So it finally happened, you got your first horse and want to start all your riding adventures. However, you’re missing something — the saddle! The second most expensive purchase you’ll make is the saddle. While choosing the right saddle can seem like a costly challenge, some brands offer more affordable alternatives. And that’s why you’re looking for a Double T saddle review — to see if they are what they claim.

Your saddle is a significant investment. A well-made saddle should last for many years to decades, as long as it’s maintained properly.

But saddles aren’t just for your comfort while riding. They act as the mediator between the rider and the horse. So you need to make sure it’s reliable and works for you, as well as your horse.

Buying a cheaper saddle based on a Double T Saddle review seems like a great deal, but what should you look for?

Double T Saddle Review: How to Choose the Right Western Saddle for You and Your Horse

Before digging any deeper into the Double T Saddle review, let’s first go over the vital role your saddle plays. Just as seatbelts help keep you safe and comfortable while driving, the same goes for saddles when riding.

Your saddle is the support between you and your horse and fastened by a girth. It straps around the midsection of your horse and has several functional parts. These parts consist of a wooden base commonly called a tree and the seat where the rider sits.

Saddles include stirrups to support the rider’s feet connected by leather fenders and solid D-rings. All saddles come with underside padding that’s designed to comfortably fit your horse and help absorb impact during your ride.

Western styled saddles also have an additional knob-like appendage known as the saddle horn which sits at the front end.

Getting the right fit for your horse

While the look of the saddle might be one reason we buy it, it’s your horse’s fit that matters.

Comfort and safety should be among the most important considerations to make before anything else. And that goes for both you and your horse.

When choosing the right saddle, you also need to be sure you get the correct saddle fit for your horse. Learning to fit a saddle is one of the most essential skills a horse owner can learn.

Take your time to check the fit of the saddle before investing in one. If a saddle doesn’t fit right, your horse can develop painful sores or even lameness.

When the saddle fits properly, it conveys subtle signals of weight change to the horse. These signals help your horse understand and anticipate your commands.

Here’s how to fit your horse:

Double T Saddle Review: History and Features

The Double T Saddlery brand offers a variety of saddles to fulfill a wide selection of horseback riding needs and the preferences of individual riders.

Unfortunately, there is very little information to support who owns Double T Saddlery. A common rumor is that the company resides somewhere in Kanpur, India and also includes other popular brands such as Showman, Circle S, and Blue River, along with Double T.

Still relatively new to the industry, the brand has been providing quality products to horse and rider for the last 10 years. The brand specializes in offering affordable unique designed saddles for every discipline using only the highest quality materials.

The material used

Double T saddles handcrafts all products out of real leather and includes corrosion resistant hardware extensively throughout to prevent rust and enhance the overall appearance of the saddle.

Leather is the traditional material used for most saddles. However, these days some brands, such as Double T Saddlery, offer choices made of reliable synthetic leather or suede materials.

Synthetic popularity is growing, and it does have its advantages. Synthetic saddles are more affordable, lightweight, and easier to clean. Unlike traditional leather, most synthetic saddles can be hosed off after use without the need for oiling or additional maintenance.

Whether you choose traditional or synthetic, always pay attention to the finish, the stitching, and the fittings of the saddle. Make sure everything is secure, and nothing is missing, loose, or out of place before you test it out.

You want to stay away from leather made of vinyl and bad hardware made of nickel that can rust.

Double T Saddle Review: Decide Your Discipline

When choosing a saddle, it’s crucial to think about the types of activities you plan to perform with your horse. All equestrian saddles fall into one of two major groups: English and Western.

English-style saddles are those used for competition show jumping, dressage, endurance, and racing purposes, among others. Western is more for leisure riding and associated with rugged cowboys and rodeo events.

Western is also one of the most common and well-known types of riding styles in the world. Like its English counterpart, riders use Western saddles for multiple purposes and categorize them according to their intended use.

Let’s go over some of the styles:

Trail and pleasure riding saddle

Like the name would imply, the primary purpose of pleasure and trail saddles is to ensure that horse and rider enjoy the ride. They are for long hours spent in the saddle and must withstand long wear. The right trail saddle provides hours of safety for both you and your equine friend.

Trail saddles need to be generally durable, comfortable, and lightweight to provide the best comfort on long rides. Since they aren’t for show, most western pleasure saddles usually have less skirting than other saddles to limit extra pounds.

As you can imagine, hours spent sitting in a saddle may begin to cause pain over time. Not only would it make you uncomfortable, but it could also affect your horse. That’s why the seat is typically heavily padded and slightly dished to provide better cushion to avoid saddle sores.

Not only is the western pleasure saddle comfortable, but the rider is secure as well. The stirrups are full and lined, providing the rider with better grip.

A good trail saddle should contain a double rigging to keep the back of the seat down. The breast collar also gives support to prevent the saddle from slipping backward when crossing rough and uneven terrain.

Double T Saddlery compared to AceRugs Saddlery

Double T saddles are sturdy enough for a lengthy ride. Just look at this sleek dark oil saddle from Amazon. There are no customer ratings, which seems to be the case with most saddles online.

The saddle has a stitched well-padded leather seat to offer optimum comfort on the trail. It is handcrafted out of wood, durable tooled leather, and a cover of thick fiberglass with a dark oil finish.

When compared to a similar saddle from AceRugs, we notice that both are pretty even in quality and price. Both saddles are around the same cost and built to handle the wear of the trail.

