milliepops
Wears headscarf aggressively
Also posted in NL, sorry -
I'm after some advice about my dressage saddle. Yesterday I noticed a strange creaking noise coming from my saddle, which was not the same as when leather squeaks together. It was most noticeable in trot. I took it off and had a few minutes trying to squeeze it in various directions but didn't find anything blindingly obvious.
My friend (who is more knowledgeable than me about tack issues) had a look today, and initially thought it was fine and the squeaking was probably just because of the cold dry weather. However, after about 10 mins of poking and prodding it, we noticed that there is some movement if you pull the points apart, and that produced the squeak. Pulling the cantle towards the pommel doesn't make any noise.
She wondered whether the tree might have split under the pommel between the points and said that this can happen just with wear/stress. The saddle shows no outward signs of damage and has never been dropped etc (had it since new). The fit doesn't appear to have changed at all.
Does this sound likely? I will take it to my saddler next week and needless to say it won't be used until they have checked it. If the tree is broken, it is possible to repair? And if so how resiliant/cost effective is this likely to be? I realise that's probably impossible to answer precisely without seeing it, but I'm just trying to prepare myself. I can't afford a new saddle!
I'm after some advice about my dressage saddle. Yesterday I noticed a strange creaking noise coming from my saddle, which was not the same as when leather squeaks together. It was most noticeable in trot. I took it off and had a few minutes trying to squeeze it in various directions but didn't find anything blindingly obvious.
My friend (who is more knowledgeable than me about tack issues) had a look today, and initially thought it was fine and the squeaking was probably just because of the cold dry weather. However, after about 10 mins of poking and prodding it, we noticed that there is some movement if you pull the points apart, and that produced the squeak. Pulling the cantle towards the pommel doesn't make any noise.
She wondered whether the tree might have split under the pommel between the points and said that this can happen just with wear/stress. The saddle shows no outward signs of damage and has never been dropped etc (had it since new). The fit doesn't appear to have changed at all.
Does this sound likely? I will take it to my saddler next week and needless to say it won't be used until they have checked it. If the tree is broken, it is possible to repair? And if so how resiliant/cost effective is this likely to be? I realise that's probably impossible to answer precisely without seeing it, but I'm just trying to prepare myself. I can't afford a new saddle!