Customer service absolutely horrific I purchased a saddle from Custom Saddlery/Aviar with the expectation of proper service and support. Unfortunately, the experience has been extremely disappointing. The fitter Josh Shoemaker left the saddle too wide on purpose thinking my horse would grow wider, that isnt a proper fit from day one, which it took time for my horse to show signs of something was wrong. So I contacted him again with my concerns and peoblems. He came out another time and was never able to get the saddle right. Even though I paid for these fittings,(over $500) the issues with the saddle remained unresolved. He refused a refund for these failed fittings and said he was trying to save me money by having it too wide. I contacted the company with the issues and proof. When I tried to schedule with another fitter recommended by the company, they canceled my appointment behind the scenes without notifying me, leaving me completely without service. To make matters worse, one of their own fitters had promised me in writing that my purchase included two free panels -- yet I have never received them or got information on the diffrent panels. I've been stonewalled at every step and denied access to any fitter who could actually help. You cant get these panels anywhere besides through them. The quality of the fitter service is unacceptable, and the company's refusal to honor written promises or allow me access to another qualified representative has left me with a very expensive saddle that cannot be properly fitted to my horse. Buyers should be aware of these issues before investing in this brand. So Im out over $6500 and have a useless saddle. read more

Last year, I purchased a horse from a show barn in South California. I purchased the saddle with the horse as well. I was told the saddle is custom-built for the horse, and Custom Saddlery was the sponsor of the horse! When I was test riding the horse on the saddle that was sold to me as custom-built, the horse took off, and I was doing my best to keep her in circles, but the horse had no brakes. They changed the saddle and put me back on, and then the horse was fine, and I was told I was leaning forward and causing the horse to not stop!!! There's a video of this captured by my husband! All we see is me leaning back and trying to make her stop! I was exhausted from doing 4 PPE and people not being honest. This was the only horse that physically we didn't see a huge red flag, so we purchased the horse. After the horse was at home, if we wouldn't work her every day, she would kick under the saddle. So I started to do a medical investigation to see what is going on with the horse. My trainer, and vet were kept telling me this saddle is not for this horse, and I kept giving them pushbacks! I was like why they would lie to me because I can't lie myself! Anyway, we did a bunch of X-rays from head to toe, and nothing concerning to cause the horse to kick under the saddle till the horse bolted on me, which I didn't know what was the root cause, and the vet said the horse is sore. So I gave some rest time to the horse, but then we started adding more training days and more chiropractor days to the horse's schedule until she bolted on someone else, which caused the person to have a broken helmet and concussion. At this point, we were unsure, and we thought it was due to the cold weather! However, she bolted on the trainer for the 3rd time. All this happened when we asked the horse to pick up the lead canter. I called our vet immediately and asked for ultrasound to check on ulcers and checked her ovaries! No issue was found! We did test her for PSSM and came back negative. However, the vet showed me that the poor horse is extremely sore due to her saddle!!! Please keep that in mind I purchased the saddle from the custom saddlery representative and after 6 months had another representative to look at the saddle and she did not mention the saddle is not fitted for me or the horse. I live in the Bay Area so another representative came. I had her come out a few weeks ago to check on the saddle, and she agreed the saddle is not fitted for me and the horse. This could cause me or someone else to go paralyzed or dead. This is a big-time safety concern. I did reach out to custom saddlery, and I was told the saddle was a consignment saddle and was never custom-built, and they can't help me cuz the representative is not their employees but the funny part is that they are on their website. Long story short, I reached out to the lady who sold me the saddle and asked her that at the minimum she needs to take the saddle back, and she said she won't cuz they haven't seen the horse. Even though I have the video of my first ride with the saddle and how the horse acted up and I also had the other representative adjust the saddle 2 times and i have vet reports that regarding the pain in her back! DO NOT support this brand. They don't do any measurements so u can't prove anything even if u have proof, no one will support or help you. The company who doesn't consider customer's safety should be shot down. They put our lives in danger, caused us big vet and training bills, and they even didn't apologize. I have also heard other stories about how bad their representatives are and have no idea what they are doing. My horse has saddle marks on her back, and the fitter was telling us it's because of the winter coat which made our vet very upset. So if u consider safety and the health of your horse stay away from this brand as they miserably do and say anything to steal your money. Just be aware that unfortunately so many dishonest people are in this industry. read more

I love their saddles and the multitude of options they offer. The staff is very friendly! My local fitter is very knowledgeable and supportive of my needs as well as my horses! Love this company and brand. Highly recommend to any level rider! read more

I purchased a new Icon Custom Saddle Dec. 2024 and it was $5000+. I was given a saddle cover that is so small it absolutely is ridiculous and cannot be used at all. I tried to get my rep to replace it with a correct one and she basically wrote me off, never coming to discuss the matter with me. I sent 2 emails to Custom and they never even replied. Today I called the company directly and discussed the issue with the person on the phone. She basically told me that they know the saddle covers don't fit and that they have no solution and their attitude is "so sad, too bad," and wouldn't even offer a set off for the cost of a saddle cover. Their attitude is that they know it is a lousy cover and they don't care and they have no interest in helping resolve the problem. Their customer service is atrocious and I would never advise buying from Custom again. I am happy with the saddle, but their service is useless and their attitude even worse. I would buy from N2 or any other company that makes a good saddle. I had an N2 previously and their saddle covers are wonderful and a good fit. I only purchased the Custom because I wanted a different saddle fit for my horse. I also had absolutely no customer service from my rep when I had some concern about how the saddle was sitting on my horse. She never even came out again and never took the time to discuss my concerns. I would never recommend Custom to any dressage rider! read more

