Tell me about your experiences with a saddler?

Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins

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Oct 10, 2004
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I have a saddler coming out to look at Bens saddle next weekend. I have no concerns about it, I just thought that I should get it checked because I want to make 100% sure that it is correct for him.

I have no experience of using a saddler and I'm not sure what to expect. Some people have told me that it is fashionable these days for a saddle to fit a gell pad underneth the saddle? This is apparently to prevent the saddle from being reflocked so often. Others have said that some saddlers like to fit a sheepskin half saddle pad underneth?

The saddler comes recommended and others on the yard have used him before. I really want him to tell me that my saddle is a good fit and not try and con me into buying another that I don't need. How do I know that what he is telling me is correct? There must be saddlers out there who make a good living from selling people saddles when they don't need them.

What happens at the check. Do I need to ride? What is he looking for and what are the sensible questions that I need to ask.
 
My knowledge of saddlers in thin but I can tell you the following. Yes, you will need to ride whilst the saddler is there. A good fitting saddle shouldnt need a gel or sheepskin pad under it - never heard of the idea of using one to stop having to reflock so often, but it could be true - am sure KV, PM or Wally will be able to answer that one.

I personally am wary of saddle fitters until they can prove themselves not to be crooks who are just after your cash - there are a couple round here that I wouldnt touch with a very long barge pole:stomp:
 
My saddler checks Joy all over to make and looks at her moving sure there are no problems.

She then takes templates of the back and compares them to the previous ones.

She looks at the saddle checking for problems and then looks at it on Joys back and then looks at it with me in it and then when I'm riding through our paces.

Last year I had a reflock done as I'd had the saddle a few years. We aim for the saddle to fit with minimum of padding etc.

Lastly we gossip until we are both running horrendously late!
 
Joyscarer said:
My saddler checks Joy all over to make and looks at her moving sure there are no problems.

She then takes templates of the back and compares them to the previous ones.

She looks at the saddle checking for problems and then looks at it on Joys back and then looks at it with me in it and then when I'm riding through our paces.

Last year I had a reflock done as I'd had the saddle a few years. We aim for the saddle to fit with minimum of padding etc.

Lastly we gossip until we are both running horrendously late!
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Apart from the gossip, this is what my saddler does.

She particularly likes to see me trotting/cantering away from her to check the movement of the saddle. Last time she came she recommended I do up the girth on different straps because Z had changed shape slightly.

She says she likes to see a saddle on the thinnest possible saddlecloth for the best fit, and doesn't even approve of my half-sheepskin cloths, though Ziggy loves them. I alwasy bring out a plain quilted cloth when she comes :redface:
 
Joyscarer said:
My saddler checks Joy all over to make and looks at her moving sure there are no problems.

She then takes templates of the back and compares them to the previous ones.

She looks at the saddle checking for problems and then looks at it on Joys back and then looks at it with me in it and then when I'm riding through our paces.

Last year I had a reflock done as I'd had the saddle a few years. We aim for the saddle to fit with minimum of padding etc.

Lastly we gossip until we are both running horrendously late!
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This...pretty much! My old boss was a major chatterbox and loved a good gossip and a cup of tea! ;)

Jane&Ziggy said:
Apart from the gossip, this is what my saddler does.

She particularly likes to see me trotting/cantering away from her to check the movement of the saddle. Last time she came she recommended I do up the girth on different straps because Z had changed shape slightly.

She says she likes to see a saddle on the thinnest possible saddlecloth for the best fit, and doesn't even approve of my half-sheepskin cloths, though Ziggy loves them. I alwasy bring out a plain quilted cloth when she comes :redface:
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This too - thinnest cloth possible or no cloth at all. ;)

Mary Poppins said:
How are the templates taken?
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Usually with a flexi-curve or artists' lead strip curve (I beleive Wally makes her own from lead flashing!) :D

If you google 'templating a horse's back' there should be some good sites with photos showing how it's done. I have some photos but they are on my old laptop. :(
 
Pretty much as everyone describes but we have ours fitted with the numnahs we would use normally...TBs seldom do thin ones without protest with leather lined saddles and we use a thickish fleecy one if the ride judge is 'heavier' so saddle is fitted for this!!!
 
Are you using a saddler who is used by people you know and whose judgement you trust?
Are you using a saddler who has fitted saddles well on other horses you have ridden?
A saddler used by a busy riding school with a continual throughput of horses and a stock of saddles which may be passed from horse to horse, and working to a budget, may not work in the same way as a saddler working for a private owner.
My share horse is on a full livery yard where each horse has an owner including the YO. We use a saddler from Essex who travels a long way to visit. My share mare has her own saddle (expensive, traditional and now made only to order) and it sits on her own wool felt pad which I was told comes from the saddler, along with the saddle. Both are old by now.
If I buy a horse, I would naturally go to the same saddler.
If you look on the internet, some people praise this saddler while others do not - that wouldnt be relevant to me. I would simply go on the word of a saddler with whom owners I know have a long past history and on-going relationship.
It doesnt make any sense to me to ask a saddler to come, but not to trust their professional advice?
 
