Harry Dabbs saddles

[Lamehorses]

My saddler is suggesting getting one made for my hard to fit horse.
What to people think of the saddles, are they worth it - the couple she had in the van look nice.
She's taken her measurements & we discussed all the options & price & I need to ring her Monday if I want to order
The thing I forgot to discuss is my rights if it doesn't fit. Made to measure seems to give me less rights than off the peg, although this sounds made to template - is that different?
I'm a bit nervous as the horse is coming back into work after a long time off. She's been in work for 2 months & changed shape a fair bit. I'm now upping the workload & concerned that by the time the saddle is made (possibly 14 weeks!) she may be a completely different shape.
Current saddle is a bit tight & cannot seem to find anything 2nd hand thats right for her.

 

[palo1]

I had a Harry Dabbs saddle made to measure and it has been brilliant but I would add that my saddle fitter has been fitting my horse's saddle since he was started at 3 so she had loads of measurements and profiles to make sure that measurements sent off were going to work. I had the saddle made for a mature horse that was in work and I trust my fitter implicitly. I think that bit is vital. I love the quality of mine and it has taken 5 years of hard work with no trouble but I do try to look after it. I am not convinced that M2M is always the way to go though and there are certainly enough horror stories about M2M saddles not being right to make you wonder. I only resorted to M2M because I had had enough trouble with ready mades to make it worthwhile. I currently have a ready-made for my young horse and as long as that works I wouldn't be particularly tempted to spend mega-bucks on a M2M,

 

[Lamehorses]

By the time the saddle arrives horse should be up to fitness, so if the saddle fits then hopefully it will work for years.
The concern is what if she changes dramatically between the measurements yesterday & the arrival of the saddle?

 

[sbloom]

By the time the saddle arrives horse should be up to fitness, so if the saddle fits then hopefully it will work for years.
The concern is what if she changes dramatically between the measurements yesterday & the arrival of the saddle?

You don't have to accept a custom made saddle but you need to find out if they will charge a restocking fee, which is only reasonable if it's customised and may sit on the shelf for a long time. Whenever handing over money for saddles you should be offered terms and conditions, I send them out at the time of booking to save any confusion, but will confirm any deposit, and how much will be held back in this sort of case, when a custom saddle order is agreed.

The best plan if you don't have a saddle is to do some intensive in hand work to build the back up, then order your saddle to fit that shape.

With custom saddles the Ts and Cs are critical and legally you must be offered them, and the reputation of, and your relationship with, the fitter, are crucial.

 

[Lamehorses]

You don't have to accept a custom made saddle but you need to find out if they will charge a restocking fee, which is only reasonable if it's customised and may sit on the shelf for a long time. Whenever handing over money for saddles you should be offered terms and conditions, I send them out at the time of booking to save any confusion, but will confirm any deposit, and how much will be held back in this sort of case, when a custom saddle order is agreed.

The best plan if you don't have a saddle is to do some intensive in hand work to build the back up, then order your saddle to fit that shape.

With custom saddles the Ts and Cs are critical and legally you must be offered them, and the reputation of, and your relationship with, the fitter, are crucial.

Thanks for the reply, wish I could find off the peg to fit.
I'll have a proper chat Monday about the t&c's. Good to know I can reject it, for possibly a small fee.

 

[planete]

Good luck with your new saddle OP. A useful thread for me too as I am about to have coblet measured for a Harry Dabbs. After months unable to find anything second-hand I bought him a Flexee but we both hate it. I am using a TCS at the moment but feel he is a bit too green and I a bit too long in the tooth to roam around the Forest in the current set-up.

 

[dreams579]

I had a Harry Dabbs dressage. Beautiful saddle, really lovely soft leather and flocking and fitted horse well. However, I HATED IT! It was so wide through the twist that i just couldn’t ride properly in it. So make sure you are happy in one before you go ordering m2m - as always, it’s not just got to fit the horse but you too!

 

[palo1]

I had a Harry Dabbs dressage. Beautiful saddle, really lovely soft leather and flocking and fitted horse well. However, I HATED IT! It was so wide through the twist that i just couldn’t ride properly in it. So make sure you are happy in one before you go ordering m2m - as always, it’s not just got to fit the horse but you too!

