Dixieland Saddle
Plantation Saddle
Trail Saddles
Manufacturer: Dixieland Saddle
Model: Plantation Saddle
Category: Trail Saddles
Purchase: I purchased this saddle over the internet, straight from the Dixieland website. I purchased the Plantation saddle, felt pad, and trail stirrups. The saddle itself was $1049. With the pad and an upgrade of tooled endurance stirrups, plus shipping to Canada, it was around $1400. A good price considering other makes and models that are that much without any extras (not including pads, etc). Cynthia was also kind enough to throw in the stirrup turners and because I'm a Canadian customer, a matching breast collar. I've never received such a generous deal and it impressed me greatly. Cynthia's customer service was excellent. She answered all my questions thoughtfully. It put me at ease that not only am I buying quality, the company stands behind its product and there is a caring individual at the other end who wants you to be happy. My saddle arrived less than 2 weeks after ordering! Prompt service as well.
Likes: I purchased this saddle because my other saddle, a Western Rawhide kept giving me knee pain, slipping to the side, being quite heavy and also a bit tight on the horse's shoulder. I have now been able to use my new Dixieland Plantation saddle a few times on my TWH. It seems to fit quite well. I did a 2 hour ride and my knee that usually hurts after an hour did not hurt. I find the saddle puts me in a more balanced position for my seat and back. I also find this saddle puts me in more contact with the horse than my Western saddle did, and I like the motion of feeling the horse's movement through the flex-tree. I've done some flat work with it too (which I normally use a Dressage saddle for), and my gelding gaits well, and we can even do dressage moves with it.
All in all I would say the Dixieland Plantation saddle has the precision of a Dressage saddle, the comfort of an Endurance saddle, and the safety and relaxed seat of a Western saddle. The saddle is nice and light; comfy seat; beautiful color; and took no time to break in at all. There is plenty of clearance for high-withered horses. Gaiting is easy for the horse with this gaited saddle. I sit back and enjoy the ride!
The saddle also fits quite well on his half-brother, also a TWH but he is built taller, less stocky. It's nice to have one saddle that can fit several horses with ease.
Dislikes: So far there is nothing I don't like about the saddle. It took a little getting used to the rigging of the girth, as it's different from a Western saddle, but now I'm very comfortable with it.
Quality: The saddle is well-made. I was considering the Tucker saddle, but the last one I saw in a store didn't look to be as good of quality. I hate to say it, but it looked cheap compared to the Dixieland saddle and yet costs more.
Summary: I just came back from attending the Mane Event, our Canadian version of a horse expo. Looking at the many saddles there, I did not see one saddle that has the look, features, quality, AND good pricing like my Dixieland saddle. :-)
Rating: 5
Author: Karin
Date: 2010-11-09
Usefulness Rating: 3.02041 out of 5.
49 reader(s) voted.
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