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 A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
 
Location: Southern Oregon | I am in a spot for the first time in YEARS to purchase either a brand new custom built saddle or used one. I am having a hard time deciding which direction to go in...... I really like the looks of the triple creeks and shilohs. I have heard great things about both and I have also looked at the catcus and crown c's. I am soooo lost. No one local to me has any of these saddles in 15 inch to try before I buy. Any in put on any of these saddles? I have ridden in tons of textan barrel saddles and circle y's growing up so I have nothing to base my decision off of. |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
 
Location: NE Texas | Out of all the saddles you listed, buy a Shiloh. I would prefer to buy a used one simply because breaking in a new saddle is no fun. I have ridden every saddle you mentioned and the Shiloh is head and shoudlers above the rest listed. They ride so balanced, the leather is great quality and they hold their value. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 612
| I am wondering about this too. How do you know if the saddle is going to fit your horse(s)? |
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 Don't Wanna Make This Awkward
Posts: 3106
Location: Texas | Buy a used one, then sell it, then order your custom one :)
Really if you don't plan to keep the saddle it could just be one your sure to make your money back on. That's the easiest thing I could think of. I know martin does test rides, but honestly im starting to hear bad things about those saddles.
I would put a deb sibley on your list of saddles to try, I just went from a tex tan to a sibley and I love it! |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Try and find someone local to try theirs first.
I waited very patiently for my triple creek, heard rave reviews, saw pictures of how many different body types it fit.
Didn't fit my horse worth a darn. Sold it a week later at a $200 loss. Ended up with a crown c for awhioe and now he's changed shape again and is fitting a Pozzi nicely.
I was able to try both of those before I bought. I won't waste my money again without knowing for sure. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | I won't buy a used saddle unless I have tried the same model on my horse and know it will fit. |
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 Northern Chocolate Queen
Posts: 16576
Location: ND | Only one you're considering that I've ridden is the Crown C & I absolutely love that saddle! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1718
Location: Southeast Louisiana | Call the manufacturer or distributor and see if they offer a trial. I know plenty of them do.
I wouldn't buy one without trying it first unless it was a great deal on a used one and I knew I could get my money back if it didn't fit. I've lost too much money guessing about saddle fit only to be wrong and get stuck trying to sell the saddle. |
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 Go Canada!
Posts: 2954
| I have had a couple of crown Cs and really like them. An option might be to try and do the test ride program Martin has.
When buying used I typically am not scared to take the risk of having the saddle not fit - usually you can get your money back from a good quality saddle. I would be a little more hesitant about new. If you could try someone locals saddle in a different seat size at least it would give you an idea of how the brand fit your horse. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | Yes, I try before I buy. Luckily, the last two saddles I bought were from local sellers, so I hauled my horse to their place, tried the saddles and bought them.
If you're on Facebook, put it out there that you're looking to try a specific saddle and see if any of your friends have one you can try. |
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 Expert
Posts: 4625
Location: Desert Land | I try to find someone local if I can to try theirs, but when I had a hard to fit horse I found a lot of people around me didn't have the saddles I wanted to try, so I went out on a limb and bought them knowing I could sell them for what I paid for them no problem if they didn't fit...Larry Allen, Coats, Stoney, etc. I ride the Caldwells - I have 2 of the different trees, but if I ever want to try the others, I'll just buy it and if it doesn't work, I know I will have no problem selling it. |
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 Unknown Drip
Posts: 5624
Location: Back in MT BABY!!! | If you can find a saddle localy to try it first I would try to do that....even if the seat size isn't exactly what you ride you can still get a feel of it. |
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Rad Dork
Posts: 5218
Location: Oklahoma | I hauled my horse to Martin to get him fitted for the Crown C and got to take a demo back home with me to try for a couple of weeks to see if it would work for us. It was free.
I'm also fortunate enough to be around a lot of races that Double J sets up at, so I've have my gelding fitted for a Double J tree and was able to test ride a Pozzi (even thought it was an entire inch too small for me! lol) on another horse.
I think posting on FB that you want to test fit/test ride some different saddles and you would probably get a response! Good luck!!
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | Herbie - 2015-01-22 4:30 PM Out of all the saddles you listed, buy a Shiloh. I would prefer to buy a used one simply because breaking in a new saddle is no fun. I have ridden every saddle you mentioned and the Shiloh is head and shoudlers above the rest listed. They ride so balanced, the leather is great quality and they hold their value.
^^Very true. I haven't riden a triple creek, but have all the others. I'd definitely go with a Shiloh. When you buy a quality saddle used, you can always flip it and get your money back pretty easily. The Shiloh's are set up to put you in a very balanced position.
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A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | I would love to find a used shiloh, hell if I had a 13.4-14 seat I could find one super easily. I need a 15 and those shilohs in 15 are hard to come by! lol |
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Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | cowgirl_3207 - 2015-01-26 4:55 PM I would love to find a used shiloh, hell if I had a 13.4-14 seat I could find one super easily. I need a 15 and those shilohs in 15 are hard to come by! lol
I just saw a 15" Ed Wright on this site today. it's not a SHiloh but it rides just as good. GO FOR IT!  |
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A Gopher's Worst Nightmare
Posts: 5094
Location: Southern Oregon | I actually came across that one when I was looking after typing that lol...I messaged about it to see if it will fit my mare. Thank you |
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Do you try before you buy when it comes to saddles?