Shenandoah
Dura-Leather Endurance Saddle
Trail Saddles
Manufacturer: Shenandoah
Model: Dura-Leather Endurance Saddle
Category: Trail Saddles
Purchase: I bought this saddle online from Horse Tack Company for $309. Several places sell it
online but this was the cheapest site.
I was wanting an affordable easy to care for endurance saddle. I have been riding in Abettas for a number of years and while they are comfortable to me the fenders tear up in less than a year and have to be replaced. After much deliberation I decided to go ahead and purchase this saddle even though I could not find ANY reviews of it online. I also added a basic pair of Shenandoah plastic trail stirrups to it for an additional $27. It comes in a semi QH bars or full QH bars (for a bit extra). I bought the semi bars since my Arabs are of the narrow wither slender variety.
Likes: I want to say that I ABSOLUTELY love this saddle. My endurance horses I am using it on seem to love it also. The fit is superb for them. Much better than the Abettas ever were. I seldom ride for distances of less than 15 miles at a time and during a normal week will log about 60-70 miles between my horses. I have had perfect sweat patterns and no back issues at all. It also is one of the most comfortable saddle seats I have ever sat in. It has plenty of brass rings to attach your gear to, and also extra long real leather saddle strings in the back to tie a jacket or rump rug up with.
Dislikes: Nothing really at all. I didn't like the normal stirrups that it came with, hence the reason I purchased trail stirrups at the time of my saddle purchase. But that is only a personal preference on my part.
Quality: The quality of this saddle is in my opinion off the charts for the price I paid. I have been putting the miles on it and haven't seen any signs of wear where I would normally be seeing it by now. you can use a standard western girth with it or purchase a special girth to center fire it with. The fenders seemed a bit stiff when I first sat in it but by the end of the first ride they had conformed to my leg and there was no torque at all on my knees. The stirrup leathers are nylon but reinforced with the dura leather material. This material is the same type of material found on the wintec saddles. I was expecting a cheap looking saddle for this price, but it looks like a much more expensive saddle than it was.
Summary: If you are looking for an inexpensive well made synthetic endurance saddle then don't overlook these. I had looked everywhere for information on these from other customers and could find no reviews. But I am thinking in this case that maybe no reviews at all meant satisfied customers. I hope that my review might help someone if they are considering a Shenandoah endurance saddle. I would definitely purchase another of these myself.
Rating: 5
Author: Robin T
Date: 2011-02-26
Usefulness Rating: 3.33529 out of 5.
170 reader(s) voted.
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