Chat
About a couple of comments on the Sopris:
1. "It's one of the basic problems with the Sopris saddle--the tree is nothing more than a large, firm roll of padding. It breaks down much faster than a wooden tree and the saddle will have to be replaced entirely when that padding deteriorates."
The Sopris saddle tree consists of two foam rolls of padding that are in 2 fabric cylinders with a draw cord and are thus removable/replaceable (I replaced mine in one saddle.) What I don't like is, if you get the saddle with integrated pads - the pads are sewn onto the tree and not really removeable (I returned mine rather than cutting the pads off).
2. "The one thing that kind of turns me off is they look really fussy (warnke)--way too many straps and buckles. That is one of the big down-sides to the Sopris saddle as well"
This is how I felt initially about the Sopris, but once you get the straps set up for your goat the saddle is set and it's a breeze. I can put it on/off the goat with just snapping open or closed 4 side-release plastic buckles. I can see if you need to use one saddle on different goats you would be fussing with adjusting some straps, but if you dedicate one saddle per goat it is super simple after initial setup. Just my 2 cents, and I hate fussing with complicated gear.
I did permanently tie the saddle bags on to the saddle tree for one goat using rawhide strings; Sopris now includes a center adjustment strap for this purpose which works OK on my newer saddle.
1. "It's one of the basic problems with the Sopris saddle--the tree is nothing more than a large, firm roll of padding. It breaks down much faster than a wooden tree and the saddle will have to be replaced entirely when that padding deteriorates."
The Sopris saddle tree consists of two foam rolls of padding that are in 2 fabric cylinders with a draw cord and are thus removable/replaceable (I replaced mine in one saddle.) What I don't like is, if you get the saddle with integrated pads - the pads are sewn onto the tree and not really removeable (I returned mine rather than cutting the pads off).
2. "The one thing that kind of turns me off is they look really fussy (warnke)--way too many straps and buckles. That is one of the big down-sides to the Sopris saddle as well"
This is how I felt initially about the Sopris, but once you get the straps set up for your goat the saddle is set and it's a breeze. I can put it on/off the goat with just snapping open or closed 4 side-release plastic buckles. I can see if you need to use one saddle on different goats you would be fussing with adjusting some straps, but if you dedicate one saddle per goat it is super simple after initial setup. Just my 2 cents, and I hate fussing with complicated gear.
I did permanently tie the saddle bags on to the saddle tree for one goat using rawhide strings; Sopris now includes a center adjustment strap for this purpose which works OK on my newer saddle.