Bye-Bye, UDBB

Cruised by the Ultimate Dressage bulletin board, and saw this message:


"This site is being closed under current management. It has been a long run, and there where some good times, but my mind and heart are no longer in this effort. I have not found an easy exit strategy over the years, so it will just come to shutting down, un-announced.
"If you would like to inquire about purchasing the domain name and/or forums as they existed on 4/13/2013 please contact directly.
"Mark Susol, msusol@ultimatecreativemedia.com"

Wow.  I'm completely floored.  Information, misinformation and speculation about the why and wherefore behind this are rife and easily found all over the Internet, but whatever the cause, I just find it a sad passing.  The UDBB was one of the first ways in which I became known in my own right rather than just as the shop's fitter; it introduced me to some very fine fellow fitters and more than a few customers, and helped me get the news out about my own business.

It would be nice if someone purchased the domain name and forums and continued with them.  But Mark Susol really helped me out through the UDBB (though he probably didn't know), and I really appreciate it.  I hope things turn out well for him, and that someone can help him out the way he helped me.

Closing and Opening: Contact Info

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.”  - Tom Bodett

Whose Blog is it, Anyway?

In the hustle of trying to get Panther Run Saddlery organized, I haven't had time to add to (or even stop by and check on) this blog ... and I find I really miss it.  So I made some time today to check my stats, which I haven't done in weeks.  When I went to one of the referring sites, I found a very nice blog and a post extolling (and rightly so) the many virtues of Black Country saddles.  There was also a very nice bit about Trumbull Mtn. and "their" blog, Saddle Fitting: the Inside Journey.  

This isn't the first time I've encountered that misunderstanding, and in the past, I've usually let it slide.  But now that I'm no longer employed there or affiliated/associated with the shop in any way, "I want to make one thing perfectly clear:"  this is not their blog.  It's mine.  "All content copyright Kitt Hazelton / Panther Run."  It's right there in the footer (which I do know that few people ever read, but ...).  So I hope this will clarify things once and for all.  My blog.  Mineminemineminemine.

Ok, now that I'm done barking and peeing on trees and fence posts and scratching up the ground, let's talk about what's going on now.  I have replaced the bulk of my important saddle work tools (there are a few left to buy, but the meat-and-potatoes tools are here).  I have Albion saddles.  I have Duett saddles.  I have a couple Bliss of London saddles, and am their dealer for the northern New England area.  Loxley saddles are on order, and I'm expecting them sometime around Valentine's Day.  I'm accepting selected used saddles for consignment.  I have saddles in for repairs, and I have customers sending me templates (some of them are customers from my days at the shop, and I can't adequately express how much their loyalty and faith in me means).  I just had another article on saddle fitting published in TrailBlazer magazine, and I have to finish an article on saddle fitting for the Arabian sport horse for www.thearabiansporthorse.com.  I have the budding Panther Run Saddlery web site in the competent hands of my "web guy" (we had to move the hosting site and do some technical stuff that I'm just not confident about or capable of doing myself).  I'm busy, and things are moving ahead and looking pretty promising.  It's a crazy time, and not a particularly easy time ... but from what I understand, that's pretty much the norm for the situation.   Being a one-woman show is way different from the way I worked for 14 years, and sometimes I think I'm crazy to be doing this at my age ... but the thought of not doing it isn't something I can contemplate.  So onward and upward.

Panther Run Saddlery (Coming Soon)

It's a work in progress (the site isn't live yet, but I'll let you know as soon as it's up).  I'll be offering the same services as before: long distance fitting using templates and photos, barn calls, sales, consulting, and reflocks/repairs.  I'll have mostly new saddles at first, though I'll be doing consignments as well.  In the meantime, please feel free to "like" Panther Run Saddlery on FaceBook!

The More Things Change ...

The shop at the Pullman Family Farm, summer 2012

This year has brought some pretty dramatic changes to my life. This summer, we had to put our dear old Tanka dog down due to the infirmities of old age.  Then, Edie passed away on Sept. 20, and my brother-in-law Chris passed away 15 days later - oddly, from  the very same cancer Edie had.  And on Oct. 26th, I learned that as of November 30, my time with Trumbull Mountain Tack will be over.

The owners have decided to move the physical location of the shop closer to their home - understandable, since their commute is about 60 miles one-way.  However, the new location they've chosen puts the shop 60 miles away from me. That would mean that my 40 mile round-trip commute would morph into a 120 mile round-trip commute ... and that ain't gonna happen.  Not for me, and sadly, not for my co-worker Nancy Okun, either - her commute would actually be 12 miles longer than mine.  So as of 5 pm on Nov. 30, after roughly 14 years with Trumbull Mtn., it's officially good-bye.

