dogsnhorses wrote:
I bought an Alamo at a tack swap a few years ago, and hated it. It had high-end touches on a crappy foundation. The leather was decent, and it had real sheepskin lining, but the tree fit very few horses well. It wasn't comfortable, and the leather got spotty one afternoon when I left a horse saddled out in the sun. It was completely obliterated when a colt slipped and fell with it in the roundpen. I've had horses slip and fall with a saddle on before, and the only damage was a scratch or two. This one lost a stirrup fender and half the seat leather peeled off. Crappy saddle all around.

They try to pass as good saddlemakers, and fail miserably. Perhaps they've improved recently, but I wouldn't take the chance. You can get very nice saddles for only a bit more money, and pay far less for a used saddle of much better quality.

ETA: I looked more closely at the photos on the link you posted, and it looks to me like the saddle tree is twisted or uneven in the view from the front. Pass this one by.



I noticed that too, but was thinking it was just the angle...you can never tell 100% until you have it in your hands and can examine it. I find so many saddles, english and western have twisted trees. Its a shame.



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- I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe -