SaddleOnlineReviews of saddleonline.com

I ordered a western close contact saddle sept.2019, knew it was made in india, 1st mistake. The saddle was nice looking , weight was what I needed at 24#'s. The saddle had a shiny finish, very stiff especially the fenders. I have been trying to soften this "leather" so I can ride it. No luck getting the fenders to bend. I've used multiple saddle softer, used saddle soap, then needs foot oil. Yes, I oiled front, back,sides multiple times over the last few months. The only way I could get the stirrups to turn was almost brute force, then a broom handle for multiple days, then having to do it again after 4-5 days. Will not stay in place. I rode in it the last 2 days, but the stirrups aren't staying in place. Can't bend the fenders to put over horn!!! I have contacted saddleonline 2 x's. I've done what they recommended, no help. I even went to my saddle guy, nothing has worked. Not a happy camper, probably will not use, so stuck with it.

I needed a light weight saddle with a wide gullet. So ordered one from saddle on line. It fits my horse and is 20 lbs. The price was okay. The leather is not very good quality compared to our leather on most US saddles. It has a finish on it that scratches easily and is showing some cracking. But I am keeping it because of the light weight factor. I took it to a saddle maker and these are the suggestions that he fixed or told me how to fix. You do have to make a couple of modifications though to make the whole saddle work. The Latigo strap keeper (the cinch strap on the left side) needs to be unscrewed, the the top of the leather keeper cut off to be able to move the keeper higher and towards the front of the saddle by about a half inch otherwise it rubs on your knee as you ride. It is easy to rescrew back on with two new holes in the reconfigured keeper. Omearn the right side they used the same cut out keeper for a cinch tie up. It doesn't work that way so you have to punch a round hole to put your cinch latch through to hold it up. I've soaked the stirrups for several hours and twisted the stirrups. Use a two by four board not the old fashioned broomstick (not strong enough) weigh the board down(I used paint cans) after twisting the stirrups several times. He recommended leaving it twisted for 5 -6 days to really let the laqued leather and webbing dry. Those are the saddle maker's recommendations to help make this saddle comfortable. He also recommended replacing the thin Latigo on the left with a thicker leather one but the right one is fine. The screws used in the back are probably okay because of the thickness of a saddle pad, a single thickness blanket may not prevent soreness. Just be careful.

Customer service is good. Very cheap saddle and the moderator won't post any real reviews on their website about the saddles. There were post that said that the saddle was high quality like a $2,000 saddle. Not TRUE! This saddle is made in India. Very cheap!!!!!!! The worst part is if you don't like it shipping will cost you $115 to return. The saddle does not fit any horses properly. It is cheap leather, very stiff, dry and cracking. They spray the saddle with a shiny lacquer. Because the saddle does not fit the horse properly it tends to throw the rider forward when riding. Not very secure like a saddle should be. You are better off spending the money on a good used quality saddle. UPDATE 7/18: Customer service reached out to me and sent me a shipping label to pay for the shipping. I was impressed with how their customer service handled my dissatisfaction. I would suggest before you purchase actually speak with someone in sales. I updated my 1 star to a 3 star because of their customer service but the product is still not a well-made saddle.

It was wider in the back and very hard to tighten on my horse and the stirrups were longer than the picture posted I will have to get a smaller cinch to use it on my horse and the breast collar was too big.