Ride Many Saddles

You can learn a lot about western saddles from reading and talking to knowledgeable folks. There’s tons of  information available on our Western Saddle Guide website. This will give you a good, solid foundation. But like so much in life, you really need to have lots of first hand experience to truly understand the western saddle.

The only way to get that experience is to ride as many different saddles as you possibly can. You need to make it your mission to ride in every saddle you come across. You don’t need to spend a long time in each saddle; just grab a five minute ride. You’ll be surprised at how accommodating most folks will be when you ask them if you can check out their saddle with a quick twirl around the corral.

Try to make a point of riding in every different type of saddle (ranch, trail, roping, reining, cutting, endurance, show, barrel, wade, flex-tree, treeless, synthetic) and as many different brands as possible. When you’re in the saddle, pay attention to how the saddle fits, what’s different about it, what feels good, and what doesn’t, what are the different features, quality, etc.

You’ll quickly start to build a real in-depth knowledge of the different western saddles and what ones best fit your riding style, activities, body type, and preferences.