Billets

For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

This is a great old proverb that Ma used to quote often, about the the way something seemingly small can have huge consequences in greater events.  (Ma may not have known about the Butterfly Effect or chaos theory, but she by-god knew about paying attention to detail, and was probably the biggest influence behind my growing up to be such a nit-picking pedant.)  In saddle fitting, you need to make sure the Holy Trine (tree width, tree shape and panel configuration) are correct ... but sometimes a tiny detail can derail an otherwise fine fit ... a tiny detail like billet placement or configuration.  

To figure out just why this little piece of the saddle fitting picture is so important, let's start by taking a look at the horse's "girth spot" or "girth groove".  To put it simply, it's the flat spot on the bottom of the barrel behind the forelegs.  On some horses, it's fairly generous, as on this horse (the approximate girth spot is highlighted in green):

On some horses, it's a bit less generous:

But on some horses, it's far forward and quite wee:

On my mare, it's not quite as tiny as in this shot - her foreleg is hiding a good inch of it, honestly - but ...

She really is shaped like this:

If your horse has a long girth spot, you can get away with a saddle that has the "standard" billet set (though frankly, these billets are set too far back for most horses, and you'd probably have to use the two front billets rather than the first and last):

However, I see a good number of horses that have the short, forward girth spots; they tend to be broader, with very well-sprung rib cages.  They often seem to have big, laid-back shoulders, too.  Saddle placement on beasts with this conformation can be a challenge, since very often the billets will fall behind the natural girth spot:

This means that when the saddle is girthed up, it gets yanked forward along that big round rib cage until the billets line up with the girth spot.  This means the shoulders are constricted; even if the tree points are short, having the saddle jammed right in behind the shoulders can inhibit the use of the forelegs and create sores on the elbows.  

This can also throw the saddle out of balance, making it sit pommel high, which will throw the rider in the back seat and cause all sorts of problems.


So what can you do?  Well, you can try a saddle with a point billet, which is attached to the point of the saddle tree.  Of course, there are point billets and there are point billets.  Some come out of the rear of the thigh block, which may not be quite far forward enough for some horses:

Notice the curve in the front billet?  That can make the saddle scoot forward.


Having the billet come out of the bottom of the block can be a better choice if the horse has an extremely forward girth spot:

The saddle in the photo above also has a swing rear billet, which allows the rear billet to move into the correct position for pretty much any girth spot.  It also offers greater stabilization, thanks to the two attachment points on the "V" of the webbing.


Some saddles offer a choice of billet positions, like this Thorowgood:

The billets loop through the rings under the flap, allowing the rider to choose either a point or regular billet position, while the swing rear billet will position itself as necessary.  The Black Country Summit also offers a LOT of billet choices:

The good news about billet placement is that it can often be changed.  If your saddle is a great fit except for the billet placement, a competent saddler can retrofit:  remove or install a point billet, move a standard billet forward or back, or install (or remove) a swing rear billet.  And if you're buying new, most good saddle companies will make your saddle with whatever billet configuration your fitter thinks will be most suitable for your horse.

Used Saddle Safety Check (Bargain or Bust?)

It's funny how one issue can pop up repeatedly.  Lately, it's been used saddle safety.  First, one of my regular customers brought me a saddle she'd bought on eBay (and had gotten for a song) to have the flock evened out.  Closer inspection revealed that the "new" billets were of seriously crappy quality, looking like an unholy marriage of old laminate stirrup leathers (for the top) and old laminate billets (used as the bottom):

Yes, those holes are uneven.

The round holes go all the way through the billets.  The oval holes must have been leftovers from the old, split laminate billets they salvaged to put this pair together!

Whoever made these tried to stitch them together, but missed a rather long stretch, which allowed the billets to ...

... split.  Highly unsafe.

Anyway ... They'd been sewn on with what looked like dental floss.  The stitching on the middle billet was loose, the tree was alarmingly soft, and the stitching that held the rear of the panels on was broken.  I repaired everything, and even with my charges, the customer had a sound and useable saddle for a very good price. Then, a customer returned a used saddle she'd had on trial because it "squeaked" and she was worried about the tree's integrity.  (I took it apart.  It was fine ... just squeaky.)  Third, someone on one of the bulletin boards wanted to know how to tell if the used saddle she was trying had a broken tree.  So I guess the Horse Gods and Goddesses are telling me it's time to do an entry about safety checks on saddles.

