Antares Saddlery

One Response to “Antares Saddlery”

1. Cassie says:

   December 17, 2011 at 10:36 pm

   Dressage saddles don't have to be custom from the ground up. Dressage saddles, because they are (most of the good ones anyway) wool flocked can to some degree be made to fit individual horses. Think of it as custom tailoring rather than full custom.

   Assuming the saddle is the correct tree size (and that can be altered too without removing the tree) the custom stuffing on any flocked saddle will run $100 to $300, and needs to be 'touched up' about every 6 months as the horse gains and loses weight, muscle, training, etc.

   Also a low level eventer is not going to want the same saddle a Grand Prix Dressage rider does; the position that is appropriate while riding a horse who is event fit and fit to burst his skin with energy as the best event horses are, is only slightly related to the position I want on my 4th level dressage horse training at home with my canter pirouettes and one tempis. I drool over the 10K Henning that would just not be appropriate for you. It wouldn't help you in what you need to do. (which is often just survival and trying to keep that very fit to run horse from leaping over those tiny dressage ring fences.)

   Most of the high and low level eventers I know prefer to stay with a seat similar to their jumping or cross country saddle. They don't like that really deep seat I desire.

   My Sommer Athen was $3800 fit to my horse. An off the shelf saddle customized to my horse, not a custom saddle. My Wintec Isabelle is now on the 4th horse is 18 years, and it has been customized to each horse and kept in top form, even for a sythetic, by a couple of saddlers. They both hate synthetic saddles, but admit that mine is as good as it could ever be. Just the luck of the draw. (Wintec is the synthetic version of the Bates line)

   Congratulations for wanting to have a saddle fit your horse, but keep in mind, it doesn't have to be fully custom. You get a longer flap by getting a 17.5 rather than a 17. The seat size is exactly the same–they do move the rivet, but the seat and tree no are different. The only difference is the length of the flap and moving the rivet. That is how you can get a custom fit for you.

   I would think you could find a good dressage saddle for your needs, new or used from $1200 to $2000 and then spend the money yearly to keep it fitted correctly. You don't need to spend 5 or 10 thousand dollars to have a saddle that helps you and doesn't harm your horse. I would look at Barnsby (new $1200 to $3000) and lots of wonderful used saddles. Generally, a higher end saddle like Trilogy (which is very commonly liked by eventers due to the more forward flaps and less restrictive feel of the seat) will not lose much when sold used, but the leather, as you have found, will be better, last longer, and let's face it, if somebody paid $3500 for a new saddle they are likely going to take better care of it than someone who paid $900 for a new saddle.

   I would think by working with vendors that your trainer is involved with would get you a decent price, or by putting a word in with a saddler to watch for a given saddle for you and have them fit it to your horse.

   These are the folks I used to work for, and they get lots of trade ins. The website is not kept up to date, so don't go by that. And this is my long time friend Mike Corcoran who fit my Keiffer Wein to my horses for many years–also a common dressage saddle eventers like: He does build custom saddles from the ground up and also has trade in saddles in good condition. He is again working on my saddles as I have moved closer to him. Both places work from wither tracings and photos/video, but they also travel widely, so there is a chance one or the other of them may be coming to your area.

   add–you know that you can buy 60" and 66" leathers for long legged riders right? My friend is 6'4" and he can get leathers long enough. As to the Stubben's knee roll turning your legs out–that means you are riding with too bent a knee or your seat is too small/short; your knee should be behind the knee roll, not up on it like a jump saddle….I think it's time to replace your leathers. I replace mine every 3 years whether they look ugly or not. Stitching rots long before the leather does, and I am always safety first!

   p.s.s. Most riders need to go up a size in a dressage seat than a jump seat due to the deeper cantle. If your jump saddle is a 16, you need a 17 in a dressage saddle, and a 17.5 if you need a long flap for a long leg…..