celia pruneda
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2024
Very nice and sturdy
Isael
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2024
I have mixed feelings about this stand. I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but ultimately felt that 3 stars was a fair rating. Overall it's a lovely stand and it works well for my needs and looks nice, but it does require some work to make it functional and it has some drawbacks.Cons:- You're going to need power tools or a LOT of upper body strength to put this thing together. It comes with a little screwdriver, but the screwdriver is super cheap and it bent after about 10 seconds of use. I tried using my own screwdriver, but it was way too hard to get the screws in so I had to resort to power tools.- It's unusually short, which is fine for english saddles since the irons are usually drawn up, but might not work for a western saddle if you have long stirrups. I ride western with my stirrups short-ish and mine are almost touching the ground on this stand.- As another review mentioned, the wood slats across the top are incredibly sharp and could damage a saddle. I went the same route as the other reviewer and wrapped mine with a double layer of yoga mat. I went a step further than that and used my electric sander to sand down the sharp corners before wrapping them with the mat.- Since the stand is so short, the bridle hanger on the front is virtually useless because your bridle will drag the ground. I have a cobb sized bridle and the bit touches the ground. The holes are predrilled so unfortunately you can't just leave off the bridal hooks or you will have empty holes that look ugly.- It's made out of soft pine wood stained a dark color. This is fine for my needs because it's just being used inside my house as a decorative display for my deceased horse's saddle, but functionally speaking I have a feeling this would get damaged very easily if using it often because pine is such a soft wood. Pine also tends to warp in a non climate controlled environment, so be aware of that if planning to store in a barn.Pros:- It's a nice length and should be able to fit even larger Western saddles.- The little shelf on the bottom is handy and could be used to store bottles and small objects.- The width is pretty slim which is nice because it can fit in small spaces.
Kathy H.
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2024
I waffled back and forth about giving this English saddle rack 3 or 4 stars. Once I had it put together and modified the saddle bearing surface, it deserved a weak 4 star rating. The rack is made of nicely finished solid wood with pre drilled holes for assembly. All of the screws needed were present along with two decorative iron hooks for holding strap goods for each end. It also has a nice shelf that could be used to hold brushes or saddle soap and conditioner.One look at the number of screws that needed to be placed and I went for my cordless drill. The screwdriver provided looks more like one for fixing one’s glasses or assembling something small and easy. There were VERY MINIMAL directions provided, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what went where, and with the aid of the cordless drill I got the saddle rack assembled in about 20 minutes.Didn’t think much about it until I put one of my saddles on the rack to take pictures for the review, but I realized that all of the rails that hold the saddle have sharp 90° edges on them. I ride dressage, and my saddles are very expensive and there’s no way I’d set one on there for longer than it took to take a picture lest it be damaged by the wooden rails. If it didn’t scratch the leather, it would leave dents in the flocking.Enter the yoga mat- I had been gifted one recently and realized that it must be sacrificed on this saddle rack for padding. I doubled it and wrapped it around the saddle area and secured it to the middle rail with extra screws. Now it can be used as intended without damaging the saddle.Going back to change the rating to 3 stars…TLDR: Nice solid wood, need a cordless drill for assembly.Saddle holding area will damage the underside of the saddle without modifications.