A guide to buy the best saddle in the world for your hard earned money! We know how scary it can be to make a purchase on a high dollar item like a saddle not being able to touch it.  We want to give you a few pointers on how to make sure the saddle you are buying is really worth the money you are sinking into it. For starters let me introduce myself I am the Owner of Riders Choice Saddle Company we have been building western style saddles here in North Alabama for 40 years and we know what it takes to make a saddle that fits right and lasts. I am sure we are the largest saddlemaker selling on Ebay.  Many people have bought saddles on Ebay only to find out that what they bought was a really cheap peice of equipment that was unsafe for horse and rider. First some facts over 75% of all saddles and 90% of all tack sold online is imported.  Now while it is true that all imported items aren't of low quality, our experience tells us that your chances of getting a low quality and ill fitting saddle is greatly enhanced when you buy one of these. Secondly, most imported saddles are not real leather or are very thin leather that cracks easily. The trees that the saddles are built on are designed for horses of the 1950's and fit very poorly on todays horse. Thirdly, and most importantly, they can be very dangerous to you and your horse.
Now how can you avoid this trap and make sure to buy quality and get the most for your money. We have set a few simple guidelines that will help you greatly:
#1 Price is a BIG indicator: If you are looking at an Adult or Youth size saddle online that sells for under $300-$350.00  stay far away. We can build saddles cheaper than anyone in America and we can't sell a nice adult saddle for under $250.00.  If you do end up buying a saddle for $200 and under be prepared to buy another one REAL soon. We always say if you can afford to spend a little more, PLEASE for your horses safety and yours wait a  little longer and buy quality. Now that being said price isn't always an indicator..Many imports sell for well over what we charge for a nice American made saddle. If you would like for us to look at a saddle and tell you more about it before you purchase we would be happy to.
#2 Make sure you call or email the vendor to make sure they are a reputable company:  Vendors who care about their customers won't mind talking with you about any of their products and should be able to answer most questions with ease. If something seems fishy or the questions can't be answered quickly something is probably not right. Most (sellers) are just that and don't know anything about the saddles.
#3 Buying a well known name isn't always a good way to get a quality saddle or at least your best buy:  As competition for saddle sales has increased big name distributors have moved most of their building operations south of the border. Product quality has fallen greatly in the past 15 years due to lack of expereinced saddlemakers in these areas. So even if you are buying a Cook or Circle Y or other big name there is a great chance it is imported as well.
#4 So How much should I expect to pay for saddle quality:  If you have looked around at local retail shops you can expect to save 50% off of retail prices on a saddle made by a saddlemaker like Riders_choice. Cutting out the middlemen (distributors, salesmaen, and stores) will cut the price in half normally of whatever quality you are looking for.
#5 Your seller should work with you on which saddle best fits your needs: Here at riders_choice we take time to find out what type of riding you do, your height and weight, type of horse, experience in riding, and price that you want to spend and mold that all together to give you the saddle that is the best fit for you. We feel it is only good business to take the process slow.
#6 Take everything written about the saddle with a grain of salt. As we said before most sellers just buy and resale the saddles and don't know anything about the tree thats in the saddle or how to build one. Unless you are dealing with THE saddlemaker most likely you will get whatever is on hand at the time. That is why we feel it is important to deal with a saddlemaker like Riders_choice.
#7 And Lastly, Take your time..Hurried saddle buys can get you into these traps in a heartbeat. But the fact that you are reading this makes me know that you care about the saddle you are buying.  If you wish to contact me about a saddle or have any questions don't hesistate to call Riders Choice at 1-256-597-2424 M-F 8-5 E.S.T. or email jlpayne@farmerstel.com