# Question on showing and tack



## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Are you currently, or do you plan to be, leasing a school horse? If so, ask your trainer/barn manager, whoever is in control of the horses. 

Unless there is a conflict between the leaser and another student, then it should be fine for you to just use the normal bridle and schooling saddle as usual. If your rides are at different times, just switch the saddle. If you're riding at the same time, then it's a little more complicated. Just ask the trainer- if there is a really big issue, then buying your own saddle may be an option.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

Alright thanks! I plan to lease for hopefully 2-3 months (may/ june/july). Whether it will be a school or a boarder's horse is yet to be decided. There are many factors to be considered and I am currently favoring the idea of a school horse, but if things get complicated tack wise, I might consider more a boarder's horse. 

But yes I will definitely ask my trainer. I am however curious to other people's personal experiences, because I know it can really vary from barn to barn.


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

You'd use a school saddle. I wouldn't buy your own because saddles aren't a one size fits all things. What we do for schooling shows at our barn is assign a saddle to a horse for that particular day. We will change it if need be, but we try not to. I'd check in advance to make sure the saddle you want isn't bein used or is not assigned to another horse.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

SlideStop said:


> You'd use a school saddle. I wouldn't buy your own because saddles aren't a one size fits all things. What we do for schooling shows at our barn is assign a saddle to a horse for that particular day. We will change it if need be, but we try not to. I'd check in advance to make sure the saddle you want isn't bein used or is not assigned to another horse.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Yeah, since you're only going to be leasing for three months I would probably try to avoid buying your own saddle. It you were going to be leasing for longer then getting a used one with decent resale value may be worth it, but just stick with the schooling saddle. 

Slidestop seems to have the right idea. I guess the key here is getting everything arranged beforehand so that everyone knows which tack to use. You don't want to be getting to the show and realize that you and Susie are supposed to be riding at the same time in the same saddle! It really shouldn't be that big of an issue unless your barn has 5 people showing and only 3 saddles, so lease whichever horse suits your needs best.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

> I guess the key here is getting everything arranged beforehand so that everyone knows which tack to use. You don't want to be getting to the show and realize that you and Susie are supposed to be riding at the same time in the same saddle! It really shouldn't be that big of an issue unless your barn has 5 people showing and only 3 saddles, so lease whichever horse suits your needs best.


This will be my first show so I hope I don't go through something as stressful as running around the grounds looking for my saddle! :lol: For that reason I wish I had my own, but as you both said it makes no sense if I lease the horse for only a few months. 

Thing is, my trainer has so many students I am just about worried there will be a 5 student to 3 saddle type of situation. I guess I just have to pray and see what ends up happening. 

At my last barn, unlike this one where there are a couple nice saddles to choose from, there was one saddle that was really comfortable and fit most of the horses amazingly well, and then 2-3 others that we're uncomfortable and fit _hooorribly_. 

To be fair we would alternate in the group lesson who got the good saddle, but I really disliked that experience. It was stressful because getting tack that didn't fit/was uncomfortable and made me feel more prone to falling, which didn't help my confidence as a beginner. Just to say, since then... I have a thing when it comes to tack! :shock:


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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

When I leased school horses and showed them, you used the school's tack.

That said, I often purchased my own for the sake of convenience. Having your own saddle is a god send, for sure.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Hidalgo13 said:


> This will be my first show so I hope I don't go through something as stressful as running around the grounds looking for my saddle! :lol: For that reason I wish I had my own, but as you both said it makes no sense if I lease the horse for only a few months.
> 
> Thing is, my trainer has so many students I am just about worried there will be a 5 student to 3 saddle type of situation. I guess I just have to pray and see what ends up happening.
> 
> ...


I mean, if you have the money and don't mind spending it with the knowledge that after the few months you may have to find a new saddle when you're riding a new horse, then there's nothing wrong with buying one. Especially if you're to continue riding the same school horse. I just don't think you should feel obligated to. The poorly fitting saddle is my concern, though. Who do the saddles fit poorly- you, or the horses? As far as the horses are concerned, a little bit off isn't the end of the world, but if they're as horrible as you say they are then that will cause issues sooner or later! Same with the rider, but I'm less concerned about that as making sure the horses don't have a horrible fit!


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

I am always on the lookout for used ones being sold in my area, but I generally only find dressage and Ap saddle, cc come up more rarely and are usually 700-1000$. Unless I find something in the 300-500 that I know I could potentially use on one or two school horses I often ride, I won't buy it. 

Also the saddles at my current barn are comfortable and I don't have problems like I did with my old barn. At my old barn I could tell the horses movement was off due to discomfort too, now I don't experience that problem (thank goodness). In general the saddles fit the horses well, and when they are a bit off I used one of the many different half pads or such to correct the fit as much as I can.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Hidalgo13 said:


> I am always on the lookout for used ones being sold in my area, but I generally only find dressage and Ap saddle, cc come up more rarely and are usually 700-1000$. Unless I find something in the 300-500 that I know I could potentially use on one or two school horses I often ride, I won't buy it.
> 
> Also the saddles at my current barn are comfortable and I don't have problems like I did with my old barn. At my old barn I could tell the horses movement was off due to discomfort too, now I don't experience that problem (thank goodness). In general the saddles fit the horses well, and when they are a bit off I used one of the many different half pads or such to correct the fit as much as I can.


Oh, you were referring to the saddles from your old barn... ok! If the current saddles fit the selection of school horses, then that's not really an issue. 

If you're serious about looking for a saddle one day, you may want to open yourself to the option of looking outside your area. If I were stuck with buying local saddles, I'd have a heck of a time finding one that I wanted. You can easily find a decent cc saddle for under $500 shipped if you know where to look online. I try to buy things local when I can to avoid the hassle, though. Definitely don't go rush out and buy a saddle tomorrow, but it's not impossible to find a decent cc in good condition in the $300-500 range.


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## Hidalgo13 (Dec 24, 2010)

Yes that was only my old barn! One of the reasons I left. 
I've found a few saddles occasionally on ebay, but generally those saddles are in the states and shipping to Canada isn't free. :'( I'll just have to keep looking. In the mean time however I rather use my money on lessons.:wink: Still technically a poor working student. :-|

Edit: ALso I like to see saddles in person. Generally I can tell if the saddle will work relatively well or not by looking at the key parts. If the seller posts good pictures though it's alright. But sometimes angles fool ya.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

Hidalgo13 said:


> Yes that was only my old barn! One of the reasons I left.
> I've found a few saddles occasionally on ebay, but generally those saddles are in the states and shipping to Canada isn't free. :'( I'll just have to keep looking. In the mean time however I rather use my money on lessons.:wink: Still technically a poor working student. :-|
> 
> Edit: ALso I like to see saddles in person. Generally I can tell if the saddle will work relatively well or not by looking at the key parts. If the seller posts good pictures though it's alright. But sometimes angles fool ya.


Oh, didn't realize that you were in Canada! Yeah, the shipping will get ya sometimes! I've occasionally seen people posting things for sale from Canada. Many people will ship there, but I'm sure it's quite a bit pricier!

Definitely understand, though! Better to spend your money getting actual horse time when you have access to a saddle. I'd never buy a used saddle without good photos or seeing it in person. It may be inconvenient for the seller, but if they have nothing to hide and are looking to sell then they should humor me!


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