Cheap Indian saddle/bridles on ebay...

cptrayes said:
Oz can you answer a question that has bugged me for years? WHY do Indian/Indian bridles have such short throatlashes?
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You have me on that one!
I don't know is the answer, maybe they have skinnier horses out there, same as their cattle,they always seem skin and bone!
We have measurements for making up bridles for off the peg, there can be a inch or two in it but it's usually near the mark, if we are making a bridle to fit the horse from measurements then we'd know how much to add and should get it spot on.
Off the peg bridles have to try to cater for all shapes and sizes, very hard to do.
Oz :)
 
Well this post has well and truely put me off buying leather new on ebay!!
Am looking for a nice stitched bridle for my mare, will go for a sabre or jeffries, its just not worth the risk!!

Saying that though i did buy a hunter bridle from there a few weeks back for the cob- says its german leather :confused: :o j barclay & sons england is what it reads :confused::confused: can someone tell me about it?
 
Another one is James Stirling range yes english leather but bridles made in india!
The Blenheim range sold by same retailer and supplier is probably made by the same man who makes the james sterling, (or his brother) but with indian leather!
I asked my shires rep (who was a ex saddler) so I got the truth from him as to where these ranges of tack are made.
Their Hi LIte synthetic saddles too are made in India.
Oz :)
 
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NOT all imported saddles are indian leather,some are from europe and better quality.My bridle is english leather but no makers name and it has a long throat lash and is lovely quality.My saddle is used and believe to be english,no makers name but you can see its not indian as the quality is good and better.
 
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But even English made saddlery has altered in quality. I have some beautiful double bridles which are about 40 years old and the leather is in fabulous condition and the bridles are still used regularly for showing. These would have been used for hunting when they were first made, so have had a fair amount of wear over the years.

An English show bridle that I bought a couple of years ago, on the other hand, and which cost quite a bit, looks really quite cheap and the quality of the leather is not at all good.

The buckles and stud billets on imported tack are really quite scary :confused:
 
I wouldn't buy any leather work off ebay.

I like to see a bridle in the flesh, in a shop, so I can look at the quality, colour and stitching regardless of it's price, make or where it's made.

I've had a couple of the cheaper bridles (the not the really dirt cheap horrid ones) and providing you look after them, check them on a regualar basis and put a use by date on them, then for the price you get a few years out of them if you can't afford a more expensive bridle.

Interesting thread though.
 
Hey Really interesting thread here!!

Was wondering if anyone would be able to tell me anything about a saddle i bought in Italy. It's black leather eventing/showjumping saddle under the brand of 'supreme' has anyone heard of this brand?

Thanks :)
xx
 
keeps logging me out - sent a long message and it's gone. Upshot is I am contacting manufacturers for info of where stuff is made, will report back.

Thanks so much for the replies :)

three replies so far, all india, tho no mention in the listing.
 
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Unicorn leather what about the company called "Bell Busk Saddlery" selling stuff on ebay. It is not cheap to buy (i have won bridles very cheaply in auction £7). Im sure it says English leather. The quality doesnot seem upto scratch though
 
What an interesting thread! I have been browsing ebay for a while now looking for a nice saddle and have found the infomation on here priceless. It would not of even crossed my mind to check where the saddle was made, if I had read 'English leather' I would of assumed it was made in England. Thanks for opening my eyes and saving me from a possible nasty accident. :)
 
Jeffries and the like are a good big brand name make.
Most saddlery produced in Walsall has a good reputation although there is one I can think of outside wallsall that makes saddles with home made soft plywood trees and dangerous manufacturing processes that is to be avoided at all costs!
The saddles look lovely on the outside but lurking inside is a minefield, I have 2 of the many I have had over the years in for repairs in my "chamber of horrors " in my workshop and until I stripped one down many years ago I too was taken in by the outwardly good appearance.
I won't openly name it on here as in this age of litigation I would get sued even if what I have said is true and I can prove it!
So, anyone who wants to know pm me.

