run up to several thousands of dollars.

Are they really worth it?

I can see spending more money if you have a hard-to-fit horse, and have a tree custom-fitted to the horse, but many of these custom saddles are made more to fit the rider than the horse.

What's your experience?

BH63

I only use high dollar saddles, Colorado Saddlery is top notch, A custom saddle is worth the money, and it will last 3 or 4 lifetimes handed down to family members...That said I ride almost daily, and I rope competively, so that makes a difference..Any saddle MUST fit your horse and most of the time I ride a Indian made doubled Navajo blanket 3/4" it ne inch thick. If the saddle is a perfect fit to your horse A double Navajo blanket is all you need and with one blanket that fits you don't get any slip sideways and lengthwise, but I use my custom saddles on all horses so I normally use a blanket and a very thin pad to keep my Navajo clean, depends on the horses confirmation...

For the ocassional rider, I would suggest a Cactus saddle, or Double J, though not custom they run around $2500 to $3000...A cheap saddle, like a cheap gun, or whatever? you get what you pay for in most cases, and saddes for sure...my horses cost a lot of money, and deserve the best of care, they certainly earn it..They work their guts out and all the pay they get is a comfortable saddle, and a bucket of oats and all the hay they can eat.....

I appreciate the advice. A person who rides every day figures out what works and what doesn't.

BH63

all depends on the type of riding you do.

my wife & I trail ride most every weekend through the summer.

i'm content with my abetta saddle, fits my mare and i'm comfortable init

wife's saddle is carbon fiber out of Australia, Pandora Performance saddle i love it but she won't let me buy one.

for us we didn't want to deal with leather so when shopping for her saddle we looked towards the endurance world to what people were using and having luck with

With a custom saddle you can get one that fits you, besides fitting the horse, at least most of the time. A custom saddle maker told be that 99% of trees are the same shape, just the customer thinks they are different.

A thick wool felt pad makes most any saddle fit most any horse.

I'm down to two custom Cary Schwarz saddles, having sold four other of his saddles over the years. I have no one to will my saddles to and makes me sad that my saddles will probably go to a dumpster someday.

I bought a few Colorado saddles when I first started riding. A good Colorado saddle with an association tree and a 3" or 4" cantle isn't a bad way to go.

I've never owned a Big Bend Saddlery saddle but the leather goods I have bought from them have always been first class. They presently have a new and a used association saddle if you want to spend the money.

Good luck in your search.

Oh yeah, they might all seem the same in the dark, but I couldn't bring myself to ride anything other than a rawhide covered wood tree leather saddle.

Have 3 Fallis Saddles one from each generation like their balance ride very much

Again thanks for the advice. I've never cared much for synthetic materials used in saddles. Leather seems to contour better than other materials and some believe it "breathes" and handles sweat better than synthetics.

I will wait until I buy my next horse before trying out saddles. I think fit is important.

BH63

All of my saddles are custom. I like Tim Piland saddles they are well built and comfortable.

All my saddles are custom or have been won in competition, Most competition saddles are not up to snuff IMO, a few are....My saddles must be built strong and proper, wood rawhide covered trees and the best of leather and fit to my horse..When you rope as much as I do, a cheap saddle can blow apart like a hand grenade and you would be in a world of hurt, A 400 pound steer or even a 1800 pound bull and a Nylon or Nylon Poly rope with a horse going maybe 20 miles or more an hour a lot of bad can happen..A 1100 pound horse bucking or streatching out a big animal to put on the ground and hold there puts a lot of stress on a saddle, rope, rider and a cow or whatever. This is required of my horses in rodeo or on the ranch...For trail riding on weekends etc. or even hunting one can get by with less I suppose..although I wouldn't even consider a lesser saddle for pleasure riding..

I only speak for myself and a lot of every day horsemen or cowboys to give a different perspective for a different way of life..

What are peoples thoughts on Sulphur river saddles (SRS)? I have a wade, but cant find any info on it.

I like wades, but not familer with that brand.

Been riding Fallis saddles for years

BTW A thick saddle blanket won't make any saddle fit, that's just wrong..A saddle must fit a horse IMO..A thick wool saddle blanket will make some saddles fit,and that usually depends on the horse, You can gall a high withered horse with a well fitted saddle and a 1-1/4 felt pad, and the thicker the saddle blanket the more side ways motion you get, and that's not good when roping or long rides, folks that ride should make a study on saddle fit and blanket options. Even with a fitted saddle and blanket when making long rides one needs to get off his horse once or twice a day and reset that saddle..Not all saddles are alike and any saddle maker that sez that is off his rocker. Its easy to go to the trouble of checking saddle fit, look at the dry spots when you unsaddle that's heat and prone to sore the horse. Want to know if your saddle fits?, powder up a piece of sheet, saddle the horse on the sheet. take it all off and the bad spots will show, its worth the trouble..Saddles should fit your horse, with one blanket.. it can be 3/4 or one inch thick to stop side ways motion, that depends on the horses build.. too many blankets and that's two IMO and its the biggest mistake made, even by many well known horseman...If you need two blankets your saddle bars are too wide.

A good horse costs at least 5 or 6 thousand and most cost $10, and up..A good saddle and blanket is worth every penney you pay...Look at he number of horses you see with white hair on the withers, that's a sore caused by bad saddle fit, that area is dead for the remainder of that horses life and MAY tend to sore the horse from time to time. You just owe it to a good horse to learn whats good and whats not.

