Hi,

 Does anyone have any experience w/ these saddles?  My current saddle is not a great fit for my 14.2 MFT/TWH mare (it is nto a gaited horse saddle & is pinching her withers).  In my area (suburb of Philadelphia), tack shops focus on English, with very few western saddles of any kind & I have yet to find a place w/ a single gaited saddle in stock that I can look at.  Some places can special order me one, but I really don't see a benefit to that over ordering online since I don't get to see it before committing to the purchase....

 It seems that most manufacturers do not make gaited saddles w/ a seat size smaller than 15" & a lot even start at 16".  I really prefer a 14" seat (current saddle is 13.5" & it fits me fine, but not my horse). 

I'm leaning toward a leather/cordura saddle for the lighter weight - I have a hard time putting on my ~27 lb all-leather saddle.  I can get it up there, but because I'm struggling to be able to set it down gently I have a hard time getting the placement right w/o knocking the pad out of place.

One of the things I like about the description on this site is that you can put down a deposit & they will send you a tree to see how it fits in 3 dimensions, rather than depending on a withers tracing.

 I'm just wondering about the quality since I have never seen one of their products in person & have no way to (short of a plane ticket). Based on the photos & price, I'm thinking they would be about the equivalent of the Big Horn Cordura saddles w/ teh leather (not suede) horn, which I am familiar w/. 

http://www.montanamountainhorse.com/store-products-MHG6-Go-Light-Gaited-Saddle-19-lbs_14254197.html 

Any thoughts/suggestions?

I've seen other brands I really (Dixieland, Tennessean), but the seat size or weight doesn't work as well. 

Kim

I had a hard time finding a saddle to fit my gelding. Hes a TWH, 14.3 & he was very tiny little back, its been hard to even find a saddle pad thats not to thick & too long.. I have never seen or heard of the saddle you were talking about but in the pictures they look very nice.. but looks can be deceiving! Haha (:

I went with a cordura abetta, it has a slim tree & fits him very well. Abettas are awesome saddles! Its very comfortable & only weighs 17lbs, but doesnt even feel like it weighs that much its so light. I couldnt find mine on their website, but I paid 400.00 for it. Its brown & black with a round skirt. I'm almost positive they make this saddle with a wider tree as well.

 Good luck! I hope you can find a saddle soon! (:

Here's a couple links for you to look at.

http://www.crestridgesaddlery.com/html/gaited_horse_saddles.html  I own one of these for my TWH that is built like a QH and like it.  Mine is leather & synthetic and light weight.

 This is the Allegheny Mountain trail saddle.  I've heard good reviews on the gaited horse forum I belong to, but I don't know anything about them.

http://trailridingsaddles.com/

 Another good saddle for gaited horses are the OLD Orthoflexes.  They went thru an organizational restructure some years back and it seems since that time (I can't remember the date), the saddles haven't been as good of quality.  I have one of the Orthoflex saddles from the original company for my tall and lanky TWH and it fits him just great.

http://www.ortho-flex.com/

 Also, if you Google "plantation saddles" you will get a lot of hits.  Along with the original style of plantation saddles, they have a new array that include western fenders, and rolled pommel (as opposed to no pommel).

Plantation saddles have always been for gaited horses as that is what they were orginally ridden in during the Civil War days.  How they're made today is another matter - lol lol

Hope this helps you:)