Getting back to good bridles, we as traditional saddlers are trained to hand make saddlery, the greater the demand the faster you have to make them and then machinery starts to be added to the manufacturing process, so your standards will undoubtedly drop somewhat, fact of life I'm afraid.
I have 2 colleagues who are excellent bridle makers, I do if pushed make bridles but really don't have much time as I am concentrating on making my new products I have designed instead.
If anyone wants then names and details of my colleagues pm me and I will let you have their details.
Oz :)
 
A friend bought a cheapy saddle off ebay that from a distance looked really smart. Close up it was vile and actually smelt of curry! A saddler came do a routine check, we get both ponies done once a year and said it was only fit for the bin, it turned out the tree was several bits of wood stapled and screwed together, nasty.
 
spottydottypony said:
Unicorn leather what about the company called "Bell Busk Saddlery" selling stuff on ebay. It is not cheap to buy (i have won bridles very cheaply in auction £7). Im sure it says English leather. The quality doesnot seem upto scratch though
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Off to have a look, be back soon.
Can't find the business you mention, can you provide me with a link?
Oz :)
 
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A friend of mine recently bought a jeffries bridle and was very disappointed. I am not kidding when I say she had to oil it 16 times before it started to lose its stiffness and the keepers are so tight it is really difficult to thread the straps through them.Could they have out surced some of their manufacturing?

I recently bought a German leather bridle off ebay. It was an FSS comfort bridle with a cream trim. Although I think it is generally quite good value for money, I am disappointed that the cream trim (which also lines the headpiece, browband and noseband) is plastic.
 
Not outsourcing as far as I am aware but as I said the bigger the name the quicker they have to make things, the best things to find a smaller saddlery manufacturer or a good saddler who can make you hand made items.The quality tends to be better, Oz :)
 
Far from cheap to buy in the first place, but in terms of 'cost per wear' a made to measure bridle for a young horse you intend to keep is a good investment. The last one I had made was equivalent in price to the better branded off-the-peg bridles, and I have got what I wanted right down to the buckle design and noseband width to suit this particular horse.
She is not likely to need another one for some years (the last fella had his for over 20 years of his riding career) and the only 'extra' bridlewear I have needed to get has been a pair of wet-weather reins and the occasional borrow of a drop noseband!
 
'cost per wear'
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I agree that this demonstrates whether something was a good buy or not. :)

My mare's Kieffer bridle is 5 years old now. I've had to replace the reins but the rest is still in brilliant condition and has many years left in it.
 
I've just bought a m2m farrington saddle- it is stamped made in walsall so I'm under the impression that this is english made? (I hope so!) I think my saddle fitter said it is made by an individual saddler and not a 'conveyer belt' type system that some seem to do. The saddle is beautifully made and has taken hardly any breaking in. My previous saddle was a hilton- also stamped made in walsall. It was lovely quality but I think only a small firm.

On the otherhand, we've bought a new jefferies before and wasn't impressed with the quality. I've seen tha new fieldhouse saddles in the tack shops and the quality for that has gone right downhill too. It's a shame that some good saddle names have declined in quality so much :(
 
cptrayes said:
I don't care where it comes from Heritage, Samual Sharp and Rhinegold bridles are absolutely great value for money and nothing like the cheap Asian imports either in the quality of their leather, the manufacture, or the smell.

I have no connection with any of them except that I own 5 bridles and they are all these suppliers.
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I agree with this. I too have a couple of Rhinegold/Heritage bridles, I've used them a lot (a lot!) over the last 3 years and they are still going strong. On a cost per use basis, they've proven excellent.

I also have an Albion bridle for that I keep for 'best', and although the quality is better, I cetainly wouldn't slate the cheaper versions.

They do the job well, and as cptrayes says, are a world away from cheap exports in their quality. I don't mind where they're made, if it makes them affordable :)
 
Faracat said:
I agree that this demonstrates whether something was a good buy or not. :)

My mare's Kieffer bridle is 5 years old now. I've had to replace the reins but the rest is still in brilliant condition and has many years left in it.
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My hunter's Rhinegold and my dressage/hacker's Heritage are the same age as your Kieffers without a sign of wear on them, and they are used almost daily.

As I said, I do have a Heritage girth with rusty buckles and Matthew Marlow failed to give me his address to send it back to for a replacement the two times I asked him, or to trun up when I asked him to meet he in his home town MacDonalds one morning. He also had the cheek to ask, even though it was bought directly off him through eBay with a full payment record whether it was actually his girth. So I would say, buy from someone with better customer service than Mr Marlowe, but in general his products are great value for money. The girth in question is curved, padded, triple elasticated both ends and superbly designed. Even with rusty buckles it works fine and it would have cost twice as much to buy any similar one on the market. My shorter, later bought one is as good as the day it arrived and it has been in daily use for over two years.

