Aussie saddles

Question
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Followup To
Question -
am just starting to ride. I have been looking at austrailian saddles. I would like to know what the difference is between an aussie and a western saddle. My knees seam to bother me riding western. I believe something is differnt with aussi saddles.

Thanks for your help.
Answer -
Dear Jetti:
Hmm.. if you decide to buy an Australian stock saddle - you need to know up front that you are NOT permitted to show in them. If you have no interest in showing this will have no affect on you but many people have received a rude surprise after spending good money on an Aussie saddle to discover they are considered to be neither an English nor a Western saddle but rather a kind of hybrid between the two and they are not accepted in the show ring.
I have nothing against them - but I would be concerned about why you are thinking of buying one - your knees hurt. Now you don't say if you have any hind of pre-existing knee condition but I will assume that you don't. If so- and you indicate that you are a beginner - it sounds as though you are still working on developing your lower leg position and the specilaized muscles that go into that. I would be cautious about blaming equipment.
Finally - before you buy any kind of saddle see if you can borrow one to try out for a week or so - remembering of course that it has to fit you AND your horse.
Good luck.
S.Evans

Thanks for your reply.  
But I was looking for information on the differences in the saddles so that I can make an informed decision.  I am not blaming the equipment for my knees just wondering if the aussi is more comfortable since I have heard they are.  I am not interested in showing only riding for pleasure.

thanks

Answer
Dear Jetti:
Okay- now remember - this is just one person's opinion.
The Aussi stock saddle was developed as a light weight alternative to a western stock saddle while providing greater stability than a traditional English saddle (deeper seat, knee rolls) while out working stock. Like a stock saddle, it has pigging strings to tie equipment on board, like an English saddle, it has irons. Like all saddles - there are good ones and bad ones. A rawhide tree is the best but can be difficult to find and expensive.
I have ridden in one and personally found it to be no more comfortable than either a good quality stock saddle or a traditional English saddle. As a bit of a personal bias- I felt it was a bit gimmicky.
I can't think of anything about its design that would make it more comfortable for your knees - I found that the forward roll was restrictive.
The only way to know for sure if it works for you is to see if you can borrow one to try it out on the kind of terrain where you plan to use it. You might also want to scope out endurance saddles.
Good luck,
S. Evans