You will never regret a well made saddle but you may regret a cheap one. Saddle pads offer cushion but do not make up for poor fit. A narrow tree is made worse with a thick pad unless the horse is narrow. I have rode only custom saddles for the last 15 years. They fit the horse better. Provide a more centered ride for the rider and offer a better feel between horse and rider. That said all custom saddles are not the same. Talk with your builder about your needs. All trees are not the same either. I have saddles whose trees with 90 degree, 93 degree, and 96 degree bars because I have different shaped horses. If you think your saddle fits try point a calf or dragging a tree. This off line tension will tell you quick. This is why I only ride heavy working saddles. I prefer Wades but that is my preference.

Any custom saddle maker will make you a Wade, the wade is the tree, it is slick forked (no swells) unless you equip it with Squaw tits..I like a Wade tree but don't have one anymore, I like modified Association, a Mansfield roper, or something on that order..I like a 14 inch tree to team rope out of as it keeps me up front in the saddle, A ranch saddle is best for me in a 15 inch tree. A full association is a bronc saddle for a pro bronc rider, so ask for the modified tree..

I bought a well known brand of saddle and the maker is a great saddlel maker, but the saddle didn't fit my good broke team roping horse and I didn't realize it, couldn't tell by looking but when I stepped on ole Mojo, he bellowed like a bull and sqealed likea pig and bucked about 100 yards down the road, He quit just before I was about to get my head stuck in the dirt or gravel..I let him have a day off and saddled him up again in the corral this time and no sooner stepped on him that we had a repeat, this time he won...Why would a good horse like this buck, he never had bucked in his life...the saddle didn't fit, the maker refunded my $3600 dollars no questions asked..the next saddle I took to the maker, who measured and tried trees on my horse and all went well, just like buying a custom pair of boots..I still ride that saddle, mojo went to horse haven long ago, that saddle has fit every horse Ive tried it on so far, with one blanket..its my lucky saddle..Saddle blankets have come a long way, the tech boys have done a good job improving blanket fit and materials, but you still need to pay attention and ride a proper saddle for what you intend to do with it...

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:
All of my saddles are custom. I like Tim Piland saddles they are well built and comfortable.

As a cutting horse rider, the Piland saddles are top notch, there are lots of great ones, you'll never lose money on a top line saddle.

Good Wade saddle fit to your ass is hard to beat...
I have 3 custom saddles that make a 20 mile trip enjoyable.
had a bare bones polt tree wade with cable rigging that i used to start colts with...
had it rigged for a breast collar, weighed basically 20 pounds with breast collar and riata.
Gonna try and get one for my 16 hand mule. Indestuctable and they dont need much oil!!!

Jwiseguy,
You be careful and don't step off the downhill side of that mule!

I ride a Ryan Cope saddle now that I waited for about 18 months while it was being built and cost probably what 2-3 off the rack Cactus saddles or some such would cost but it’s worth it. My roping saddle is a factory Martin that I won and it just doesn’t compare to my ranch saddle. I used to ranch on a Wade tree, now I ride a modified association but with a larger horn more like you’d see on a classic Will James. I prefer the larger horn and elk hide when roping outside. Not a post horn like most out on a Wade but no little team roping horn that really needs rubber.

It took me three years to earn and save enough money for my Monroe Veach saddle. I will never have to purchase another. Only problem is changing horses where size is drastically different. Veach saddles are made to extreme.

Zebrazapper,
Your saddle is basically the same as mine, a modified association or Will James tree, My horn is a team roper horn, but makes no difference because at 85 Im allowed to tie on as a heeler, so went that route, being a Texan by birth I leaned that way anyway..Have a quick release..I don't tie on or use a short rope except for competition and team roping practice..I dally in the pasture, but at my age Im very careful when I dalley, it it gets hot I give the rope to the cow and holler at the kids.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
Zebrazapper,
Your saddle is basically the same as mine, a modified association or Will James tree, My horn is a team roper horn, but makes no difference because at 85 Im allowed to tie on as a heeler, so went that route, being a Texan by birth I leaned that way anyway..Have a quick release..I don't tie on or use a short rope except for competition and team roping practice..I dally in the pasture, but at my age Im very careful when I dalley, it it gets hot I give the rope to the cow and holler at the kids.

I’m a Texan too but my dad insisted in dallying, maybe conceding to my mother who was from Nevada, LOL.
I don’t judge about being 85 though, I’m 39 and have roped a bull or two in my day where he outran the dallys and I gave him the rope and looked at the poor kid day working like it was his fault for not being faster grabbing a leg, LOL.
Funny thing about being Texan though, my office is in California and the ranch I bought is in Wyoming, I can’t find a guy who likes being hard and fast while riding a grazing bit anywhere!
I do get aggravated though, I listen to many “experts” about saddles and shake my head. They’ve turned a handful of steers in a jackpot and they know everything.
I grew up on a cow ranch with no oil in Texas and put myself through college dayworking, I’ll take my own advice over many of these “experts”.

Do they still make saddles and ropes that will pull off the iron bars of a jail cell? That’d be the one I’d get.

A few years ago an old cowboy friend of mine was at a team roping event + he made the mistake (+ he knew better) of getting his thumb between the saddle horn + rope when dallying + it took his thumb off at the root. I saw him later + asked if they tried to sew the thumb back on + he said, "Well, they said they did." He's 95 now + laid up. I hate to see that generation go.

That still happens from time to time, It happened to the best team roper in history Jake Barnes at the National Finals as I recall..Ive got several friends missing a thumb and my grandson got his sewed back on, but its crooked, but works...Your allowed to tie on at 65 years old..I tie on with a quick release on my saddlel horn, at 85 the last thing I trust is my reflexes!! Juar blessed to get on a horse much less still being able to rope a couple of nights a week, and even win a buckle and some money on rare occasions these days..truly blessed.

BTW that rubber onthehorn reference is mis leading, its there to grip the rope to help dally and slow down the wrap, saves fingers.