[SaddleUp158]

I am going to be looking at purchasing a cutback saddle at the end of the summer, most likely. My 3 yr old morgan is showing talent in the classic pleasure division and classic pleasure driving division. I am a hunter/western rider and know nothing about cutback saddles. What are some brands that I should look for when purchasing one, and what brands should I turn and run from? If possible please state the level of quality you think the brand is, ex. low, mid-range, high quality. Most likely I will purchase a used saddle in order to get a higher quality saddle. Thanks for your help!

[Huntseat]

I love Barnsbys, I would consider that very high quality. I have never ridden in a Crosby flat saddle, but I am a HUGE fan of older flat-seat CC saddles made by Crosby.

[18thTomorrow]

I second the vote for the barnsbys. I have one and love it. There really is nothing better.

In fact, I'm getting out of saddleseat for now so I'd be willing to consider selling mine...it's a 21" seat, square cantle model, fairly new, still show condition. $600.

[SaddleUp158]

Hunseat- I have ridden a couple of times in a Barnsby and it was very comfortable. I am not used to the straight, flat flaps of the cutback! But that one saddle is all I have been in before.

18thTomorrow- I PM'ed you.

[DoubleL]

My favorite cutback saddles are Campbells. Whitmans are also very nice, as are Crosby's. Cutbacks are going for really cheap on ebay lately, so you shouldn't have much problem getting a nice used one for a very reasonable price.

For what it's worth, one thing about cutbacks is you don't have as many options concerning tree widths, like you do in CCs or dressage saddles.

Good luck in your saddleseat endeavors!

[SaddleUp158]

Do any of you have morgans? If so what size of tree do you use in the cutbacks? With our hunt saddles and western saddles we use wide trees and full qh bars for the most part.

[EqUeStRiAn]

I used to ride all the time in Crump and Co. traditional cutbacks. They were hard to learn in... but I liked them a lot because of their traditional seat (not equitation seats generally). I have one for sale actually: 19.5", excellent condition, medium tree, dark brown. Lovely little saddle.

But I have a Barnsby now and I really like it. Its about a middle range saddle.

Shivelys are also really nice saddles, probably nearest to the top of the line IMO but those will run you a few thousand $. REALLLYYY nice saddles though. Ive had the chance to ride some higher level horses in them... I wish i had the money when i was showing!

[Huntseat]

My old trainer had a Shively, I completely forgot to bring that one up. Like Equestrian mentioned, they are super pricey, but well worth it if you can afford it or find a cheaper used one.

[Tack Collector]

Threre's a thread at trot.org about wide tree cutbacks if you get into that problem. You can also read various opinions there, and at the archive of their old discussion forum, whereever that is now. Blue Ribbon made a regular and also a wide cutback. Whitman, Campbell, Smith Worthington, and L&R all made and still make cutbacks in medium, medium-wide, wide, and super wide. L&R says they'll make a tree to fit any horse.

If you run into some obscure brand name, ask me. I might have owned one at one time or another. Lots of Walsall saddlers used to make them but no longer do. You might run into some British import with a private tack shop label on it. Many of those seem to be a rebadged Crump.

Whitman, Campbell, Coventry if made in USA. Some Campbell and Coventry are impoted from England. You have to evaluate each of those separately. The may not all be the same tree or same manufacturer.

Blue Ribbon, but old ones might not be wide enough.

Crosby, Crump, and most of them tend toward wide.

Smith Worthington is great, but expensive and hard to find used.

Freedman is also great but expensive and hard to find used.

Barnsby #4 tree might not fit a Morgan well. I had trouble with it on some large bodied ASBs, even. It's narrower and has more rocker to the tree shape. Was too narrow at tree points and the cantle stood up off the horse's back. Switched to a standard medium-wide flat seat Whitman saddle and that worked fine. The Shively and the MMX are supposed to be a little wider, per Chuck at World Champion.

The cutbacks from Arabian Saddle Company are by L&R and are supposed to be just a tad wider and and flatter tree (less rocker) than the standard L&R cutbacks, but I think they are the same as the ones that National Bridle Shops sells, except that Saddlebred model. I had problems with moold growing between the two layers of very greasy buffalo leather, the saddle developed big raised bumps and smaller "warts", and I retunred it under warranty for a refund. The color goes splotchy on all of the older ones I've seen. I don't think I'd have another buffalo one unless I got it really cheap.

Work saddle for a wider round bodied horse: The older Fieldcrest. It's made in England, sells for $650 or so new at Bedford Tack, mostly in black to TWH people. But, you can usually get one on ebay for $300 to $350 and they are a great 2nd saddle for that price.

Maybe: Collegiate, Zamada, RD, other Argentine imports.

Run from: Borelli, Rossi Caruso, Granada, Regent, anything without a nameplate, anything from India or Pakistan. I could use a Borelli on my Morgan galding when he was 3, but he widened and it made white hairs on his withers at age 4 and no longer fit him. Those brands are just cheap to begin with and don't get better with age.

[Tack Collector]

http://www.trot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1053
http://www.trot.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1166