Guide to Buying Used Saddles

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Guide to Buying Used Saddles

Arming yourself with information for a great purchase

Don Gonzales

Guide to Buying Used Saddles

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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Part 1 ............................................................................................................................................................. 3

Guide to Buying Used Saddles ................................................................................................................... 3

Making sure the saddle tree is not broken ............................................................................................ 3

Knowing what brand the saddle is and whether they are worth repairing ....................................... 3

The price of the saddle compared to the market value........................................................................ 4

Part 2 ............................................................................................................................................................. 5

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 2........................................................................................................ 5

Trophy saddles and their over supply ................................................................................................... 5

Why manufactured name brands are a safer choice. .......................................................................... 6

Why custom saddles are worth the money even when used. ............................................................... 6

Staying away from tack auctions and import saddles. ........................................................................ 7

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 8

Part 3 ............................................................................................................................................................. 9

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 3........................................................................................................ 9

Key Safety Areas ..................................................................................................................................... 9

Stirrup Leathers .................................................................................................................................. 9

Saddle Riggings ................................................................................................................................. 10

Billets and Tie Straps ........................................................................................................................ 10

Big Repairs ............................................................................................................................................ 11

Minor Repairs ....................................................................................................................................... 11

Broken Tree or Not ............................................................................................................................... 12

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 12

Guide to Buying Used Saddles

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Part 1

Guide to Buying Used Saddles

Whether you are looking to buy a used saddle from an individual or from a retail store that sells

used saddles, it’s a good idea to do some research in some key areas of the used saddle

market. This guide to buying used saddles will get you started on the road to buying a quality

used saddle. The first thing to understand is what makes a “good used saddle.” For me the

definition of a good used saddle has three key qualities that I’m looking for when purchasing:

Making sure the saddle tree is not broken

Knowing what brand the saddle is and whether it is worth repairing

The price of the saddle compared to the market value

Making sure the saddle tree is not broken

The first thing I look at when looking at a used saddle is the saddle tree, or the frame that the

saddle is built on. A saddle with a broken tree is worthless and very seldom worth repairing the

tree. So with this being said, my decision can be made first step out of the box if the tree is

broken. The saddle tree should be tight without any movement when pressure is applied during

inspection.

If you don’t feel comfortable checking the tree yourself, I suggest taking it to a saddle maker you

trust to have them check it for you. Most shops will gladly check it for you at no cost and give

you their opinion. If you find that the tree is broken, then I would suggest not purchasing the

saddle. Tree repair/replacement is a very expensive and labor intensive job and for most saddles

it is not worth the cost of repair.

Knowing what brand the saddle is and whether they are

worth repairing

If the saddle tree is good and tight, then next I look at the brand of the saddle for sale. This is

where a good amount of information can be found on quality and what the saddle may be

worth. If the saddle is an American made name brand that you recognize, then you will already

have an idea of the quality of the saddle and may have some idea of what it is worth.

Usually if you do not recognize the brand name of the saddle then it is probably a cheap lower

quality import saddle. These saddles often are not worth a lot of money and will probably lead

to issues with fitting your horse as well as increased repair cost down the road.

Custom saddles may not have a recognizable name either, but these saddles are often of high

quality and can fetch a higher used price if the seller knows what they are selling. Do some

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research here and be sure you know who built the saddle and what their new retail cost is so that

you can make a better decision on the used market value of the saddle.

The price of the saddle compared to the market value

The final thing I use to decide on whether a saddle is a good used saddle or not is the

price. Pricing of used saddles for most people is more of a spit ball type of mathematics than an

actual equation.

The most popular price on used saddles is $500-$600 but this more often than not isn’t an

accurate market value. Especially when it comes to the import saddles which can have a new

retail price of $450… be sure you are not over paying for a low quality import saddle.

The flip side of that is that many people don’t know how to price saddles so you can sometimes

find a high quality custom saddle of a lesser known American custom saddle maker for a price

well below his true market value.

