I did it.....

[3equines]

...and my boyfriend is TICKED because I am spending all my money on my horses!;)

But, after trying my friend's saddle on Sweet P, I just couldn't help myself. I got in touch with the saddle maker, and my friend's saddle was actually built on a 7" draft tree, not 7.5", which explains why the 8" Abetts draft saddle I tries was so HUGE on her.

So I got to looking, and thinking. I settled on having a saddle made with Cordura skirts, because the problem we had with my friend's saddle was all the bulk under the cantle where the leather skirts were laced together. The saddle maker is also shortening the bars of the tree a little bit for me. The pommel, saet, and cantle are leather.

I am having all the features I like added: in-tree flank rigging, crupper rings behind the cantle, brass D's on each side fo the pommel (near the horn), extra saddle strings, extra wide bell stirrups, synthetic wool under the skirt (I wanted real wool, but they have too much trouble binding that to the Cordura).

The final price tag is $780 including shipping. I am going to have to pick up some work this spring in order to recover from my inability to control myself, BUT..... I will have a nice little saddle for Sweet P that weighs in at about 25 pounds.

Here is a link to two of their models that I have sort of hybridized. Mine will have the mahogony and black theme.

http://www.montanamountainhorse.com/store-products-MHD4-Go-Light-Draft-Horse-Saddle-18-lbs_14253197.html

http://www.montanamountainhorse.com/store-products-MHD13-Deluxe-Draft-Trail-Lite_1096686680.html

[gaited07]

SWEET!! and CONGrATS:)

Everyone needs that special big purchase everyone once in a while. You deserve it:) Happy trails:)

[Country Girl 43]

Congrats!! And really that is not a bad price for a custom saddle. :)

[natisha]

Why does your boyfriend have any say in how you spend your own money? You've wanted this for a long time & now it's finally happening. I'm happy for you, he should be too.
If it were me I'd get a new saddle & a new boyfriend too. Just sayin'.

[miatapony]

ohh Kevin better watch out Natisha is going to replace you .....

[natisha]

ohh Kevin better watch out Natisha is going to replace you ..... LOL- never! He likes me to spend money. I'm his Cougar :p

[miatapony]

LOL- never! He likes me to spend money. I'm his Cougar :p


ohh ok that is good to know.

[dame_wolf]

It's your graduation gift to yourself! Go on girl! You deserve it!!!

[vicklynn]

Congrats!! Im glad you finally found one!!

[3equines]

It's your graduation gift to yourself! Go on girl! You deserve it!!!


YEAH!!! I am also getting Sweet P bred at the end of the month...... ! My boyfriend just worries because I do without a lot of things in order to have the horses; truth is I really should be putting the money into my decrepid old truck, but the darn thing still runs so I am just not going to worry:innocent: and keep living on faith like I always do!

[zoel_222]

That's great!! $780 is pretty good for a custom made saddle.

[dame_wolf]

Found yourself a nice Halfie stud huh! Cool!

[Equine_Woman]

That's fantastic!! I like their saddles and I can't BELIEVE the price!! Wow!! I bookmarked their page. . .

[natisha]

YEAH!!! I am also getting Sweet P bred at the end of the month...... ! My boyfriend just worries because I do without a lot of things in order to have the horses; truth is I really should be putting the money into my decrepid old truck, but the darn thing still runs so I am just not going to worry:innocent: and keep living on faith like I always do!Once you get your RN you'll get the last laugh.

[Bessie13]

For a custom made saddle, the price isn't so bad. I know if it were leather it may seem a little easier to handle. but if it fits, you like it, meets everything you want. I say, Great Job. Also, I can't wait to see your little mule baby. Not even on the way yet, but when it does get here, what a cutie it will be.

Now will her saddle still fit her while she is pregnant? I now they carry on the bottom side, but they also bulge out a bit from side to side.

How long will it be before you have it and get to start using it. I dont know how long it takes it make a saddle? Waiting for future posts.

[mandisue]

That's awesome, looks like it'll be a nice saddle too!
Did you get you saddle pad yet??? We'll need pics of that too.:innocent:

[Dakota Sunrise]

Yay, I'm glad you're finally getting the saddle you've been wanting!:clap: The first link you posted looks a lot like my 'new' saddle!:D (Thanks again, by the way!:D I love it!)

I think sometimes it's best to not discuss how much you spend on your horse(s) with non-horsey family members. I made the mistake of mentioning how much Dakota's new saddle pad is going to cost me and my mom just about came unglued. She means well and is just trying to watch out for me, but she just doesn't get it. She think spending $112ish on a saddle pad is insane and there's ones much cheaper than that and no one in their right mind would buy one that expensive. I tried to explain to her that the cheaper ones often don't hold up as well and even if they will Dakota is a special case and is more complicated to fit than Beauty or my neighbor's horse Shadow. She didn't believe me and it ended with me getting one of my horse catalogs and showing her just how many saddle pads are that price and higher (which was about 75% of the saddle pads in the catalog). She just kept asking me how much my neighbor spent on Shadow's saddle pad and I kept trying to get her to understand that it didn't matter because it won't work for Dakota so I can't buy a cheaper one. Then I got the typical "responsible spending" lecture.:rolleyes: I asked her why she cares so much what I spend my money on since it's MY money and I always pay my bills and whatever I have left over is mine to do with what I want. She just kept saying how bad things are and how money is tight for everyone, and finally said that if my dad doesn't get a job soon I may have to start helping to pay family bills and such.. so I guess that's why she doesn't want me to buy the saddle pad. I felt kind of bad after she said that, just wish she had told me the real reason in the beginning.
I can't buy the pad now anyway, but I was planning on it. And still am... eventually.

