The most important parts of a saddle 1. The tree, is it well made, does it fit the horse, mule or whatever you put it on, does it fit the rider ( is it the right length) 2. The rigging, is it strong and is positioned right ( equal on both sides) 3. Is the Ground Seat ( how the see at is built, not the cover leather, the leather that formed and shaved to produce a comfortable seat). Most factory saddles are what we ( custom saddle makers) call clicker saddles. All parts are stamped out by a machine and assembled on a line, much like cars are. It takes Circle Y 8 to 10 hrs to produce a saddle where it takes a minimum of 40 hrs for a custom builder to produce a plain jane. You get what you pay for. There are a lot of good saddle makers out there. A lot of them are artists. If was going to invest in a saddle I would order from a guy that has rode a lot of saddles before he ever built one lol. It would be wise to shop where the men that make a living in one shop lol. Just my thoughts, ed
