Verified answer

Western style saddles come in such a variety that this is very very difficult.

Brand is second to fit.

Quarter Horses come in many shapes.

Wide shoulders, narrow shoulders.

high withers, low withers, no withers.

Broad flat back, prominent spine and angled rib cage.

The saddle must first fit the horse, then you.

This may be possible with a less expensive saddle, or not.

First determine what you want to do with the horse.

Roping, reining, speed events, trail, pleasure, endurance, all have very different saddles.

Second determine what a saddle for that will look like (cantle, swells, forks, skirts, leathers, stirrups).

Then start trying on saddles to determine what fits, (forks, gullet, angle of bars, rigging, length of skirts).

Note a QH with low wide withers will be miserable in a semi Qtr Hse tree as these were made for the more TB type running QH.

The exchange rate on the pound is a bit over $1.52. So you have about $1148.00 to work with.

Quality saddles are rare in this price range.

Some American Trainers sometimes sell good quality used equipment.

I would darned sure avoid Ebay or Amazon.

Sorry but it is impossible to give you a brand name as that just isn't relevant.

Best Saddle Brands

Best Western Saddle

IMO, fit is paramount and then I buy the highest quality I can afford. PLEASE stay away from Hilason and Double T or no-brand saddles.. they are not good for you or the horse.

I started out in a leather Simco brand saddle. They vary in quality, but I love the two that I have. Now I ride in Circle Y's and I absolutely love them. The leather and tooling is top notch, the roughout fenders and jockeys (I barrel race) do not have that cracked look that some get. I've owned my Circle Y "The Proven" for 5+ years and ride in it every day, several times a day. My sister also has a Circle Y "The Proven" (different style) that is older than mine and in even better shape (she doesn't ride as much). Three years ago I bought a 1999 Circle Y Bob Marshall Treeless and it has been the best $750 I ever spent! It is the high withered version, but it fits my wide boy pretty well too.

I just ordered a custom made Tod Slone saddle (they sponsor high school rodeo here in the states so we all get discounts. They are pricey!) and they are high-end. You won't spend less than $1800 on one, I guarantee it.

My Circle Y "The Proven" saddle was $900 USD new, and my Circle Y Bob Marshall treeless I bought off a friend on Facebook for $750 used. You should be able to find a decent saddle for the price range you listed.

Remember= fit over fancy (fit your horse, then buy the highest quality you can afford)

Look at good quality used saddles for your first western saddle, I have a used Western saddle that is a bit better than 60 years old that I ride a lot, love it for starting young horses and this saddle will probably be around for another 60 or so years, I have been riding it for over 30 years and have roped a lot of 700 lb steers off it. I looked at Parelli saddles and in addition to them being over priced by more than $3000 they look like they are made from cheap thin leather to me, if you are looking for a new outfit look at Billy Cook Saddles,Tex Tan saddles, Circle Y, Big Horn, Dakota these are all good saddles and most are reasonably priced If I were you I would look at the Ranch Saddles or the Ranch Roper saddles they usually have a much better stronger tree and are usually made of a better quality leather and are comfortable to ride on long rides. Make sure you measure the horse for the saddle, it should fit the horse better than it fits your bottom, you will probably need a matching headstall and chest strap and buy a good cinch that fits properly.

RE:

Best Western Saddle Brands?

I live in the UK so ride english, but want to ride western. I have bought a quarter horse mare and need a saddle for her. I have a budget of about £750 not sure what that is in dollars but know the pound is worth more than the dollar. So what brand of saddle would you go for. I was hoping to go for...

I'd say that Circle Y is probably your best bet but they come pretty expensive. There is tons of brands out there other than Circle Y. For example you have Tex Tan which is a really good saddle I have a used tex tan and it's amazing. It fits my stocky Quarter Horse like a glove and she loves it. It's so comfortable on her. Another brand that is also very good is a Billy Royal. My trainer rides in one of those and she loves it. They don't fit as well as the Tex Tans but they still do very well. If you just want a saddle for trail riding then I would say really any brand is good just don't get synthetic. Me personally have never had any good luck with any synthetic saddle....western or english. Trail riding saddles can be anywhere to 100 dollars to 1,000 dollars its all in what you want to spend. For example my two main trail riding saddles are my tex tan and my double t. Tex tan is a bit more expensive and better made than Double T but since I just trail riding I don't care. If I were barrel racing or what not I would never use a double t or buffalo saddlery saddle cause they are cheap and not very well made but like I said since you're just trail riding I'd say you could go with one of those and be just fine. The double t's are very comfortable and very flashy and pretty but just remember what you pay for is normally what you get. I hope this helped :)