western riders is this a good brand?

Question

Have you heard anything about the saddle brands TSI, saddle king or simcom? Are they any good?

Answer 1

Those are ok saddles they are among the cheaper ones available. Most would be serviceable and ok. I am not sue how well they are going to hold up over the long run.
Make sure the saddle fits on your horse well and does not slip or sit funny.
My firend has a Saddle King one and it does not sit well on the horse. It flips up and when chinched it just sits funny. It is also not comfortable to ride in at all.
I have a Cirle Y and a Tucker and both were well under $2000 they are very comfortable and fit the horses well.
You can get a good leather saddle for about $1000 or so.
Most under $1500 for a really nice one.
Look at saddles that are made for the sport you are going to be in. Like barrel saddles ir roping saddles.
Barrel saddles are lighter and easier to pick up. They have a deep seat and help to keep you in good position.
Roping saddles are very heavy and made to stay in place when you rope a calf and tie it to the saddle.

Answer 2

Buying a saddle is something you think about as a life investment. Over the years I have bought and sold many saddles, and other pieces of tack. I can only share with you what I learned from my own experiences, and hope it makes sense.

the cliche' "peny wise and pound foolish" applies here 100% when aquiring a new sadle.

A good saddle, provided you are an adult and are not still growing, should last you 30 years, if you take care of it and give it correct maintenace, and provided it is a saddle that will fit your horses, i.e. if you are buying the same breed of horses.

I would say that for the last 27 years of horse riding i have dealt with most brands, and i would not like to run any down and promote others, it is not my fucntion.

In terms of price, the better saddles generally range from $3000 and up, but you don;t have spend more than $5000 to get a good saddle, unless you are a proffesional reigner, roper, herder or if you are spending 8 hours a day on a saddle, like a horse trainer or tourer.

As a multi-purpose rider, i have diffirent saddles for diffirent sports and recreation in horse riding.

The cheaper saddles have worked out to be more epensive for me, and the costly ones have paid for themselves.

Try take your horse with you when buying a sadle, and take your time to sit on it and feel comfortable. The better the leather, the less time you have to spend treating the saddle before you feel comfortable with it.

I think gone are the days or affordable hand made/ custom made saddles.

Looking at the saddles all my friends in the business use, and taking into account that most of them are proffersional riders, i find the most common amongst them is that they are around the $4-5000 range.

Yes you can get a decent saddle for $2000 but then you will spend that money again 3-4 times in the next 20 years, and your confort level, which affects your balance and posture, and relates to the amount of back pain and shoulder pain you feel will also be more dominent in these mid range saddles.

You can also try, from ebay, or a reputable saddle dealer to get a good condition, well known name brand, saddle second hand. There is no shame in, and the avantage is that the saddle leather is sufficently worn for your comfort.

I would avoid saddles that don't have leather stirrip straps, and don't have the leather stomach belt straps. If there is too much metal visible in the underneath and side of the side, this will hurt the horse, damage the saddle blanket and affect the longivity of the saddle.

Take your time, think long term and invest well in your saddle.

And take good care of the maintenace of your saddle, it will out last you if you do.

Best of luck!

Roy W

Answer 3

NOT HERE TO KNOCK ANYONE ELSES ANSWER,BUT IF YOU PAY 5K FOR A SADDLE YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED! I OWN A SADDLE KING SADDLE THAT WAS BUILT IN 1988 AND HAS BEEN AN EXCEPTIONAL SADDLE. YOU CAN HAVE A CUSTOM SADDLE BUILT FOR YOU AND HORSE FOR LESS THAN 2K THAT WILL LAST FOREVER IF TAKEN CARE OF PROPERLY. I DON'T HAVE ANY PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE OTHER TWO BRANDS. REMEMBER THE SADDLE IS AS MUCH FOR YOUR HORSES BACK AS FOR YOUR BUTT. MAKE SURE WHATEVER THE BRAND OF SADDLE GET YOUR HORSE A GOOD THERAPEUTIC PAD THAT FITS.