albion saddles

rach4uk4

rach4uk4

Colourful Comedian :)
Sep 9, 2005
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brentwood, essex. UK
I have an albion k2 GP for my very short coupled warmblood. However I would like to get a dressage saddle for him but wasnt sure which is the best type?? I have the chance to buy a second hand Albion Lux from my saddler, who says it is well used but sound. Has anyone any experience of these saddles? comfort for horse and rider?? :)
 
i have an albion slk ultra, i find that i really like the albions in general, i dont think you'll go wrong getting one. they're kinda expensive but i find that its worth it (i have a back injury)

ive never heard of the other brand :)
 
When was the Lux made! Find out how old before you buy it.


Personally I would rather go bareback than buy an Albion.

Have a look at the tree, if it is grey run for the hills.
 
I had a K2 that was wonky & made my horse sore. I'm sure they aren't all like that but I wouldn't buy another Albion, however nice they are to ride in.
 
Albion are on my not to buy list. had one temporarily for Tavia and it crippled my back and rubbed my niece's legs to bits.

Wally then enlightened me about the innards and it did a quick march out of my tack room!

Luis Principe (high level dressage rider) commented that one of the best 'bad' things ever to happen to him was someone stealing all of his tack - including a collection of Albion saddles. He had to make do with borrowed saddles for a while and discovered that horses that were struggling with changes and piaffe/passage could suddenly do them after all. Now not a single Albion in his tack room!

I like the concept of the HM Fhoenix but when I tried one I found it sat me way too wide (both of my mares are WIIIDE), noticed no difference in how one mare moved in it and the other one hated it big style. Not ridden in any of her treed ones though.
 
Heather's treed ones and the Kay Humphries holistic ones are very nice indeed.

Albions are good for keeping you warm in winter, just chuck another one on the fire.
 
Can't tell you how many saddles i tried when I was looking to buy, but did try an Albion and hated it. Uncomfortable, poor rider position, not good quality for the price - run your hand on the underside of the saddle, see what you can feel.

Loved the Fhoenix and Vogue ranges but they wouldnt stay put on my rotund beast, did buy a second-hand Swain/Humphries Holistic (which is tight for her now as she's too fat) but finally ended up with a Semiflex . Wonderfully comfortable, allows her shoulder, fabulous quality, made to fit her.
 
I have to admit, I'm not a massive fan of them either. I can't ride in one for more than half an hour without needing a seat saver.

I think the older ones are much worse (+5 years??) I've found them to be much heavier and with less padding for the rider.

Have only ridding in one newer one really and that was the dressage one, I found the seat too deep and the stirrup bars too far forward.


Can't comment on horse fit though.
 
ok, alot of negative thoughts where the albion is concerned!! :(:eek::( PLEASE can someone enlighten me?? seeing as i have just forked out a grand for his GP :( and which treed saddle make would anyone reccommend?? i'll put a pic of him on here so u can see conformation, i hope to event him so would prefer a treed saddle for jumping :)
and thank you all for your responses so far :D:) x x x
 
DSC03470.jpg
ok here is (rubbish) piccie but u can see his back, know he is not standing square (and the pic is awful! only one i had!) but when he does stand square he is slightly croup high so rides slightly downhill. also when saddler was there i commented that the saddle was slipping to the right, quite alot, so much so that the panel was actually on the edge of his spine on the left side. i was concerned but the saddler said thats cos my horse was pulling me that way (he is worse on right rein)/ but i just thought that shouldnt happend if the saddle is comfortable for himm?? i dont kno :confused::confused:
sorry this is long and thank u if u have read it :D:)
 
Still on the quest for the perfect saddle here! I'm hoping to event my mare next year. I have a Thorowgood/Heather Moffatt dressage saddle that's very nice but they don't make them any more, so no good for you! For jumping I have a Saddle Co event saddle that I really like, but despite being called an event saddle it's not brilliant for jumping a decent sized fence in - it's more like a GP really, the stirrup bars are quite far back and it's easy to get in front of the movement. I event my friend's horse & his jumping saddle is much better to go xc in than mine, it puts me in a far more secure position.

My next stop is probably Fusion Saddles. They seem to get very good reviews and they do some out-and-out jumping saddles that I hope will suit us. I'm just waiting for their rep to head up north and stop by for a chat!
 
AS I am looking and had a lux and me and my horse loved it but interesting to see a lot do not like them
 
tis interesting :) but also scary that there is so much choice and i only have one budget i have to get it right :eek: also my horse is so not happy in his current saddle so that already is £1k wasted! :eek::eek::eek: cant afford to get it wrong again :(
 
Reactor panels are expensive & I haven't heard such amazing things about them that convince me they are worth the dosh. Same goes for Wow, Free'n'easy & Mondial. Semiflex sounds interesting so I await Portia's feedback with bated breath :) Fusion are a good price, I've had a good poke & prod of a couple and thought they were pretty decent quality, also I had a sit in a couple and liked them, so worthy of further investigation IMO ;)
 
rach4uk4 said:
tis interesting :) but also scary that there is so much choice and i only have one budget i have to get it right :eek: also my horse is so not happy in his current saddle so that already is £1k wasted! :eek::eek::eek: cant afford to get it wrong again :(
Click to expand...

Can you not ask one or more saddlers in your area to bring a variety for you to try? One persons ideal saddle is another persons nightmare! The only good way is to find a saddle which fits you and the horse, regardless of cost (ie it might be a cheap synthetic one or a £1k albion). I suggest trying more than one saddler, as then you can find a wider selection.

I would listen to the recommendations on here, but dont make up yopur mind solely on what other people use.

The saddle rolling to one side could be the horse being undermuscled on that side (so saddle slips into the dip) or your positioning (99% of riders will sit skewed to one side of or the other). Friend used to have the same problem, but she had a lesson with a ride with your mind instructor, who significantly changed her riding position and style and the saddle stopped slipping to the side.
 
Yes I have heard good things, but I have no first hand experience of either actually on a horse so as usual I don't really know what I'm talking about. Semiflex cost £:eek: so they would have to be good, which is why I'm keen to hear what Portia's experience is! Fusion are just traditional, bog standard treed saddles, no gimmicks, but no bad reports either :)
 
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