Finding a saddle that fits well is hard even when you can see it in person. When you can’t, there’s a lot of extra legwork you need to do. Buying a used saddle online seems like a great deal. The seller doesn’t have to pay a twenty five commission to a tack shop, and the buyer can peruse thousands of saddles online to find the perfect one for way less than it retails new. Buying used online can work but what you’re not paying in price, you’ll make up for in time spent researching.
Make your choice ahead of time
The easy part is knowing which style of saddle will suit your purpose. What kind of riding do you want to do? And, if competitive, to what level? You probably know the answer to this already. The slightly harder part is being sure that a saddle fits you fine used saddle. That’s your seat size and leg length. There’s also your pelvic anatomy not everyone has the same design. You need to be able to ride in your regular position without hurting. By far the hardest part is knowing whether a saddle will fit your horse.
Avoid these 3 types of saddle
Let’s look at eBay. Have you seen the saddles on there with no brand name at all? Or a strange brand name you never see anywhere else? These often look like the big brands, but they’re just dodgy copies, usually from India. Get this: they’re fine used saddlethat are of poor quality, low durability, damaging to the horse and frequently unsafe for you. Even if they’re treeless. If a private seller is advertising one, they’ve realized their mistake too late. Don’t you be the person to repeat it. Now for saddles that have a brand you’ve heard of, but that are cheap even when new. We all know them: they occupy the sink end of the market. Well, you know what? They don’t get better with age. Think on it: poor quality leather doesn’t last, a brittle tree cracks, weak fittings break, cheap flocking clumps, synthetic fleece wears away. And they have dimensions that don’t relate to many living horses.