The thing to remember here is that buying a “good used saddle” is dependent on your knowledge

of the product. It is really easy to make a mistake and buy a used saddle for too much money

with a broken tree, leaving you with a saddle that is worthless and not worth repairing.

One thing I always tell my customers is that you will not get ripped off when buying a brand new

saddle because you will get exactly what you pay for. As a general rule of thumb, with new

saddles the more money you spend the better the saddle you will get.

In the market of used saddles, the price you pay for a saddle and the quality of what you get is

determined only by your knowledge of what you are buying and the person selling the saddle

knowing what they are selling.

Take some time to do the research and decide on a brand and style saddle that you want to

purchase. When you have these details then search the market for that saddle. Don’t hesitate to

get advice from a trusted saddle maker when you do find a saddle that you are considering.

From a saddle maker that does a massive amount of repair, I can tell you that we can always tell

you which brands are cutting corners and which ones build a quality product.

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Part 2

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 2

In this section we will discuss the pricing structure of the different types of used saddles in the

market. As we spoke about in the previous section, the buyer with the most knowledge wins.

In this section I will discuss:

Trophy saddles being worth less because of oversupply.

Why manufactured name brands are a safer choice.

Why custom saddles are worth the money even when used.

Staying away from tack auctions and import saddles.

Trophy saddles and their over supply

Decades ago, the trophy saddle was a goal for many contestants and they took great pride in

winning one of these awards. Today with the abundance of saddle manufacturers in this country,

trophy saddles are almost a consolation prize and many times the contestant would just rather

have the cash rather than another saddle he/she isn’t going to use.

The quality of the trophy saddle has greatly fallen over the last 30 years and their reputation isn’t

what it once was. With the increase in small associations conducting saddle series events with

limited budgets, we have seen many new-saddle manufactures coming into the market to serve

this need for budget trophy saddles to give away as prizes. With this demand for them, and the

increased competition in the market, we have seen even quality saddle manufacturers push their

low quality trophy saddle lines into the industry in an attempt to compete. Unfortunately, some

of the processes used in manufacturing them at a low cost have crept into their normal non

trophy saddles greatly clouding the difference between the two quality levels.

Trophy saddles are a big part of the used saddle market due to the amount of these saddles that

are given away as awards at team ropings, cuttings, amateur rodeos, and other equine

events. Many times you can get a great deal on a decent saddle because the person selling the

saddle didn’t have to actually pay money for it. Many times these folks have no intentions of

using the saddle and just want whatever cash they can get for it.

If you are looking at purchasing a trophy saddle, I would recommend staying with a brand name

that you recognize and enter the purchase knowing that the price of the saddle should not be very

high. The thing to remember here is that the saddle was built for an association to give away and

with that you can’t expect it to be of great quality. There are some good companies out there

building a quality product for these events but I would recommend a saddle from a company that

really isn’t known for building a lot of trophy saddles. A company that mainly builds a quality

product and occasionally builds trophy saddles for a few select events is less likely to have a

poor reputation that comes along with their award saddles.

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Why manufactured name brands are a safer choice.

When it comes to non-trophy saddles, name brand manufactured saddles are safer than an

unknown or unmarked saddle. There are so many saddles being made now from new

manufacturers. This is not to say that they are low quality but unless you have done the research,

then I suggest staying with a name you can trust and have seen perform.

Buying a used saddle with a well known name has the benefit of the buyer being able to contact

the company and get more information on the saddle and possible warranty details. This also

allows you to find out some history on the company and their customer service. Many of the

oldest saddle manufacturers in this country have great customer service and can give you some

great information on the saddle you are interested in.

With unknown or new to the game manufacturers, you don’t have much history on them and

their customer service will be hard to gauge if the company is no longer in business next year…

which happens a lot. Many manufacturers come and go so just be mindful of the brand and the

company. Not to mention, there are a lot of “American” saddle manufacturers out there who

assemble the saddles here but the bulk of the work is done out of the country… or worse, they

are completely made out of the states and shipped in.