Still wondering why the Indian made Indian leather bridle makers have not caught on to the fact that most horses need a throatlash two inches longer than the one they supply it with. If you want to know if an eBay listing is for a really non-English low quality product, look at how tight, or how low down, the throatlatch is buckled:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shires-Blenhe...Horse_Wear_Equipment&var=&hash=item950384744c


I have seen two Gallop standard quality bridles and they were seriously nasty with flawed leather, twisted stitching and weird sizing.
 
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The replies ^^ are really very interesting.

I have emailed the trading standards head office, and the main welfare charities, to ascertain their position regarding this imported tack. I have said that both horses backs are suffering, and people are having accidents, using it. And as such, is there anything that can be done about labelling products as "made in India", and also a quality control being put in place, so that some of the more dubious makes are stopped altogether- although I do agree that some are much better than others, and do have a place in the market :) I have pointed them in the direction of this thread, so hopefully they will look and see the photos.

I am not sure about my being able to "name" certain manufacturers, as the results come in, I really don't think I can. Which is a great shame. :rolleyes:
 
My hunter's Rhinegold and my dressage/hacker's Heritage are the same age as your Kieffers without a sign of wear on them, and they are used almost daily.
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They sound like they were a very good buy. :)

I like to buy bridles 'in the flesh' from a tack shop, mainly because my mare has a tiny head! :p I take a tape measure along and check that it will fit her and check the quality of the leather, stitching etc... My then local tack shop (TC Feeds & the Tack Haven :D ) had a wide range of bridles but they didn't have any Rhinegold or Heritage at that time.
 
Very, very interesting!

I bought a Rhinegold bridle on eBay for about £40 about 9/10 months ago. Used daily, still looks brand new. Ok, it's not the softest leather in the world, but it's not bad at all, and the leather on the inside of the padded bits is nice and soft!

Now, in our local saddlers there is a rolled double bridle from a well know brand for...£775!! :eek: It's really, really not that nice. Nice, but about as nice as my £30 leather headcollar.

It hasn't sold. Surprisingly.

Could anyone recommend me a nice quality, English leather, English made :rolleyes: (Or even an import, Kieffer?) black padded flash bridle? I don't mind paying a fair amount, but I'd like one for 'best' that will last me a while :)

J&C
 
shysmum said:
The replies ^^ are really very interesting.

I have emailed the trading standards head office, and the main welfare charities, to ascertain their position regarding this imported tack. I have said that both horses backs are suffering, and people are having accidents, using it. And as such, is there anything that can be done about labelling products as "made in India", and also a quality control being put in place, so that some of the more dubious makes are stopped altogether- although I do agree that some are much better than others, and do have a place in the market :) I have pointed them in the direction of this thread, so hopefully they will look and see the photos.

I am not sure about my being able to "name" certain manufacturers, as the results come in, I really don't think I can. Which is a great shame. :rolleyes:
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I've done all this and all I got back was by current laws and guidlines, the wholesalers and manufacturers are not breaking any laws.
If it was food you have to label country of origin, but it seems saddlery is not worth bothering about.
I would be very interested to see how you get on as I lost patience!
One said they wanted to talk to an expert about it and never got back to me over it, ask any saddler about these wholesalers saddlery and you will get the same answers!
One thing puzzles me and maybe some of the legal buffs on here can answer this.
Some of the stables I used to attend to (Riding schools) had a insurance clause that they could not use any Indian saddlery as they weren't covered. IF the leather is english but the item is made in India including using indian buckles etc, where would they stand if say a hook stud broke on a bridle and the rider was injured as a result?
Food for thought!
Oz :)
 
I really haven't got a problem of what people buy whether it's top quality English made saddlery or imported economy saddlery, my main point is the deception by the wholesalers and manufacturers. I have sold and do sell the cheaper saddlery as there will always be a market for it BUT I do tell my customers where the item is made so they make an informed choice to buy it or not.
Oz :)
 
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J&C,

carrietwentynine.jpg


^ My Kieffer. It's got a subtle diamonte browband and is nicely padded, with a comfort headpiece. :)

I also have a Stubben in chocolate (it does come in black) which is really lovely but I don't have any photos on my comp. The CTD (made by Stubben, I believe) range also looked very nice and is not quite so much money.
 
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