Great company to work with. Love my Custom saddles. I ride in Custom saddles more then 10 years now and I am still in love with these great saddles. My favorite saddle is this Wolfgang omni and the Icon flight. They fit many horses and I love the support and comfort that I need. read more

Custom Saddlery - Best saddle ever - Horse Equipment Shops Near Me - Aiken, South Carolina

The saddles sell themselves, the fitters are great and they make sure that everything is perfect before they leave. They'll come back periodically to check that you're still 100% satisfied. If anything goes wrong, the company stands behind their work so that every saddle is perfect. Quality is exceptional. Love the feel and suppleness of the leather. read more

I will never do business with Custom Saddlery again. The initial fitting went well and I found a used saddle I loved. I had 5 days for a trial which was perfectly fine with me. After the first full ride, my horse had very large dry saddle marks and I reached out to the fitter, Julie, with my concerns. She did not respond to my calls or texts until 25 hours later asking if he was sore. My horse did in fact become sore and when I relayed that information to Julie, she did not respond. She also told me she would call me on the 5th day of the trial, and never did. I then went to ship the saddle back and shipping was $175 when I was told it would only be $50. I asked if I could be reimbursed and was promptly told no by my fitter. I reached out to the company with my complaints and concerns over two weeks ago and have not heard back from them. I am disgusted with the way I have been treated by this company and highly encourage anyone interested in buying a saddle to look elsewhere. read more

I recently had a saddle fitting from Cindy D. here in Elizabeth, Colorado. I have to say, she is probably the rudest individual I have ever met. She gave me no information, wouldn't even allow me to have a picture of the tracing she took of my horse. I am mad at myself for allowing her to even attempt to fit my horse. I payed her for her time, $204, and I have absolutely nothing to show for this! TERRIBLE customer service and RUDE!! The main office was nice to return a call, but nothing will come out of that. They only want to smooth things over. FRUSTRATED!! read more

Custom Saddlery is the absolute WORST company I have ever had the displeasure of trying to work with!!! If you don't have money coming out of your ears, you are WORTHLESS to them!!! I highly encourage everyone to not even consider buying from them!!! Utterly disgusted!!!! I was initially told a deposit would be $500, then it went up to $1000. My saddle was ordered in June, I was told the turn around was 4-5 MONTHS, which was fine financially for me and I told the rep that. I was contacted two weeks ago and told the saddle was in, but wouldn't be shipped to the fitter until the deposit was paid, then I was told it wouldn't be shipped until the full payment was made. Which I was told from the beginning wasn't due until after trial. Now Ive told that the saddle can only be held 30 days and then it goes to a fitter to me sold. Issue #1, the deposit difference, #2 the saddle came in TWO to THREE months earlier than I was told making it NOT possible for me to pay the full balance at this time, #3 the saddle can't be held, #4 I offered to send in payments, answer "no" How is it beneficial on a customer level to not work with someone when timing is off by two months, how is it beneficial to sell a saddle made to my and my horses specifications to someone else? Basically I can make my deposit then if the balance isn't paid in 30 days, you keep $1,000 and make MORE money on the saddle by selling it full price to someone else. today I was called by another rep who has threatened to call the police if the demo saddle isn't returned, claiming she emailed me last week telling me to return it, I pulled up the contents of the email and there was no such discussion. No one at the company wants to hear anything, no one is even admitting to the time difference or anything like that. They are being unbelievable rude, and the only person that has been remotely understanding is Christine in the repair shop, but it gets me nowhere... I've asked to be put in touch with a manager or president, they say there is no one. read more

Ordered a $4500 saddle from one of their fitters, who supposedly did a "custom fit". Paid her $115 for the fitting, plus a $500 deposit and waited three months for the saddle to arrive. It didn't fit my horse, had the wrong tree and was like trying to fit a clothepin to a bowling ball. Twisted from front to back and unstable. I refused the saddle and now the company is refusing to return my $500 deposit. I've had custom saddles from other companies before and this is the worse company I've ever dealt with. Their only solution is that I put the money toward another saddle. Their saddle fitter is poorly trained and is only trying to sell saddles, doesn't know what she's doing. I saw her put the same saddle on four different horses and proclaim it to be a perfect fit on every horse. I wrote to the owner and asked for a remedy, even said I would take other product in trade for my $500 and received an ABRUPT RUDE reply. Horrible attitude. This isn't my first time at the rodeo as I've had 5 custom made saddles from the top saddle manufacturers in the past. This is absolutely the worse and most unexpected experience of my life. So I'm out $615 plus 3+ months waiting and have nothing to show for it. read more