Joyscarer said:
My saddler checks Joy all over to make and looks at her moving sure there are no problems.

She then takes templates of the back and compares them to the previous ones.

She looks at the saddle checking for problems and then looks at it on Joys back and then looks at it with me in it and then when I'm riding through our paces.

Last year I had a reflock done as I'd had the saddle a few years. We aim for the saddle to fit with minimum of padding etc.

Lastly we gossip until we are both running horrendously late!
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Sounds reasonable to me,
 
Skib said:
Are you using a saddler who is used by people you know and whose judgement you trust?
Click to expand...

The problem is that everyone has a different opinion. At my livery yard there are 20 horses, and I know of 4 different saddlers who come out. Everyone has their own preference. I am sharing a call out with 2 other liveries, one of which has seen 2 saddlers before this one as she wasn't happy with their advice. I know one of the liveries doesn't like the saddler that I have got coming out because of the 'personality clash' between them but at least 4 other people have said that he is ok.

I feel very novicey when it comes to things like this. They could tell me anything and I don't have the knowledge to really discuss it with them, yet alone argue their advice.

It's the same with girths. I needed a new girth and practically everyone on the yard gave me different advice. Everyone thinks that there way is best. In the end I went with the very good advice from my RI who told me to follow my own instinct and that I really was not stupid. I did this, and bought a girth that I am very happy with.
 
Taking time to read up (Thorowgood have some nice vids on their site) and understand a little helps. Ask lots of questions about what they are looking at/for to learn for the future and yes, trust your gut feeling - dont be afraid to ask questions - they should be happy to help.

Everyone has their own opinions, ultimatley you cant form your own unless you experiment yourself :) Reading around the topic (eg bits, nosebands etc) gives you knowledge to make a better decision - not always the right decision first time, but better than a blind guess.

We have heaps of saddle fitters come to the yard locally. Mine travels from the other end of the country as I havent met anyone else who has convinced me on saddle fit (and puts up with my ponies "I hate treed saddle" fight!). I have someone locally who's opinion I trust on saddle fit, but does not sell saddles.
 
I had an experience I'd rather forget. I was basically told that the way I rode (very badly apparently) was to blame for the saddle moving - and that it was a small miracle that I hadn't damaged my horse for life with my poor riding capability!
This person was very highly recommended too - so be careful! I was not alone however, as after the event, (which reduced me to tears) I sniffed about and heard of another similar person who'd had an upsetting time with them - so I did feel a bit better, knowing it wasn't just me! I think this particular saddler just has a downer on novice people in general, they only seemed to have any respect for eventers, showjumpers etc - not your plain old hackers or schoolers like myself!!!

My other experience was very good and I received very good advice and great attention to detail at a very competitive price. This person was recommended me by our vet and they turned out to be just right for both OH and myself. We were pleased with their work and wouldn't hestitate to use them again. Nice straightforward, no flim-flam and a great result.
 
Can I be horribly pedantic and say that we are saddle fitters - some are also saddlers, but saddlers make and repair saddles, fitters fit them :smile:. Some saddlers may say they fit saddles, but the training is very different - something to ask about!

I always see saddles ridden in, in walk trot and canter, unless the horse is unbacked. I may want to see the horse jumped if the saddle will be used for that. I always talk to customers before coming out to see them, and ideally see specific photos of the horse to help me bring the right stock if they are looking for a saddle. I will check the horse all over, but I am not a body worker and will recommend getting a physio etc out if I see anything of concern - I will also look at the rider and may make recommendations in the same way if they are crooked.

I will only take a tracing of the wither shape after I have done the fitting - taking it first can give preconceptions of width etc, many horses are, in practice, a slightly different width to their tracing. I will take full records of horse and owner and keep them on file.

If I can help with anything else feel free to ask!
 
sbloom said:
I will only take a tracing of the wither shape after I have done the fitting - taking it first can give preconceptions of width etc, many horses are, in practice, a slightly different width to their tracing.
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Can you elaborate on this some more? It's like it hasn't been tough enough already -now you are adding a new dimension to this. lol
 
The saddle fitter (he is a saddler as well but not sure what to call him now) came out and was fantastic. He took time to talk to me about my riding and what my plans were for the future and then had a good look at the shape of Ben and his back. He examined my saddle all over and poked and proded it. He then put it on him and did lots of checks. I then got on and he asked me loads of questions about how I felt, was I tipping etc.

The verdict was that the saddle fits Ben well but needed to be reflocked because the pressure points were not even. More pressure was being put on the top and it was not being distributed evenly throughout the saddle. He also wanted to raise it slightly at the back.

I took it to his workshop and he spent an hour working on it. The result is a very comfy, well fitted saddle and I'm really happy. I feel much more connected to him and there is no movement at all. He did tell me to do my girth up a good 4 holes though! He said that if Ben spooked then I would go flying - I don't know if it is true because Ben has never spooked!

The whole thing (including call out, examination and reflocking) cost me £61 which I didn't think was too bad. He said that with the level of riding that I do, I will only need to get it re-checked once a year and if I look after the saddle there is no reason why I would ever need to replace it. I'm really happy with the service and will be using him next year.
 
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