Change is unsettling, no question - but after the first terrifying, stomach-dropping shock, it often turns out the be just the kick in the ass that was needed.  Since Edie sold the shop in 2009, things have changed significantly; I've become increasingly restless, and have spent more and more time contemplating the possibility of "going independent" and running my own business ... and if this isn't the universe telling me that now's the time to do just that, I miss my guess.

In the years I worked with Edie, I learned about saddle fitting, repair and design ... and I also learned her particular business philosophies, practices and ideals, those specific ingredients that made a little tack shop up over the indoor arena 3 miles off the main road in a town of less than 4,000 people the go-to place for saddles and fitting.  So I'd say that I have a very successful business model to use.  I've also met some outstanding folks in the saddle business who've helped and taught me: Nikki Newcombe, Ann Forrest, Nancy Temple, Patty Barnett, Rob Cullen, John, Gemma and Cassie Hartley, Frank Baines, Victoria Coleman, Mike Scott,  Brita Rizzi and Louise Palmer, to name just a very few, and since they've heard the news, they've been even more kind and supportive.  And since the change has become public knowledge in the saddle world, Nancy and I have had three people very kindly approach us with offers to rep saddles, and we're going to take them all on.  I'll still be taking saddles to barns and traveling to do adjustments; I'll also be working long-distance with templates and photos, and I'll still be writing this blog, same as ever.  I'll also be setting up my own web site, which will have fitting info and - new feature - videos.  In deference to the fact that I need a regular income, I will have to find a "real" job, at least for a while, but my focus will be on getting back into saddles full-time as soon as possible.  I truly love doing this, and don't see any reason I should quit.

Crazy Little Thing Called "Sandy"

In case any of you have spent the last few days away from any sort of news or social media, the northeastern US is supposed to get hit with Hurricane / Tropical Storm Sandy.  The forecast says it will come in from the east, make landfall around New Jersey later today, and run into a winter storm coming in from the west, creating a "Frankenstorm" that could leave the entire northeastern US battered.  Although the main part of the storm isn't supposed to hit Vermont (or even come very close), this is a very big storm - by some accounts, more than 900 miles across - and we're supposed to get high winds, heavy rain and probable power outages.  The wind's beginning to pick up as I write this, and the sky was an eerily beautiful pink/purple at dawn:

While this storm isn't supposed to create anywhere near the havoc that Irene did last year (though we escaped that totally unscathed, except for an unexpected day off from work due to the roads being flooded), it's still best to be prepared, especially since there's a horse involved.

This entails things like stockpiling about 4 days' worth of water in the horse barn (we have ample water available from the brook below the house, but it's a serious undertaking to get jerry cans up 100' of very steep incline).  We also made sure we have enough hay and grain, and double-checked the fence line.  While flooding isn't a huge concern - we're at roughly 1500' here - the horse barn is at the foot of a hill, and has been known to have a little stream running through it during wet times.  I ditched the paddock and around the barn as best I could; we had plans to have someone come in with a bulldozer this summer and do the job right, but it never dried out enough - and there's so much clay in the soil here so that big machines will slide downhill under their own weight.  I did NOT want a bulldozer pushing my pole barn off the cement piers!

The real concern for us is wind.  We're in the woods, and while the local power company is pretty good about keeping the lines clear, trees do take them out on a fairly regular basis - so being prepared for outages is routine.  We have a wood stove in one end of the house and a fireplace in the other, and about 2 cords of wood at the ready (for those of you who aren't familiar with that measurement, a full cord of wood measures 4'x4'x8').  We have flashlights and lamps (both kerosene and battery), lots of non-perishable foods (for humans, dogs and cats) and plenty of warm clothes and blankets.  We park the cars in as open an area as we can - as you can tell from the photos, we have some very large locusts and maples on the property.  Falling / flying limbs can take out a windshield pretty easily, AND they can take out part of a fence quite effectively, too.  So the mare gets an ID tag braided into her mane just in case - it's a metal key fob; I used my Dremel tool to engrave it with my last name, location and phone number.

And now we wait ...