Stay with the names you know and recognize. If you see a name on a used saddle from 1985 and

they are still building new saddles in 2016 then that means something. Their quality may have

dropped off over the years, but they are still in business and at least you can talk to someone

there who is knows the product and can guide you in your purchase.

Calling the company and finding out the cost of a comparable saddle will give you an idea to the

value of the saddle you are looking at buying is. When determining this, I look at five things to

determine value:

Replacement cost in today’s dollars.

Condition of the saddle.

Age of the saddle.

Cost of any repairs needed.

Market popularity or value.

With this information you should be able to make a sound assessment of the saddles used value

and then decide if the purchase is within your budget.

Why custom saddles are worth the money even when used.

Now we get into custom saddles on the used market. This area can be a little hard to navigate,

but with a little patience and research you can usually make a quality purchase. Many times

these saddles will fetch a much higher price, but the quality and value of these saddles are much

higher generally. This has to do with the supply in the market.

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A custom saddle maker building 15-25 saddles a year will not usually have many available on

the used market. Most of the time these makers are building one to two saddles at a time for

specific customers, and generally speaking the customer usually doesn’t sell them. Because of

this, there are few saddles by the maker available for purchase in the used market.

The biggest benefit to buying a used custom saddle is that they are well worth repairing. The

saddle is usually very high in its quality of materials and the tree is, more times than not, great

fitting and structurally sound and strong. I have seen 40 year old custom saddles that we did

extensive repair on and when finished the saddle was good for another 20 years.

The hardest thing when it comes to purchasing used custom saddles is recognizing the

maker. Many custom makers have a small following relative to the entire western saddle

industry, so being familiar with the name may or may not have weight in deciding on its

value. The best thing to do is to first find out if the maker is still alive… unfortunately we do not

live forever. If he/she is alive, try and contact them and find out a few things about them:

How long have they been in business?

What is the primary saddle style they are most known for?

What is their warranty on their saddles (some makers put a lifetime tree warranty on

them).

How many saddles they have built.

If they know the saddle you are looking at and what they think it may be worth.

I have seen some really great custom saddles sell for far too cheap because the person selling it

had no idea what the value was and to them it was just another saddle. On the contrary, I have

also seen a saddle priced way to high from a maker who has only built ten saddles but since it

was custom they valued it high. Do the research and after visiting with the maker ask for three

customers that are riding their saddles that you can call to get their opinion of their work. Most

will have no problem giving you this so that you can become one of their customers.

Staying away from tack auctions and import saddles.

We mentioned this in the previous section as well, but I cannot emphasize enough how important

this is. The biggest category of saddles to stay away from is the import saddles which are the hot

item at the dreaded traveling tack auctions. These tack auctions come to your town about once

or twice a year and peddle import saddles and tack that border on dangerous levels of low

quality.

The import saddle market has cost my customers hundreds of dollars in repair due to the poor

quality and lack of good horse fitting practices. Some of the worst opportunities for you to lose

money are on sites like eBay where these saddles are sold as well. The saddles are sold for a

super cheap price and when you get them they don’t fit your horses and sometimes even lack

vital pieces such as riggings (seriously… I have seen them with no rigging or way to attach to

your horse).

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Many times after the purchase is made and the saddle is delivered or you get home you try to call

the company to complain or get your money back and the phone number is disconnected. Stay

clear of any import saddles and all tack auctions. These saddles are built in countries that have

no knowledge of the performance horse world and the proper fitting of your horses.

When the traveling tack auction comes to the town my shop is located in, it will be about 6

months later and my repair business increases greatly. Although I enjoy the extra repair dollars,

I do not like seeing people put money into saddles that are not worth repairing. And many times

these saddles are not worth repairing… in the industry they are considered “throw away”

saddles.