The main difference between the two brands is that the AceRugs saddle consists of all-natural cowhide leather. In this particular package from Amazon, the saddle also includes a free headstall and breast collar. A few people rated the AceRugs, giving it 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Roping saddles

Roper saddles have the design of western styled competition events in mind.

The best roper saddle should offer you maximum movement so you can effortlessly chase down, rope, and hold a cow to the horn. So they need a sturdy tree and a well-anchored horn, which makes ropers much heavier than trail saddles.

Ropers have to be strong and able to withstand sudden jerks and pulls.

These saddles often come padded, using forward hung stirrups designed to seat you back and deep for proper positioning. This positioning will secure you from flying off your horse when making turns or unpredicted sprints and stops.

Double T Saddlery compared to HILASON Saddlery

If you’re just beginning, Double T Saddlery offers an affordable choice of excellent roping saddles. One good example is available at Horse Saddle Corral, but it includes no customer ratings.

This roper saddle features two-tone basket tooled top-quality leather and silver stud accents. The tree of the saddle includes handcrafted wood and fiberglass for a structurally sound unit.

If you compare the Double T roping saddle to a similar model such as this HILASON brand currently unrated on Amazon, you’ll see that it still beats the competition by cutting the price in half. This HILASON is crafted from similar quality wood and fiberglass but with thicker premium leather than Double T Saddlery.

Barrel Racing Saddles

There’s typically no tack rule for barrel racing. You could barrel race in a roping saddle or no saddle at all! That said, barrel saddles have the design of barrel racing in mind. The right barrel saddle will help keep you in the best position during the run.

Barrel racing saddles are generally smaller than other saddles with short skirts. They need to be lightweight to allow maximum maneuverability while keeping you secure in the seat during sprints and turns.

The horn is also tall and skinny to make it easier to grab during a turn to stabilize your body.

This type of western saddle tends to have a deeper seat and typically slightly forward stirrups. The stirrups keep you in a more upright position, similar to that of an English saddle.

Even though a barrel saddle doesn’t have to have a deep cantle, most tend to enjoy it better. It’s all personal preference.

The only reason to get a barrel saddle is if you plan to do the top level of barrel racing competition. These features make them suitable for other gaming events, as well.

Double T Saddlery compared to Billy Cook

The Double T brand offers several top saddles build perfect for barrel racing events. One example is this beautifully crafted saddle from Chick Saddlery. The two reviews on the site for the Double T gives the saddle 5.0 out of 5 stars.

It offers a floral embossed durable suede leather seat, skirt, and a silver laced rawhide cantle. The saddle also features a fiberglass supported, sturdy wooden tree.

When compared to a top brand name like this Billy Cook barrel saddle from Amazon, the differences are more noticeable. Billy Cook saddles are just as sound but made of thicker quality leather. The saddle tree is a high-quality wood covered in fiberglass.

The saddle also features a rawhide leather seat and a full spotted skirt with silver trim and basket tooling.

A happy customer left the Billy Cook 5.0 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

Although Double T saddles consist of thinner leather than that of the higher models, their saddles are sturdy and built well. This makes them well worth the money if you have limited funds.

Double T Saddle Review: A Good Product for the Price

What do actual customers say about their experience with Double T Saddles?

Double T Saddlery has a staggering number of complaints. Although most come from online forums, it can look bad and even give off the impression that Double T doesn’t make reliable products.

However, while doing this Double T saddle review, it seemed that the complaints came from an assumption rather than experience. Most, if not all the negative comments we did come across, dealt with the quality of the leather.

While it’s true that Double T saddles use a thinner leather than most other top-name brands, it doesn’t make them any less reliable.

Just like all products, opinions will often vary. The fact is, there are just as many, if not more, positive customers. This is shown by the impressive 5.0 out of 5-star rating on Amazon.

Have a look at this happy rider’s Double T saddle review:

Pros: What we like about Double T saddles

• Beautiful saddles with a unique appearance
• Comfortable for both horse and rider
• There is a good variety to choose from
• The saddles will last for years with proper maintenance
• Affordable for those on a tight budget

Cons: What we don’t like about Double T saddles

• Difficult to find the right fit for some horses. However, you can sometimes use pads to correct poor saddle fit
• The saddles consist of thinner leather than most other brands
• There is a limited company history

Where to Shop for Double T Saddles

While there are several different saddle manufacturers, a rider interested in a Double T saddle has a few choices.

Most saddles are available at your local horse supply and tack store. And honestly, it’s the best route to take when shopping for a saddle. This fact is because you can see and inspect the seat in person before you decide to buy it.

However, there’s still an easy solution if you can’t seem to find the saddle you want locally. Most, if not all, saddle brands are available online from reliable retailers such as Amazon or the brand’s manufacturer website.

Even though you’re unable to see the saddle in person, there’s detailed information available to you. This information should state the type of material used, the size of the horse it should fit, and other essential variables.

Double T Saddle Review: What’s the Verdict?

Double T Saddle products are visually stunning and affordable, but they don’t break new ground and retain a few drawbacks. However, those small faults don’t do much to detract from what is still an excellent overall saddle.

The quality isn’t as high-end as other more expensive brands, but it’s built to last for years. Most Double T saddles also come with a five-year warranty from the company.

If you’re looking for a decent saddle, but limited to a strict budget, then Double T Saddles are worth considering.

In the end, you’ll want a saddle that both you and your horse will feel comfortable in. Whether you like or dislike Double T Saddles all comes down to your personal preference.

Have you tried a saddle from Double T Saddlery? Did you enjoy this Double T saddle review? Let us know what you think of these beautiful and affordable saddles by leaving a comment below!

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