Edie

Reggie and Edie Tschorn

Yesterday, the world was diminished.  Edie Tschorn, my mentor, neighbor, former employer, friend and hero passed away, eleven months after being diagnosed with brain cancer.  She was one of the kindest, most giving and open people I've ever known, and while I will miss her more than I can ever convey, I was truly blessed to have had her in my life.  She's the reason I became a saddle fitter, and she had more influence on me than she probably knew; the good bits of me became better and brighter with her guidance. She encouraged me to start this blog, and encouraged me to keep going with it, suggested subject matter and often proofed the posts before I published them.  She helped me with pretty much every facet of my life, professional and personal, and did it with grace, tact and good humor, even when I was being my usual pushy, reactive, bull-headed Aries self.  (She once said to me, when we were working through a particularly difficult and potentially explosive issue with my difficult and potentially explosive mare, "I think I know you well enough to say that you and your mare are an awful lot alike."  Few people in this world could have said that to me at such a time without getting the rough and profane side of my tongue, but Edie did, and made me laugh about it, too.)

As often happens when my deepest heart is touched, it's hard for me to find the words that really express what I'm feeling.  Edie touched so many lives and mentored so many people, young and old; her hand and her heart were always open, she always had a moment for you - even when she didn't - and she never failed to find the right thing to say or do to make you feel good.  There are so many things I could say about her, so many things she did, so many examples of her wonderful nature, but I think the one thing that really sums Edie up is this:  At the end of every day in the shop, before we walked down the stairs and out the door, no matter if we'd had a herd of PITA customers and been gold-plated assholes that day (and there were times when I know I truly excelled at that), she'd say, "Thank you."

Where's the Horse?

I was reading through the Chronicle of the Horse's 75th Anniversary issue (yes, I'm a month behind on my magazine reading, as usual) and came across a saddle ad. This ad is for a saddle that we used to sell back in the long-ago; the quality of the leather is lovely, the saddles are very pretty, and they're quite haute couture as far as saddles go.  The ad  reads:  "Your horse can do amazing things when he is free to be himself."  It goes on to list all the amazing things your horse can do ... until you're in the saddle.  "You must be perfectly balanced so your horse is free to be his incredible, athletic horsey self."  Advertised saddle, of course, will accomplish that task.  "We start by finding the right seat for your center of balance.  Then, just like our bridles, we finish it off with full grain leather that feels like butter, and extraordinary attention to detail."

And not one sentence - hell, not one word - about the horse.  So I went to the web site, thinking I might find more info about fit for the horse there.  Hmm.  On the home page, it says, "Most saddle makers concern themselves with fitting the horse.  We believe that's not enough!"

That led me to believe I might find more about fitting the horse somewhere on the site,  Fitting the horse might not be "enough," but it's something ... right?  So I went to the "saddles" section.  And I found out that they offer different seat sizes/depths and flap lengths/sets ... and medium and wide trees.  So I clicked on their "Saddle Fitting" chart, thinking that might have some info on fitting the horse ... and again, found lots of info on flaps and seats, and medium or wide trees.  Finally, down at the bottom of that page, I found a link to "saddle purchase form".  That must have something about fitting the horse ... right?

Wrong.  It shows a silhouette of a person and where to take the measurements needed to fit the rider.  You enter your height and weight, and you choose the model of saddle you want to purchase ... but it doesn't say jack-all about fitting the horse.  Not even tree width.  There is a little space at the bottom of the form for "Additional Comments", so I guess you could put something there.

Now, as I said, these saddles are lovely pieces of work, and do fit some horses very well.  And yes, fit for the rider is of great importance ... but if tree width is all that's considered for the other half of the team, that's only part of the picture.  I'm straining my middle-aged memory regarding any horse-fitting options that may have been offered on these saddles back when we carried them, and I can't recall any.  They might have had some ... and they still might.  But if so, wouldn't you think they'd say something about it in their ads, or at least on their web site?  For all of their lovely leather and craftsmanship, these saddles are, to my mind, along the lines of the changeable-gullet and adjustable tree saddles:  they only address one of the horse's fitting needs, and that just isn't enough.

Great Expectations

Given the present state of the economy (can you tell that's been on my mind quite a bit?), a lot of folks are finding their "discretionary income" either severely minimized or almost non-existent.  So understandably, used saddles - always popular - have become even moreso in the last few years.

We check our used and consignment saddles very thoroughly when they come in (along the lines explained in this post) to make sure they're "serviceably sound for intended use" (as my vet used to say when doing a prepurchase on a horse); we note any cosmetic issues the saddles may have, and rate their condition anywhere from "fair" to "excellent/demo".  Lately, though, we've had a few people who didn't quite seem to know what to expect from a used saddle ... so I thought I'd clarify.