My suggestion is to always, without a doubt, no matter what your level of riding or amount of

riding, stay away from these types of saddles. Save your money and stay away… every time.

Conclusion

Buying used saddles can be hard to navigate, but after time and practice you can learn the

essentials to allow you to make a quality purchase and stay within your budget. Remember that

the first step in making any purchase is knowing exactly what you are buying and not getting

saddle fever and buying the first thing you find.

For most folks, whether selling or buying, pricing of saddles is more of a wet finger in the air

kind of math. Spend some time planning and researching and come to the table with the upper

hand and you will find the perfect used saddle for your program.

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Part 3

Guide to Buying Used Saddles Part 3

If you have gone through the last two sections, I hope you found them useful. In this section, I

will go over some key areas to look for when assessing any possible repairs that may need to be

performed on a used saddle that you are considering to purchase.

You may have found a used saddle at a great price and it’s just the saddle you have been looking

for. But a little stay at the repair shop could take that well priced saddle and add quite a bit to

your overall investment and maybe blow your budget.

Here, we will go through the four key areas I take into consideration when looking at what

repairs a saddle might need when it comes into my shop. You can take these and use them when

purchasing a used saddle and this will give you some idea of the amount of money it will take to

get the saddle ready to use.

Key safety areas

Big repairs

Minor repairs

Broken tree or not

Key Safety Areas

The very first areas to look at on a used saddle for repair needs are the parts of the saddle that, if

broken or damaged, could cause serious injury to you or your horse. Here we are not as

concerned about cosmetics as we are about the structural integrity of the saddle.

Here are the areas that I focus on and what to look for:

Stirrup Leathers

Look at the stirrup leathers on the saddle. Are the holes, where the Blevins buckles adjust, worn

out or cracked? Look for excessive stretching in this area. Sometimes the holes will look like

they are more oblong than round and this is usually due to a substandard piece of leather that was

used for the leathers and they have stretched out quite a bit and they are more likely to tear.

Be sure and slide the Blevins sleeve up to expose the Blevins buckle pins so you can inspect

them and the holes they are in. If you see that the pins are heavily corroded, then they will need

to be replaced. I have had saddles brought in and the pin was cracked or missing the post that go

into the holes of the stirrup leathers. Inspect the buckles and buckle area well.

Also be sure to look at any rivets in the fenders and stirrup leathers. What we are looking for

here is corrosion and dry rot around the rivets. On really old or neglected saddles, you will

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sometimes see a great deal of dry rot around the rivets which could allow the rivets to pull

through very easily.

Lastly, take the stirrup leather above the Blevins buckle in the area where the holes are and fold

the leather in half. This is a good way to see how dry and brittle the leathers are. When you fold

the stirrup leather, you should not see any cracking along the fold spot. If you do then the

leathers have not been oiled regularly and are dry and brittle. This could mean a repair in the

near future.

New Stirrup Leathers and new Blevins buckles average cost is $125 – $200

Saddle Riggings

No matter what rigging style a saddle has, this is still a very important area to keep in mind. The

saddle rigging is the only thing keeping the saddle on your horse. So with that we want to

inspect this area very well for signs of dry rot, corrosion, or tearing.

If the saddle has an in skirt rig then we want to check for corrosion of the rivets holding the

metal plate in the skirts and check for any potential cracks of the plate itself. We also want to

look at the integrity of the leather surrounding the rivets and make sure that it is not dry and

cracked as this could lead to the rigging being pulled away from the skirt during riding.

*Repair of in skirt riggings is usually very expensive depending on the damage

If the saddle has a full double dee rigging then you want to look at the dees to make sure that

they are not cracked or worn thin. Also inspect the leather that folds around the top of the dee

and attaches to the dee to make sure there is not any dry rot or cracking in this area. On this type

of rigging there should be four dees on the saddle and you want to check all four. The nice thing

with this is that you can, depending on the problem, repair each dee individually as needed which

keeps repair cost down.

