Cheap Indian saddle/bridles on ebay...

Perfic! Thank you :) May I ask how long you've had your Stubben? I have one, but the noseband broke in three places! After 9 months :(

While we're on the subject, what are everyone's opinions on rolled bridles? And would they make a chunkier horse's head look huge? :D

J&C
 
May I ask how long you've had your Stubben? I have one, but the noseband broke in three places! After 9 months
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That's terrible. I can't remember if they're guaranteed or not. I would contact Stubben and see if they would be willing to replace the noseband.

I've had mine for a year and it's fine, like new but softer. :) I do have a horrible feeling that the filly might grow out of it. :(
 
What can anyone tell me about Pfiff saddles? Used to have one for a very short period of time. Now have an Oakfield which is lovely.
 
Some of you may know me by my previous name of Equus Leather ;)

What we have found is that folk don't care where the stuff comes from unless it's cheap. The type of people who want cheap bridles and cheap saddles don't care that it is made in India or wherever. This is evident all the time as to make a handmade bridle from English Bridle Butt (JE Sedgwick), taking into consideration the fittings made in Walsall, the time and craftsmanship would cost upwards of £250 to make a small profit. Wy would folk pay that when they can buy a tatty one that looks like leather for £20? If it breaks buy another cheap one! Nobody buys proper stuff to last
anymore :(

Posted without reading all replies, sorry to those that do buy cheap bridles!
 
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Custard Cream said:
to make a handmade bridle from English Bridle Butt (JE Sedgwick), taking into consideration the fittings made in Walsall, the time and craftsmanship would cost upwards of £250 to make a small profit. Wy would folk pay that when they can buy a tatty one that looks like leather for £20? If it breaks buy another cheap one! Nobody buys proper stuff to last anymore :(
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Why pay £250 if you can by a really nice looking Heritage/Rhinegold/Barclays/Sharp comfort padded, crank noseband bridle in pony cob full or extra full in black or brown from eBay for £50 or thereabouts?

Those of who live in keep-my-horse-to-ride-it-not-as-a-sindy-doll-to-dress-up land know that there isn't THAT much difference between a £250 English made bridle and a DECENT £50 Indian made English leather bridle, other than probably the amount that the saddlers in Walsall were paid compared to those in Mumbai.

OZ is great, sell people what they want to buy, but be honest about where it came from. Perfick, I'd deal with you anytime Oz!
 
cptrayes said:
Why pay £250 if you can by a really nice looking Heritage/Rhinegold/Barclays/Sharp comfort padded, crank noseband bridle in pony cob full or extra full in black or brown from eBay for £50 or thereabouts?

Those of who live in keep-my-horse-to-ride-it-not-as-a-sindy-doll-to-dress-up land know that there isn't THAT much difference between a £250 English made bridle and a DECENT £50 Indian made English leather bridle, other than probably the amount that the saddlers in Walsall were paid compared to those in Mumbai.

OZ is great, sell people what they want to buy, but be honest about where it came from. Perfick, I'd deal with you anytime Oz!
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Cheques in the post!! :)
Oz
 
Cp - absolutely, totally agree with what you are saying. However, the bridle I have for my horse (luckily handmade by OH) is a bog standard hunter bridle, not sindy dress up :) It's not feasible to be making bridles as there is not enough money in it, due to being undercut by the cheaper bridles. I imagine there is a certain difference in longevity between the two though?

Back on topic, I do agree that tack should be labelled with the country of origin of both materials and workmanship.
 
Well if my OH handmade bridles of course I'd have'em :) MIne made some hanging flower basket brackets today, does that count??? I'll bet your bridle's absolutely beautiful, but I just can't justify paying that for them when I treat them the way I do!

Oz can you do cash :)?
 
I have a Jeffries bridle that I bought with my old horse in 1993. It was well used then and lasted him until his death in 2003. It is now used on my youngster and is still perfectly good enough to show him in today. I will buy Jeffries, or equivalent, again. I don't begrudge paying for a quality product that is british made in its entirety. At the end of the day it is safety I'm paying for. I am very grateful there are still master craftsmen who make quality leatherwork in the UK but it surely must be a case of use them or lose them especially in view of the market being flooded with cheap imports.
 
cptrayes said:
Well if my OH handmade bridles of course I'd have'em :) MIne made some hanging flower basket brackets today, does that count??? I'll bet your bridle's absolutely beautiful, but I just can't justify paying that for them when I treat them the way I do!

Oz can you do cash :)?
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Oh if you like. I'm just too easy!
Oz :)
 
Apologies for not reading all responses but:

Our local saddler took one of these saddles apart during a demo evening
The tree was made of bits of pallet wood stapled together

Enough said................
 