1)  IT WILL SHOW SIGNS OF USE.  Unless you're lucky enough to find a second-hand saddle that's only had a few rides (which does happen from time to time), you will see "used saddle" marks.  These can range from slight rub marks from the stirrup leathers and buckle marks on the billets (for the "excellent/demo" designation) to curled jockeys, faded dye, dings, nicks, wrinkles, tooth marks, scratches and scrapes (for the "fair" designation).

2)  IT MAY SHOW SIGNS OF FORMER OWNERSHIP.  These include things like a cantle plate (or holes in the cantle where one used to be) or a name or number engraved on the stirrup bar or stamped/burned into the sweat flap.  These things don't affect the fit, usefulness or condition of the saddle, but be aware that your saddle may be adorned with something like "Wind Hill Andalusians" or "Cindy Lou Smith 123-456-7890" somewhere.

3)  IT MAY SHOW SIGNS OF WORK OR REPAIR.  These signs are sometimes fairly subtle:  a well-used saddle may have spandy-new billets or shiny new falldown staples or saddle nails. Some saddles may have mismatched saddle nails, saddle plates or notations stamped into the sweat flap - both are common signs that the tree has been altered at some point (though just how it's been altered may be unearthed only by taking the saddle apart, since some saddlers will note their work on the tree).  It may have extra dee rings or a crupper bar, or the billet configuration may have been altered.

4)  THE FLOCKING WILL PROBABLY NEED TO BE ADJUSTED.  I don't touch the flocking on consignment saddles unless the consignor requests it, or unless it's so flat/hard/overflocked that it won't realistically fit anything (and then, I check with the consignor before I make adjustments).  I've had people say, "Well, the tree width and everything else looks good, but it's sitting so low ..." When I say that the issue can be corrected with flocking, I'm often told, "But this is a used saddle - that should already have been done!"  I explain to the customer that it probably has been done, but it will need to have the flocking adjusted to their horse ... just as a new saddle would.

5)  REPAIRS WILL NEED TO BE MADE AT SOME POINT.  "Used" saddle.  Think about that.  It's like "used" car ... sooner or later, some part is going to go and will need to be repaired or replaced.  With saddles, thankfully, there aren't as many parts to go blooey, and repair/replacement probably won't be quite as expensive ... but yes, you'll need to have the billets replaced at some point, and - as stated above - the flocking will need to be maintained.  Other minor issues may need attention:  a stirrup leather keeper may need to be repaired or replaced, a dee ring may need to be replaced or a line of stitching may need to be re-sewn.  If that's the case, you can price these repairs with your saddler / saddle fitter, and use that info if you'd like to negotiate on the price.

6)  IT WILL BE BROKEN IN.  IN SOME CASES, VERY BROKEN IN.  One of my best and favorite clients, who's Huntsman for a local hunt, brought in her rode-hard-but-never-put-away-wet saddle for consignment.  It showed that it had been used a lot:  the leather was soft and supple, there were dark marks on the flaps from the leathers, the jockeys had molded to the shape of the stirrup leather buckle, and there were dark marks from the breast plate straps by the front dees.  But was it clean?  Immaculate.  Was the flock in good condition?  Definitely.  Were there any dings?  A very few, but nothing glaring.  Was the saddle "serviceably sound for intended use?  Unquestionably.  The customer who bought it was thrilled to find this saddle, and realized that, in spite of the cosmetics, she'd gotten a saddle that will last for years and years to come.

UPSIDE

If you're ok with a saddle that has Issues 1-6, you'll find that there are major upsides to used saddles as well.  First is price.  While high quality used saddles hole their value very well (remember, new saddle prices almost never go down), you'll usually save hundreds of dollars if you're willing to go with a used saddle. And many sellers/consignors are quite motivated to move their saddle and are willing to consider reasonable offers. (And note that I said "reasonable".  Making an offer that amounts to 40% or 50% of the asking price may shut the seller down entirely.  While getting a deal is always fun, stop and think of what you would reasonably take for the saddle if the tables were turned before you low-ball someone and perhaps lose your shot at a saddle you really want.)