If you're buying a used saddle from a reputable shop, chances are very good that the shop has already done a safety check.  But if you're buying from some other source, that individual might not be knowledgeable enough to determine if there are safety issues with the saddle they're selling (like the person who made the billets pictured above, or the person who once asked me - in all seriousness - if I thought she should sell her saddle because "my horse fell over on his back and rolled on the saddle - I guess he didn't like it, so I'm thinking I should sell it?").  So if you're buying a used saddle (or selling one, particularly given the litigious society in which we live), here's a checklist.  Keep in mind that the only way to tell for sure if a saddle has a broken tree or other "internal injuries" is to have a saddler / fitter drop the panels and expose the tree ... but this list can give you an idea if such measures are necessary.

First, eyeball the saddle, either with it sitting on a saddle buck, or with the pommel on the ground and the cantle in hand.  Sight down the approximate center of the cantle, and see if everything looks normal from front to back. The following are examples of what you don't want to see:

The yellow dot is the center of the pommel, and the red dot is the center of the cantle.  Note that the two don't line up.  This saddle tree was twisted from being consistently mounted from the ground.  This is an issue that can sometimes be corrected by a saddler ... and sometimes it can't.  The tree can be straightened, but whether it will stay straight is anyone's guess.

Again, the center of the pommel is marked in yellow; center of the cantle, in red.  The green line shows the misalignment of the saddle nails.  The panels are flocked and sewn on unevenly.  This saddle was practically brand-new, but was an "economy" model ... and  was crooked due to poor manufacture.

This is an extreme example of an old saddle that had always been mounted from the ground.  It would make a wonderful piece of decor in the home, or could be used for demonstrating what a crooked saddle looks like ... and that's about it!

Now, keep in mind here that the flocking can be compressed unevenly, but the tree itself should be straight.  And do check the flock - it may be hard or lumpy or full of divots; if it is, a strip-flock should be done.

Next, grab the stirrup bars and give them a healthy wiggle.  They should not move.  If they do, you might want to pass on that saddle.

Do a flex test of the tree next.  Prop the pommel on your thigh, grab the cantle, and pull the cantle toward the pommel (putting one hand in the middle of the seat can be helpful):

There should be some give (though some older synthetic trees won't flex at all), but this is a good example of too much flex - see the wrinkles in the seat and the bend?  While seat wrinkles don't always indicate a broken tree, being able to almost fold the saddle in half is a dead give-away.  Broken tree.  Didn't even have to open that one up to figure that out. 

Next, "mount" the saddle and clamp your knees against the area of the stirrup bars.  Squeeze your knees inward:

The pommel arch should not move at all.  If there's any give or funny noises, it could be a broken head plate.

Next, grab the dee rings and make sure they're firmly attached.  The dee is attached to what's called the "falldown staple", which is one of the major components responsible for keeping leather and tree together. 

Finally, check the billets and the stitching.  Grab the panels and give 'em a pull to make sure they're stitched on securely.  Inspect the stitching on the flaps / sweat flaps / knee roll/blocks.  Make sure the leather safe and sound and not cracking, flaking, torn or worn through anywhere.  Make sure the flaps are firmly attached to the tree, and check the billet webbing to make sure it's in good shape.

Again, it's really impossible to tell definitively if a saddle is in good shape without taking it apart, but these tests will tell you if that radical sort of operation is necessary.  And while some repairs are pretty easy to do and relatively inexpensive (billets usually run about $25 each, a strip flock is between $250 and $350, and stitching is usually pretty reasonable), the tree is another story.  Some saddlers will do tree repairs if they're minor, such as replacing a rivet, but some won't even attempt a tree repair because of safety and liability issues.  And while it's possible to re-tree a saddle, it's not cheap - think along the lines of $300 - $500 plus the cost of the tree (which varies greatly depending on the manufacturer, but do expect to drop $200 at the very least).  So if the used saddle you're looking at needs some repairs, do your math to make sure that "bargain" really is one!