Oz - regarding your post about the riding schools and insurance, I would put a huge bet on them not paying out if the tack was manufactured in india even if english leather - anywhere they can replace the blame they will! Wonder how many RS realise their insurance could be invalid now?? Scary thought! :eek:
 
I was thinking the same thing.Maybe all of you who have tack insurance (for damage etc) is there anything in the small print about indian made saddlery?
Could you have a look and let me know, just out of interest?
Thanks,
Oz :)
 
I agree with Unicorn Leather and Custard Cream!

The general 'horse world' are looking for 'much cheapness' with EVERYTHING for their horses. They do not care WHERE their tack is made or by whom! They just look at the price tag and go HOW MUCH! Then they go on ebay/car boot and grab a 'bargain' thinking they have bought the same 'Kieffer'.

I agree the possible way forward is labelling, however, even when labelled for example horse transport or instructors NO ONE bothers to read carefully, nor realise the complications SHOULD an accident happen-your horse insurance will not cover you!

The same is to be said about the horse transport industry! Much cheapness is there too! People just don't care! They contact horse transport companies and then go with the 'baked bean' tin which will be several hundred pounds cheaper! They do not care that these baked bean tins as reported in HH most weeks are dangerous! Driven at 90mph! And the fact that DEFRA only give them the 'Type 1' certification meaning less than 8 hours so really NATIONAL horse transport is out and yet you look on their websites they claim they are National and yet they aren't!

Instructors! That's another can of worms!!!

My question is would you knowingly put your baby or child into an unlicensed taxi and wave them off?

That really should be a no brainer!

So why oh why, do people use 'much cheapness' for everything they do with horses? Then wonder why when things go wrong horse lame, horses back out so bucks like a rodeo, sounds like a question for Papa Frita's thread here!
 
Well I'm so glad that you are well enough off Foraday to not be worried about the cost of things in the middle of a recession. However some of us have financial issues that necessitate the need to cut costs wherever possible. Yes I have cheap tack, I have thorowgood saddles that will be replaced as soon as I can afford it. My cobs bridle was bought at a tack sale second hand, however it is a lovely bridle and well looked after, my new mare has a cheap bridle that again will be replaced as soon as finances allow, however for the moment these will have to do. My horses backs are done regularly so if the tack was causing any problems I would know.
 
I have a Collegiate bridle for every day wear. It is nicely padded, but seems to scratch easily, and the sizing is weird. It was supposed to be a show bridle but the FS is too small, so sits weirdly and thus is a work bridle with a Stuebben for shows. So where is Collegiate made? Is it actually "English" leather? More importantly, so I need to replace it for safety reasons?
 
Wolfie said:
I have a Collegiate bridle for every day wear. It is nicely padded, but seems to scratch easily, and the sizing is weird. It was supposed to be a show bridle but the FS is too small, so sits weirdly and thus is a work bridle with a Stuebben for shows. So where is Collegiate made? Is it actually "English" leather? More importantly, so I need to replace it for safety reasons?
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At a guess I'd say it was made abroad, I don't sell that range it but when I looked collegiate up in my Equestrian Trade Directory there is no website just a email (weatherbeeta) which should give you a clue as everything they sell is usually imported.
I expect your bridle is sound enough, just be aware it can possibly be from abroad.Looking at photos of their riding bridles they do look like the imported ones.It has been massed produced using mostly machine methods. I can tell by the photos I have seen so far.

Any bridle listed just as "English leather bridle" and not"English leather bridle made by craftsmen in England" or words to that effect, should be a dead give away
Let's face it, if the bridle is made in England, you would want to boast about it to potential customers to help sell it, wouldn't you?

An English leather bridle is very different from a English MADE leather bridle, can you see the play of words, it's how the manufacturers and wholesalers fleece you!
As I said in one of my earlier posts, yes sell the cheap and cheerful if you must (I have) and the top of the range handmade as well as something in the middle which includes the english leather used to make the bridle in India to cater for everyone BUT just be honest about where it comes from. One ebayer was selling the economy range (indian leather, indian made) and passing it off as english leather and english made. Now most of you are experienced enough to know a india leather bridle from 50 feet away but there are novices just starting out in the world of horses who don't. It is a con!
Oz :)
 
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spizwhizz said:
Oz - regarding your post about the riding schools and insurance, I would put a huge bet on them not paying out if the tack was manufactured in india even if english leather - anywhere they can replace the blame they will! Wonder how many RS realise their insurance could be invalid now?? Scary thought! :eek:
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Oh please! Get real .... are you seriously suggesting that Robinsons, RideAway, Derby House, my local tack shop and many other small tackshops are ALL leaving themselves open to being sued, in today's litigious climate, by selling imported leather tack by Kincade/Heritage/Rhinegold etc which is dangerous?