New rigging on in skirts I do by the hour at $50/hour repair labor and could run 4-6 hours.

New rigging for a full double dee could run $75 – $125 per dee.

Billets and Tie Straps

Although the billets and tie straps are a cheaper fix when it comes to repairing a saddle, they are

still very important when we are talking about safety and so we will visit them here.

Inspecting these items is very simple and as before, we are looking for signs of dry rot, cracking

and excessive stretching. The simple thing here is, when in doubt replace them. Don’t take any

chances with these items, they are too cheap and easy to replace.

New billets and tie straps can cost $30 – $75 each respectively.

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Big Repairs

When it comes to big repairs, I consider this in the price I am purchasing the saddle for and make

sure that the overall saddle investment including repairs isn’t going to be more that the saddle is

worth. Big repair costs can quickly rise to $500 – $1000 if you’re not careful, and that doesn’t

include the cost of the saddle.

Some of these big repairs are not necessarily a safety issue nor affect the way a saddle may

function, but are more cosmetic in nature. They may just be things you want to do to the saddle

to improve the overall look of the saddle or to improve the comfort of the rider or horse.

Sheepskin is a very common replacement and this can be an expensive repair. Replacing the

sheepskin is heavy in labor to remove and replace if done correctly.

Another popular big repair that is done for cosmetic reasons is replacing the padded seat. This is

usually done to improve the look of an older saddle with a fresh new seat color or to add better

padding to the seat to improve the comfort for the rider. Either way, this is a pretty extensive

repair.

A few bigger repairs that are more of a choice than a necessity when comparing to safety are:

recovering of the saddle horn

replacing cantle binder to remove, or add someone’s name

replacing fenders because the lettering on them says “Woman’s Goat Roping Champion”

Reworking ground seat to change the way it sits

Big repairs can stack up once you get the saddle home and start thinking of all the ways you can

make the saddle better, and before you know it you could have bought a brand new production

saddle the way you wanted it.

Big repair costs individually average $300 – $500

Minor Repairs

Minor repairs are just that… Minor. But with that being said, it is still the little things that lead

to bigger breakdowns. This is where we consider the integrity of all the little aspects of the

saddle that usually go unnoticed until something breaks.

Inspect any lace or latigo ties about the saddle. These areas are usually where the billets and tie

straps are laced onto the saddle, any lacing on the riggings, lacing at the top of the saddle

fenders, etc. This thin lace dries out faster than the rest of the saddle because of how thin it

is. In general, these laces are very easy and cheap to replace and if you are semi handy, you can

usually do this yourself.

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Saddle strings are similar to lacing in that they get dry easily and are also cheap to

replace. Although the majority of strings these days are not really used for their purpose but they

sure do look cool!

Other cheap repairs/replace parts include treads on stirrups, hobble straps, conchos, rig catchers,

Blevins buckles, etc. Take the time to just give these items a once over and take them into

consideration with your offer.

Individually these items could cost $8 – $30

Broken Tree or Not

I know we have touched on this subject in previous articles, but I cannot stress enough the

importance of this point. The majority of the time, if a saddle has a broken tree; it is not worth

the cost of repairing it. This is the most important part of your used saddle assessment to insure

that you are not purchasing something that you cannot use.

Some people are under the impression that if the tree is broke it is still okay to ride as long as

you don’t rope anything. This is absolutely false so do not fall into that trap. A broken tree can

cause soreness and other issues on your horse even if you are just riding it around.

Any saddle you are looking at should have a tree inspection because many times the owner or

seller has no idea that it is broken.

Conclusion

Now you have a little more knowledge in your tool kit to make a more wise decision on your

next used saddle purchase. Remember, the one with the most knowledge wins and if you do

your research you should be able to sort through the many saddles that are available in the

market and make a great choice at a great price.