I go trail riding in the mountains of Virginia all the time and am looking for a synthetic saddle to use. I want to cut down on weight and upkeep, I dont always have the capability to clean my trail saddle. I dont know what is a good brand of synthetic saddle. Does anyone know of a website that has ratings for different brands or writeups? This would be greatly appreciated because my riding season starts tomorrow.

Any I've ever seen look pretty flimsy. Maybe there's better ones out there? If you're looking to cut down on weight & just trail riding in it, why not look at an Australian stockman saddle? I have never ridden one, but I know people who have and they love them. I've sat in various ones on saddle racks and the darn things seem comfortable. You can even get them with a horn for climbing those steep hills, although they'd be no use for roping anything. Just a thought. Wouldn't take long to clean one either.

Yeah, ditto on the Aussie rig or how about trying one of those Steele plantation type saddles?

They're very light and have a nice deep padded seat. But, they are made out of leather, though not much of it, compared to a western saddle. And, it's plain, so cleaning is just a matter of wiping it off.

I don't know. I bought my mother in law one of those Abetta saddles. It weighs 17 pounds. She has an injury to her arm that makes it hard for her to throw a heavy saddle on, and she wanted to be able to saddle her own horse and have a horn to hang on to, yet still look western. I bought it reluctantly, but it has worked out really good. She team pens twice a week, trail rides, and has even done some cutting out of the crazy thing. It has held up very well, it fits a horse pretty good, and my mother in law has never once complained about it not being comfortable. We lety her ride an older horse that we have that has an old injury to his withers. I cannot use him to rope, but he is broke to death so my mother in law laid claim to him for a team penning horse. The saddle has never once made the geldings withers sore. Now, on the flipside, I have a neighbor that bought an "el-cheapo" synthetic saddle and it won't fit a horse at all, and he says that it makes him sore if he rides it for a few hours.

plegh!

I bought an Abetta saddle for about $600. I ordered exactly what I wanted, I was having trouble finding a rounded skirt in a used saddle and I couldn't afford a new one. It is the same weight as my daughter's pony saddle. I love it! I got the matching bridle and breast collar. The only problem with the whole thng is that the bridle was too big for my arabain. The tack shop I ordered through is more than happy to exchange it for me. Plus it is purple . Color me one very satisfied customer. Even my trainer wanted to know where to get one for her school horse.

I have an Abetta and really like it. It has held up well and is pretty comfortable. http://www.chicksaddlery.com has a good selection of Abettas and good prices.

~Barbara

I bought two synthetics because of the light weight. One was kind of cheesy but the other is high-end. I road with them a few times, they're now dust-gathering decorations at the back of my tack shed. I've gone back to leather, despite the extra weight. I agree with the advice about checking out Aussie saddles. I've been looking at them for my daughter and may get one myself. They're lighter than most Western saddles, sturdier than synthetics and from what I've heard, incredibly comfortable for long distance riding/endurance. The dip in the seat is more pronounced, and especially on steep trails, looks like it would provide a lot of added stability. I'm definitely checking them out at the next tack auction.