Buffalo Saddlery
Western Pleasure/Roping Show Package
Show Saddles
Manufacturer: Buffalo Saddlery
Model: Western Pleasure/Roping Show Package
Category: Show Saddles
Purchase: When I finally got tired of hauling around my 55 lb/25 yr old roping saddle on trail rides I decided that it was time for an upgrade. I purchased this package three years ago from a local tack store for just over $500.00, it was brand new. The set was a light oil pleasure/light roper style saddle completely tooled with a good bit of silver, plus a "matching" headstall, reins, breastcollar, and back girth.
Likes: This is a very attractive saddle, much resembling the far more expensive Circle Y saddles for less than half the price. The leather did not bleed its color. It came with Full QH bars and a suade seat(a real plus after the rather slick leather I was used to). Initially it was a very comfortable saddle and fit my gelding appropriately. Also it weighed in at 33 lbs, which is quite light for a saddle this large.
Dislikes: This saddle did not hold up at all, and as I am primarily a hunter/jumper, I only rode in it once or twice a month for stress relief (trail rides, goofing off with friends). The leather scars quite easily from normal wear(as in the area under the billets was rubbed raw just from having a snug girth), it stained severly from light rain on a trail ride, not to mention that if a twig brushed it there would be a scratch in the leather. This saddle has to be oiled and conditioned almost constantly to keep a nice appearance up. The worst problem, however, was that the "fiberglass" tree either twisted or warped in under three years. The saddle ended up twisted two inches to the right almost like: /. The horn would not line up with the center of the saddle, the flaps were extremely uneven, and it hurt my gelding's back so that he could not pick up his right lead in the saddle. The scary thing was that the saddle was not like this when it was purchased, it twisted over time (approx. 2yrs). I am currently trying to get them to replace it, as it is still under warranty, and I could/would never sell it to some unsuspecting horse/rider.
Quality: This saddle is extremely poor quality, the leather did not hold up even under good care (regular maintainence cleaning, kept in barn tackroom), I've had my english saddle eight years and taken care of it the exact same way with no problems. I would seriously question the integrity of the tree, when I took it to a saddle fitter for evaluation he said that these saddles are not worth the leather they are made with, and he had seen quite a few of them with problems.
The saddle is a light oil leather, 15 inch, w/ full quater horse bars, a fiberglass tree, suade seat.
Summary: I would not buy another one of these saddles, if they replace this one I will be selling it without ever setting it on my horse. I could handle the leather scarring if the construction of the saddle was good otherwise, but it is not.And this was all under light use, so I can only imagine what moderate to heavy use would do to this saddle. I guess the moral of this is you get what you pay for, and this saddle is no deal.
Rating: 1
Author: HoppingPalomino
Date: 2005-01-31
Usefulness Rating: 4.55615 out of 5.
187 reader(s) voted.
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