I think this is why it is vital to have a saddle fitter that is really good and/or who knows you well and can see you riding before advising as to what will work best. I love the wide twist of my HD (I know most people prefer a narrow twist actually) and my horse is wonderfully comfortable too. There is such an art to saddle fitting that it is not always completely straight forward.

 

[sbloom]

(I know most people prefer a narrow twist actually)

People think they want a narrow twist, and many brands market on that basis. However, in my experience, taking imprints of pelvic shape (and one brand I now fit has done thousands of such imprints), it's just not true in many cases. I find giving more support to pubic arch and inner thighs is more often than not beneficial, which is what you prefer.

 

[Chuffy99]

We had a Harry Dabbs m2m and it’s been fabulous but had a very good fitter

 

[mutley75]

Good luck with it ever arriving! We ordered one, custom made to measure the whole 9 yards. 12 weeks after supposed delivery date when all you could get from factory was ask the rep. And all you could get from the rep was ask the factory they were told where to stick it. Burny bros took the measurements and had a saddle delivered in under 14 days from order.
Best tantrum I have ever thrown as saddle is far better than anything we might still be waiting for

 

[sbloom]

I just wanted to come back to say that there will be limited grounds on which you can reject a custom saddle - that it's not what you ordered, or that it's not fitted properly would be the main ones, and that's for horse AND rider. You can't change your mind ie refuse it for no reason.

https://advice.consumercouncil.org.uk/consumer-rights/your-consumer-rights-when-buying-goods

 

[Lamehorses]

I just wanted to come back to say that there will be limited grounds on which you can reject a custom saddle - that it's not what you ordered, or that it's not fitted properly would be the main ones, and that's for horse AND rider. You can't change your mind ie refuse it for no reason.

https://advice.consumercouncil.org.uk/consumer-rights/your-consumer-rights-when-buying-goods

Thanks for your help. My only concern is it actually fitting on arrival 3 months after her being measured, I think is unlikely as I'll spend that time in hand fittening.
Think I'm going to try another saddler & see if they can fit something off the peg

 

[sbloom]

Thanks for your help. My only concern is it actually fitting on arrival 3 months after her being measured, I think is unlikely as I'll spend that time in hand fittening.
Think I'm going to try another saddler & see if they can fit something off the peg

Bear in mind Walsall, and even other countries' manufacturing, has been hard hit by Covid, and demand hasn't lessened, so if you're paying a decent callout make sure they're bringing stock that might work, I always get photos so I can be sure I have stock that matches.

 

[ycbm]

I had a Harry Dabbs dressage. Beautiful saddle, really lovely soft leather and flocking and fitted horse well. However, I HATED IT! It was so wide through the twist that i just couldn’t ride properly in it. So make sure you are happy in one before you go ordering m2m - as always, it’s not just got to fit the horse but you too!

My friend had one, I felt the same about it. Very, very wide and flat across the twist. I do have a narrow pelvis though.

 

[Pippity]

My old share horse had a Harry Dabbs. Beautiful saddle, fitted him and his owner well, but was so painful for me that I ended up needing steroid shots in my hips and finally gave in and bought my own saddle (an Albion).

 

[Kaylum]

Have you ridden in the model she is suggesting even on another horse?

 

[Hanno Verian]

I bought two HD or rather Jaguar as they were then saddles some six or seven years ago, to fit my full ID. I took advice from my saddle fitter who was a HD agent about size and model and sourced them myself through e-bay. The Dressage was beautiful, but just wasnt right for him, that was no fault of the saddle or saddle fitter. I found an Excel I think it was and used it for six months or so, I cant remember why we stopped using it, but I bought a brand new Equippe Dressage saddle and an Albion K2 jump saddle from a different saddler, who didnt deal in HD. My ID was unfortunately was PTS , but fortunately they both fitted my new horse and are still in use now.

They were good saddles, the service from HD was good, the service from the saddle fitter/HD agent wasnt so good, we had huge problems getting her out to check fit - that maybe why we swapped to Albion with the new saddler.