It is the first question we are asked, and rarely in the right terms. People ask for “the lightest saddle,” when the real question is one of the right weight: the weight that allows you to meet the required weight without sacrificing what makes a saddle last.
Weight is considered in terms of the whole outfit
In racing, it is not the saddle that is weighed, but the jockey equipped. The saddle is therefore just one variable among others: the rider, their attire, the irons, the saddle pad, the girth and, if necessary, the lead added to reach the required weight. A very light saddle is only worthwhile if the whole outfit justifies it. On a horse that has to carry a high weight, chasing the last few grams on the saddle achieves nothing, and deprives you of a more robust saddle.
The best method is therefore to start with the required weight, subtract the rider and their equipment, and see what remains. It is this remainder that determines the saddle range, not the other way around.
Three uses, three logics
The racing saddle is the one where the weight constraint is greatest. It is also the one that is used least often: a few minutes per outing, several times a month. You can go very low with it, provided the structure can handle it.
The training saddle follows the opposite logic. It is mounted every morning, often by different training riders, on different horses. Weight is not a regulatory issue here; durability, rider comfort, and respect for the horse's back are. A training saddle that is too light is false economy: it wears out faster and is harder to repair.
The mounted trotting saddle has to meet other constraints, specific to the discipline and the position of the jockey.
Finally, between flat racing and jump racing, the difference is not just one of weight. Jump racing imposes much greater efforts of re-engagement, landings, and momentary tensions: it is a case where lightening at all costs comes at a price.
The weight-strength compromise in practice
Historically, reducing weight meant reducing material, and therefore weakening the saddle. This is precisely what carbon trees allow us to circumvent: at the same rigidity, the material weighs less than traditional solutions, which shifts the threshold at which lightness becomes a risk.
This does not eliminate the compromise, it shifts it. An ultra-light racing saddle remains a piece of precision equipment that needs to be checked regularly, maintained, and taken back to the workshop at the first sign of fatigue. A training saddle, on the other hand, must be able to withstand an entire season without you having to think about it.
The weight cloth is not a last resort
When the required weight exceeds what the rider and their equipment weigh, the difference is made up with lead. Many people experience it as a constraint; it is actually an adjustment tool. Lead that is well distributed, in a suitable weight cloth, distributes itself better over the horse's back than an unnecessarily heavy saddle. A correctly sized saddle and the necessary supplement are better than an oversized saddle chosen to “make the weight.”
The mistakes we see most often
Choosing the lightest saddle in the catalog as a matter of principle, without having calculated the weight of the whole outfit. Using a racing saddle for training, which wears it out prematurely for no benefit. Neglecting the girth and the stirrup leathers, which contribute to the total weight and whose quality determines safety as much as that of the saddle. Finally, keeping a tired saddle out of sentimentality, when taking it back to the workshop would give it several more seasons.
How we proceed
We ask three things before recommending a weight: the discipline, the usual required weight, and the actual use of the saddle, racing or training. From there, the conversation becomes simple. It is often done over the phone, sometimes at a racecourse, and more and more through an online quote request for our international customers.
All our saddles are weighed at the end of production and their weight is shown on their product page. To compare the ranges, see the racing saddles, the training saddles and the carbon-tree models.