But anyway, the moral of this incredibly long-winded story? Don't discuss how much your horses cost with people who don't love them like you do.:o They'll never understand.

[zoel_222]

After checking out the site, I think I'm going to get Hopi a saddle from there. Really nice quality and you can get exactly what you want for a super great price. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[3equines]

I strongly recommend that you try out a saddle tree or two through Mountain Horse before having a saddle made, you end up covering the cost of shipping for the saddle trees but it really helps you get the best fit possible without taking your hrose to a saddlemaker. It is still not a guranteed perfect fit, you just can't get that without having the horse right there to fit the saddle to during the making.


If you email them (Holly) with a few conformation type pictures of your horse and a description of the saddle you've been using and the problems you've had with fit, they can narrow it down to one or two trees that might work.

The saddles are not top of the line, they are just good saddles. The leather is overdyed, so where the cuts are will show the original brown, but it is good sturdy leather. The 'upgrade' leather will not scuff or wear as quickly, but the regular leather is still good, heavy grain saddle leather (I have seen their saddles in use with both kinds).

My experience riding in the Mountain Horse saddles has been good, very comfortable and balanced for the rider.

I think the niche Mountain Horse fills is with weird-shaped horses and mules; they have 3 different types of draft tree plus a Friesian tree (similar to extra wide gaited horse), and several mule trees.

[3equines]

That's awesome, looks like it'll be a nice saddle too!
Did you get you saddle pad yet??? We'll need pics of that too.:innocent:


just got it haven't had time to open the box yet......!

Now will her saddle still fit her while she is pregnant? I now they carry on the bottom side, but they also bulge out a bit from side to side.

Should fit until the last few months, at which point we won't be doing any hard riding. The saddle runs just a tiny bit on the wide side for Sweet P, but she is also very lean right now (more than she has ever been!) with her weight being under control and she is not being ridden, so there's not a lot of muscle on her back (she is being trained to drive and has mostly done ground driving at this point).

How long will it be before you have it and get to start using it. I dont know how long it takes it make a saddle? Waiting for future posts.

The estimate for this one is 3 to 4 weeks. An all-leather saddle is 4 to 6 weeks. Depends on how busy they are, late spring and early summer bring a lot of business.

Sweet P will probably be down visiting the mule maker when the saddle arrives, but it will fit her sire, Gibson, so I can ride in it and send some reports.

[zoel_222]

I strongly recommend that you try out a saddle tree or two through Mountain Horse before having a saddle made, you end up covering the cost of shipping for the saddle trees but it really helps you get the best fit possible without taking your hrose to a saddlemaker. It is still not a guranteed perfect fit, you just can't get that without having the horse right there to fit the saddle to during the making.


If you email them (Holly) with a few conformation type pictures of your horse and a description of the saddle you've been using and the problems you've had with fit, they can narrow it down to one or two trees that might work.

The saddles are not top of the line, they are just good saddles. The leather is overdyed, so where the cuts are will show the original brown, but it is good sturdy leather. The 'upgrade' leather will not scuff or wear as quickly, but the regular leather is still good, heavy grain saddle leather (I have seen their saddles in use with both kinds).

My experience riding in the Mountain Horse saddles has been good, very comfortable and balanced for the rider.

I think the niche Mountain Horse fills is with weird-shaped horses and mules; they have 3 different types of draft tree plus a Friesian tree (similar to extra wide gaited horse), and several mule trees.

Well for $780 I don't expect a complete masterpiece, ;) but sturdy and comfortable is all I need.

I was planning on doing the tree fit, too. That's a really good idea, I wish more saddler makers would do it.

[JackieB]

Very exciting! Congratulations.

[Steelhorserider]

I can't wait to hear how your new saddles works....they may have a customer in me also. I currently ride in a synthetic saddle but it does not have must grip--not codura--and my other saddle if a leather Dakota roper and it weighs about 50 lbs. I like the look, weight and price of their leather barrel saddle....I will only trail ride in it, but it looks like it will fit my needs without breaking my bank. I was going to start lookking for a used saddle, but will wait on your review of yours. Thanks for sharing the information.

[3equines]

They do come up with used, and new saddles (that people ordered but never made full payment on) so it is fun to watch this part of the website:

http://www.montanamountainhorse.com/store-categories/Saddles/Saddles-in-stock_2577423.html

but when you have one built just for you, you get to pick what kind of features it has. Here is a picture of an awesome roper saddle they make with all the rigging you can dream of: