Serge and Durability

Good saddles aren't cheap.  All of the new saddles we sell cost more than my first horse - and to be perfectly honest, they all cost more than my first car (which was a used 1973 Chevy Vega of dubious mechanical health).  So when you're buying something that's going to cost you a few weeks' (or more) worth of paychecks, you want it to last.  So what's the expected life span of a $3500 saddle with cloth panels?!

That's often the concern voiced by our customers when they see a saddle with serge panels.  Back in the day, English saddles had serge panels; at some point (and I'm still researching to find out why), leather became the material of choice.  And while leather panels are still the norm, serge is gaining in popularity, and with good reason.  Serge has a lot of benefits:  it breaks in more quickly, it helps wick sweat and dissipate heat, it's lighter weight, it helps keep the pad from slipping, it dries quickly, it can be a big help with a sensitive or "cold-backed" horse ... and it wears very, very well.

How well?  Ok - remember the "Black Country Rocks Customer Service" post I did a couple months ago?  (Click here if you need a refresher.)  Remember Jenny Kimberly's Black Country Equinox - the 4 and a half year old saddle that's been ridden (by a conservative estimate) more than 6800 miles? Take a look at these photos, and you can see for yourself how well serge panels hold up, even under some pretty extreme conditions.

 

Six thousand, eight hundred miles down, and a LOT more miles left in it.  That's a pretty convincing case for the durability of a serge panel!

Black Country Rocks Customer Service

Customer service is lying in the gutter with multiple stab wounds.  It's going the way of the dodo, the bustle and the rotary-dial phone; finding a company that stands behind its products and goes above and beyond to keep the customer happy is more unusual than finding an ethical politician.  So when you run into it, you have to tell everyone.  So here's a little story about one of those rare gems:  Black Country Saddlery.

Saddle Recommendation for Arabee and Nicole

Next in the series of saddle recommendations are Nicole and her horse Arabee (you can follow their adventures on Nicole's blog: http://www.adventuresonarabee.blogspot.com/). Nicole is doing endurance and wants to find a saddle that will fit better than the one she has now:

As you can see, the saddle's sitting pommel-high; some of that is due to the fact that the saddle's too far forward (I'd like to see it about 3 fingers' width further back, but given Arabee's conformation, I'd bet most saddles tend to slide forward). Another reason it's pommel-high is that the tree is too narrow. In the next photo, I've outlined the angle of the tree in green, and the angle of Arabee's back in red. You can see they don't match up.

The saddle's not a bad fit otherwise, but the tree points can't be comfy for Arabee, and Nicole likely feels thrown into the back seat due to the pommel sitting so high.

So let's take a look at Arabee "nekkid":

She's a nicely compact little mare with a moderate wither and some curve to her back. She's a tad rump-high and has a well-sprung rib cage - both will contribute to a saddle wanting to move forward. She also has a broad back:
Ideally, I'd like to see Arabee in a saddle with an shallow gusseted, upswept - the upsweep will keep the panels from extending past T18, and the gusset will give a broader bearing surface to the bottom of the panel, and a shallow gusset will keep it from sitting too high in back. A full front gusset might help keep the saddle back, as well.

I would definitely not recommend an extended panel, such as you find on the Wintec endurance saddle - unless Nicole rides in a really tiny seat (like 15"), I'd be afraid an extended panel would A) extend past T18, and B) I'd be afraid it would poke and / or rub, since Arabee's a bit butt-high.

I'd like to see a hoop tree on this mare, too. In the photo below, both "gullets" are the correct width, but notice how differently they compare to her back. The standard tree gullet is in turquoise, and the hoop tree gullet in pink.