There is nothing dangerous whatsoever about my Indian made Heritage/Rhinegold/Samuel Sharp/Barclays bridles. The Barclays one was not great quality leather but its a LONG WAY from being dangerous. I've been hunting in imported reins (horror of horrors!!!) for two seasons and evented for six seasons before that and I have never had a buckled rein snap unless a horse trod on it. I have never had ANY bridle lorinery go rusty or break. I have never had ANY machine stitching on an imported bridle or girth come undone. I have never had ANY bridle leatherwork stretch unevenly. I had one rein stretch unevenly, returned it and promptly received a replacement.

Some of us don't actually want to pay £150 to £200 for a bridle that, for us, does no more than a £50-60 one. Some of us just cannot afford it. It's not OUR responsibility to save the hand-stitched bridle market, sorry.


Unicorn Leather can you explain to me how it is "fleecing me" to sell me a "Heritage English Leather" bridle for £60 when the alternative is an "English Made Leather Bridle" for at least £100?
 
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I am currently looking to buy a second hand leather saddle and naturally ebay is my first stop. It would have been my local master saddle but I don't fancy spending £800 on a second hand saddle. It is a nightmare trying to sift through the crap on there.

What would be really helpful is if saddlers actually sold a decent selection of second hand english leather (and crafted) saddles for all budgets. Which the one near me doesn't and I doubt ever will.
 
Kitsune if you kep looking on eBay and search by distance from you, then you can spot the ones that are close enough for you to go and see them before you bid. Then pay through Paypal, having seen what you are going to get, and you will be pretty safe if you stick to a good brand name like Albion/Kieffer etc.

There is a real problem with second hand saddles at the moment that no-one seems to want to buy them. Everyone wants brand spanking new, when I think second hand ones are much better to ride in. A friend of mine was a case in point, moaning one minute about why no-one wants to buy any of her surplus saddles, and then when she needed a new one, buying brand new.

The upside is that you can get total bargains. My last WOW was only weeks old, cost £2000 new and I paid £950.
 
Kitty- have a look at Rideaway and Saddles Direct- both sell quality second hand leather saddles- you have have them sent out to try and send back the ones you don't need.

ps....no, I don't work for either....never used SD but heard good stuff about them. I have bought and sold new and used saddles from Rideaway- at least its decent quality stuff and theres usually a pretty good selection.
 
Thanks both, I would only ever buy a second hand leather saddle TBH even if I had £2k going spare! I like the feel of leather already broken in :D I just don't see the point of getting a new saddle! I'm a terrible skin flint :)

Mind you, I have a different opinion about bridles :D I generally don't get second hand bridles and Clover will have an Elevator, which apparently is english leather with english craftmanship. I love Elevator :)
 
The BHS have advised me to contact this organisation, and I've just sent them an email -

http://www.beta-uk.org/

together with trading standards in London.

I'll report back on any more info. :) I just want to know how this unregulated stuff is allowed into the UK if it's not fit for purpose, and is likely to cause harm. On a mission now ;)
 
Unicorn Leather can you explain to me how it is "fleecing me" to sell me a "Heritage English Leather" bridle for £60 when the alternative is an "English Made Leather Bridle" for at least £100?[/QUOTE]

Certainly, if retailers were honest I would not have a problem but they aren't alot of the time or are misinformed about where the products come from.
It is widely known that English craftsmanship, English leather and English lorinery is better than Indian craftsmanship,fact of life.
To buy a bridle that is labelled "English" in the belief that it is made here and pay just over £60 odd quid for one that is actually made in India with Indian lorinery and English leather when you can buy a hand made bridle with English leather and English Lorinery made here for around £75 is wrong.
Not all hand made is £100 or over as you state, it depends where you buy but you are missing the point I am trying to make. It's the deception to the public that the 60 pound bridles are thought to be MADE in England when it's indian leather equivalent possibly made at the same factory in india is a quarter of the price.That's the fleecing I was talking about.
I have had so many customers bring the English leather, imported bridles to me for repair in the belief they are made here and are very surprised when I tell them the truth.
I have been campaigning for years to get the labelling changed and educating people as to where the bridles are made and have met opposition from the wholesalers, apathy and ingnorance from trading standards so now it is time for someone else to have a go if they want a fairer system.
I don't have a problem with selling the stuff, just be honest where it is from and if the customers don't care, then fine, go ahead.I sell Indian leather saddlery too but it is made clear where it is from before they decide to buy it or not.
 
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I always thought that "English Leather" & "German Leather" referred to methods of tanning rather than location. So like can have Irish Cheddar cheese you could have English Leather that was made anywhere. Is that correct?
 
In the saddlery and leather trade in general English leather cannot be made anywhere but....England!
If it was made anywhere else it would not be English.
Oz
 
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