Second good thing is availability.  There are tons of used saddles out there.  If you Google your specific requirements, you'll get a LOT of results - "used Black Country saddles" yielded 523,000 results; "used Albion jump saddles" offered 334,000 results, and "used Lovatt and Ricketts dressage saddles" coughed up 309,000 results.  Of course, you need to exercise due diligence if you're buying from someone other than a reputable tack shop, and hopefully you can either try the saddle before you buy it or at least return it if it proves unsuitable for some reason, but I've found that most people are quite reasonable to work with.  And if they're not, well ... take a look at those numbers again; chances are someone else has the same saddle that Mr./Ms. My-Way-or-the-Highway has ...  Even if you have a horse with some exacting fitting requirements, chances are pretty good you can find the right saddle if you put enough effort into the search.  Of course, if you need a saddle right this moment - and a very specific saddle at that - this option might not work for you; you might not find "the" saddle in a week or maybe even a month.  Or two months.  But if you can invest the time, trust me:  it's out there.

Interpreting the Template Revisited

Long-distance fitting requires a fitter to rely heavily on the use of the template.  How each fitter interprets the template, however, can vary.  Case in point:  we received this tracing a while back:

The fitter who sent it noted that the horse needed a narrow or medium-narrow tree.  To my eye - and according to the templates we use - the horse was one the wider side of medium.  I sat for a few moments and compared the different templates to the tracing, trying to see how the fitter had come up with medium-narrow to narrow when I was seeing a generous medium.  And after a little thought, I figured it out.

Here's the angle I measured to determine tree width:

Here's the angle the other fitter was using:

Here's the difference:

The original fitter was measuring the width too high - too close to the spine - and basing the tree width on the atrophied muscle.  Obviously, a saddle that fit based on that criteria would have been too narrow, and would have made the atrophy worse.  The assessment I made was based on the muscle that ought to be there (and that would be there with the help of a properly-fitting saddle), with an eye toward getting the frame of the saddle correct and "filling in the dips" with a modified panel - in this case, a wither gusset and a K panel to increase the bearing surface down the mare's quite prominent wither.  We ordered a saddle with a "medium +" width - wider than a medium but not quite a medium-wide - because the owner wanted to use a sheepskin half pad for a little extra cushion, and to make up some of the width.  The saddle fit the mare really well, and it came back to me about 8 weeks later for its first flocking adjustment.  At that point, the owner no longer needed to use the sheepskin half pad to make the saddle fit well.  And - happy ending - about 6 months after that, the mare had developed so much muscle that we had to send the saddle out to have the tree widened.  The mare's going great guns, and the owner is thrilled. 

A Look Inside at Frank Baines Saddlery

I found a fun blog post on Frank Baines Saddlery just recently.  Not written from a saddler's / saddle fitter's perspective, but worth a look anyway.  Enjoy!

Paddling Like Mad ...

... and barely keeping my head above water!  Apologies for the lack of saddle-fit-focus posts recently; I've been slammed with a flood tide of customers and saddle work and just haven't had time to do more than post notices on stuff others have been doing.  However, I have another post in the "adjustable tree/changeable gullet" line brewing.  We've recently gotten the Kent and Masters and Fairfax saddles in.  These are from the minds that brought us the Thorowgood T4, T6 (now defunct) and T8; their "conformation specific" models - the Broadback/Cob, the High Wither and the Standard fit - have proved to work pretty well for their intended type, so we're hopeful that the trend will continue with the K&M saddles.  I'm trying to schedule a time when my co-worker Nancy and I can get the saddles on some horses and evaluate them with a rider up ... hoping we'll be able to get in the saddles as well, to get some first-hand feedback.  We've heard from a couple different fitters who've had the opportunity to do just that, and are hoping to correlate what they've told us with our own experience.

Another post in the offing will be about treeless saddles and the proper fitting thereof.  This will be written by a fitter who actually FITS treeless saddles, rather than selling them left, right and center as the cure-all for every horse for every saddle fitting ill.  I've really enjoyed chatting with this fitter, and am looking forward to getting her post so I can share the real info on fitting treeless.

I'm also working on a post about a visit from Brita Rizzi of Dynamic Equine Saddle Fitting (which happened last summer, to further prove how freakin' far behind I am!).  She brought her pressure-sensing pad and demonstrated how the feedback can be used to assess saddle fit (and rider, and horse) issues.  It was absolutely fascinating, and is one of the better diagnostic tools I've encountered.

In other news: still working on the outline for the saddle fitting class.  That's almost done, and I'm tossing around dates for the first class.  Also nursing the mare through the last stages of a heel bulb abscess so I can get her out and get her somewhat fit so I can find another saddle for her.

As always, thanks for reading.  Stay tuned!