Here's the catch: Nicole (like mostly everyone else out there today) is on a budget and needs to keep the price as far under $1000.00 as possible, and most saddles in this price range don't offer a ton of fitting options. So we're going to do the best we can to maximize comfort for everyone and still stay within budget. Nicole could try to find a used leather saddle - I'd recommend looking into a Duett Fidelio or perhaps a Duett Companion Trial, though I'd worry that the tree on the Companion Trail might be too flat for Arabee's back. A used Frank Baines Enduro or Enduro LDR would be worth considering as well. or perhaps an older County Competitor (I'm mentioning dressage saddles here because many of my endurance and competitive trail customers ride in dressage saddles - they either order them with dee rings, or have me retrofit them). Arabian Saddle Company also makes a trail saddle, and that would be another avenue to try.

However, given Nicole's budget, her chosen discipline, and Arabee's conformation, I'd recommend trying a Thorowgood Cob or Broadback, either the a/p or dressage models. Even brand new, they're in her price range, they offer a changeable gullet, and in my experience, they're a good, reliable saddle. They also have a more hoop-shaped gullet plate, which will work better for Arabee. (The reason I'm not recommending a Wintec Wide is because their gullet plates are just flattened-out versions of their standard gullet plates - the turquoise-colored gullet in the photo above is a PhotoShopped version of a plate from the Wintec Wide). And being synthetic, Nicole can kiss leather maintenance goodbye - the Thorowgoods I mentioned are synthetic, and wash up with soap and water. No more worries about being caught in the rain!

Next up: Finding a saddle for the first-time horse owner.

It's A Flocking Thing (Wooly Thoughts) ...

I get calls like this: "Hi, this Joe Doe. I got a saddle from you a year ago, and it was great for a while, but it's not fitting now."

ME: "Is this a wool or foam-flocked saddle?"

JD: "Wool."

ME: "Have you had a fitter take a look at it and make adjustments?"

JD: "Um, no. Was I supposed to?"

My bad here. I dropped the ball and didn't pass necessary info on to my clients. I just assume that people know that wool-flocked saddles have to have the fit checked after about 10 hrs. of riding, and adjusted as necessary. Well, we all know what "assume" makes ... and in this case, it can also make a horse back-sore.

So I'm telling you all (and am reminding myself to tell my clients) that a wool-flocked saddle needs that kind of maintenance. It's sort of like changing the oil in your car - it needs to be done periodically to keep things running smoothly. After the initial adjustment, it should be checked again in a few months - it sometimes takes a couple of fitting adjustments to initially fine tune the fit. After that, the fit should be checked (and adjusted if necessary) every 6-12 months, depending on how often the horse is ridden and on the horse's level of training and development.

And at some point down the road, you'll need to have a total reflock - a "strip flock" - done. Wool compacts and loses its resilience, and - if subjected to enough constant pressure - will actually felt up. Here's what new wool looks like - I get this lovely stuff from Alan Powell at Saddler's Bench (they make our Killington close contact saddle):

It's soft and fluffy and free of knots and lumps, highly resilient and very cushy.

And here's what old wool looks like:

Admittedly, this is an extreme case. This wool came out of an ancient (think 30 yr. old) Stubben that had never had any work done on it. The wool used here is remnant wool from the garment and upholstery industries - hence the multiple colors. But even the lovely wool that I use will become matted and lumpy over time, and will need replacing.

How often? Again, it depends on how often (and in what conditions) you ride, and how often and how radically the flocking has been adjusted. Some saddles can go five to ten years before needing a strip flock, and some need it after only a few years. I think my record holder for needing a strip flock the soonest is Jenny Kimberly, a local endurance / competitive trail rider. Jenny literally rides thousands of miles a year in all kinds of weather, and her mare Lyric changes condition from the beginning to the end of the season, and her saddle needs flocking adjustments as a result. Her saddle needed a strip flock after only 3 years.

By the way, even if your saddle is foam flocked, the fit should be checked at least once a year - or more often if you notice changes in balance or in your horse's way of going. With foam, the tree width can be altered, but other fitting adjustment have to be made with shims and corrective pads. But whichever you have in your saddle, find a knowledgeable fitter to take a look periodically - your horse will thank you.