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Why a Made to Measure saddle is NOT for you!

By Jade | August 4, 2020
  1. Selling a Saddle
  2. Buying a saddle
  3. Saddle Fitting

Made to measure saddles.

Made to Measure saddles are dreams sold to us by some fitters. 'A fully adjustable saddle, a saddle for life, we can make it to fit you and the horse and personalise it with whatever you like.... bright pink saddle? No problem'.

 

Your perfect saddle

If I asked you now to close your eyes and imagine your dream saddle what would it look like?

  • What discipline do you do?
  • What colour leather?
  • Full grain leather, butter soft calf skin, or a smooth leather?
  • Coloured welting?
  • Large or small knee blocks?
  • Mono or dual flap?
  • Slightly longer or more forward flaps or standard?
  • A deeper or flatter seat?
  • Would you like an special design features and details, such as a fancy material on the cantle, swarovski crystals, or your name plate?
  • Would you want to really stand out and have a bright coloured saddle?

And then of course there is the horses requirements; front gussets, rear gusset depth, panel thickness, panel type/design, flock or foam panels. The list goes on. I'm sure we could all dream up our perfect saddle. However, it may fit your horse now but it may not fit your horse in a few years time. On the flip side, you may get lucky if your horse does not change shape too much, and you might get away with it a bit longer than some other people.

However, time and time again we see people are left disappointed, frustrated and out of pocket with made to measure sold to them by their saddle fitter as their forever saddle.

Fully adjustable saddle - what does that even mean?

Some people will tell you a saddle is 'Fully Adjustable'... but just take a second to think about what that actually means. So you are telling me I can have a saddle to fit a cob which can be 'fully adjusted' to fit a Thoroughbred?

No, no, no. It does not work like that.

Adjustable (gullet) saddles are great. Really easy to swap out the gullet bars to widen or narrow the saddle. You may also be able to have the flocking altered (provided it is a flocked saddle). However, the tree shape has to be right for your horse. Saddle trees are design to fit lots of different shaped backs. For example thoroughbred trees to suit horses with higher withers, warmblood trees to suit horses with long sloping withers and flat backs, hoop trees for super round, low withered horse, and the list goes on.

On top of that, horses change shape. A younger thoroughbred may not have as prominent withers as he will do at age 9/10, and when reaching older age, he may then have more of a sway back. The tree required for this one horse will vary greatly over time.

A made to measure saddle is great... FOR NOW! However, when purchasing a new saddle you should understand that it is just for now and not forever. Thinking otherwise will set you up for disappointment.

Its not an adjustable saddle.

What if you bought a non adjustable made to measure saddle. A non adjustable made to measure saddle, will be made to template. That means your fitter will take a template of your horses back, and send it to the factory (of your chosen manufacturer) to be made to template for you. But did you know taking your horses template at different times of the day, or before/after exercise will make a difference to the template. Try it for yourself - monitor your horses template over a week, taking at 3 different times per day and see what the results are. These are short term effects, as your horse natural changes shape throughout a day or week. However, what if 9 months after your stunning made to measure dream saddle has arrived your horse changes shape dramatically, and the saddle is not the right width anymore?

So I will return it?

Most people get to this stage and are extremely disappointed, frustrated and lose trust in their saddle fitters. A good fitter, at the point of sale will make it clear to you that your horse will change shape, and this saddle may not fit in the future. However, most people either do not listen to that part, or are not told about it. We are telling you now, so that you can make an educated decision as to whether a Made to Measure saddle is right for you and your horse

The struggle of selling a made to measure saddle.

So what happens when your made to measure saddle no longer fits your horse? It was made to fit your horse at a particular point in his life. There is no point in keeping it as an ornament hanging up in your tack room... or god forbid your bedroom! So its time to sell it on. But guess what.... Your saddle was made to template. Its non standard, and if you had budget to spare you probably asked for some welting/piping in your favourite colour (lets hope its not Hot Pink!)... and if you are really flashy maybe some swarovski crystals on the back. The saddle is going to be harder to sell on. All the optional extra's that you had would have increased the price of the saddle, all of which you will not see the value of when you come to sell the saddle.

People buying second hand saddles like them to be a standard Medium Wide, or a standard Wide, etc.
Having it made to template will put people off, and make resale much harder, and you will likely get less money back for it.

Who is a Made to Measure saddle for?

A Made to Measure saddle is perfect for someone who understands and appreciates that horses change shape... often! If you can accept this fact and the possibility of your saddle not fitting your horse in a year or two's time and you have a budget to blow, then why not treat yourself to a fully customised saddle. There are some really fantastic manufacturers in the UK who can create your dream saddle!

BUT... if you are budget conscious and trying to get a made to measure as your 'saddle for life'... think again..
There are better options available for the budget conscious, such as buying second hand and not losing the depreciation on a new saddle.

Learn more about how saddles should fit….

If you are a horse owner or rider and would like to learn more about saddle fitting, and how the saddle can impact your horses performance and welfare, click on the image below:

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Thank you!

Thank you for reading this article! We hope you found it useful!

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The Saddle Bank Team x

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