i am looking into the future and looking at what i need to buy for a horse *so i can save up enough*right now i'm looking at rugs and saddles.. i have been looking on the horseland website (sells all horse stuff for outside aussies)and i have noticed that some saddles range from $300 - $800 *could never afford one over $1000* ... there doesnt seem to be much difference between them both...
I bought a saddle from a girl in the local Pony Club for $300. I have had it for three years and will probably have it for many more, it is in good condition. Buy a almost new used saddle and clean and condition it every so often. It will keep the leather soft and supple. And it will keep the saddle in better condition so it will last longer. For rugs, I would get a thick rug in the winter (well, actually, it depends how cold it gets there) and in the summer, you don't even need a rug. You could get a protective shett. It is like a rug that protects them from pests like flies and mosquitos. In the winter, I would just sponge it down and wait for him/her to cool down then put a cooler (a special blanket for a horse that has just worked hard). Later you can put a thicker blanket on, like when he is totally back to normal. In the summer I would do the same thing (put the cooler on) then put on the protective sheet or just nothing. My horse doesn't use a rug int the winter. I hope this helped you.
Your link just goes to the main menu page so I didn't get to see which saddle you were asking about. Basically a good saddle, if looked after will probably outlast you ! Rugs can be complicated, I don't know what sort of weather you get but here in the UK my horses are out for most of the time ( they only come in a night in the worst part of winter and they don't like that much either !) I have full neck rugs for really nasty cold time and ones without necks for when it's just normal winter weather. They don't wear any rug during the summer as a rule but if it rains for long periods ( as it has this year) I put the lighter neckless rugs on them. If it got sweaty during riding in winter then towelling dry is a good idea and you can also get a cooler rug - this acts like a string vest and stops the horse getting chilled while he's cooling down. As your horse would be going straight back into the field it would be best to cool him down on the way back from your ride so he doesn't get home so sweaty. You can't just go throwing thick rugs on sweaty horses so you would need to walk him round in a cooler to get him dried off first. If this turned out to be a problem with you spending ages cooling him down you could get him clipped which would stop him getting soaked but then you would need a really good rug to make up for the lack of winter coat.
