How the Revolution began, more than 200 years ago ......

When Australia was originally settled in 1788 by the English, they brought with them horses, saddles and tack. Being very different from England, the new settlers soon began changing the design of their equipment to better suit their harsh, unforgiving, remote environment. Because the the Australians used their saddles primarily for handling livestock, the saddles became known as Australian stock saddles.

The most obvious change was the addition of what was to be called Poleys (kneepads). When seated in the saddle, the Poleys should be parallel to the rider's thigh and about 1/2" away. The Poleys show their true value in keeping the rider securely seated when riding up or down any kind of incline.

A highly efficient, yet simple double girthing system is used to attach an Australian saddle to the horse. The attached billet straps and the overgirth both buckle directly to the girth using a unique leverage system. The double girthing system allows the rider to girth the saddle tighter, more efficiently, which helps eliminate slippage. Should a billet strap break, the overgirth provides additional safety.

Stirrup leathers hang from the stirrup bars on the saddle tree and are designed for easy release by sliding backwards. Under most circumstances, should the rider take a fall and be dragged, the stirrup leathers will release from the saddle, reducing the risk of injury.

Seat sizes range from 14-inch to 22-inch in some models, to suit riders from 50 to 350 pounds. As with people, horses also come in different shapes and sizes. Saddle trees come in several widths to suit ponies to extra wide horses. All we need to know is your height ,weight, and pant size, along with the height, weight and breed of your horse, then we can help make your selection real easy.

In short, the Australian saddle is a saddle that has evolved for the rider, horse, and pure necessity. The ability of the serge lined panel to conform to the shape of the horse without touching anything, has been proven consistently for nearly 200 years, on the harshest, driest and most unforgiving continent on Earth, Australia .... Where these saddles are put to the greatest test of all ... they are used seven days a week, ten hours a day, 365 days a year, year after year.

We believe that no other saddle from the past or present has ever matched the overall performance of an Australian saddle. Security, comfort for the horse and rider, light weight, reliability, and total performance - Australian saddles have it all!

IMPORTANT: Many inexpensive australian saddles on the market use a painted (or pigmented) leather that has a sealed surface. Since oil cannot get in, the leather will quickly dry out and become brittle. In general, you get what you pay for. If a saddle is really inexpensive, there is probably a very good reason! The most important consideration when purchasing an Australian saddle is to carefully choose the Company from whom you are purchasing. Consider the following questions.

1. Do they have the required expertise with Australian Saddles? Since 1992, Down Under has specialized in Australian style saddles. We have sold many thousands of saddles Worldwide, to all types of riders for all types of horses. This expertise and long term knowledge allows us to offer you the best possible saddle for your money no matter what your budget is.

We work directly and continually with our manufacturers around the world to assure top quality gear at a fair price. We know the details of how the saddles are made, and we can recommend the right saddle for your horse and riding style.

2. Do they have a large range of saddles to choose from, so you get the right saddle. At Down Under we maintain an inventory in excess of 1,000 Australian saddles in our Denver warehouse, one of the largest inventories anywhere in the World. This means the right saddle is available to suit you and your horse at any given time.

3. What effort is made to ensure that I have ordered the correct saddle to suit me and my horse? We require a considerable amount of information to ensure that the correct saddle is sent to you, for additional information on what we need, click here.

4. What kind of after sales service will I receive? Any consumer that purchases an Australian saddle direct from Down Under receives an hour long instructional DVD at no charge, and if you require additional assistance, our knowlegable staff is only a phone call away.