new saddle - aaaggghhhh!

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thespanishmane

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Got new saddle for new horse 25th April. Saddle fitter came out, and we tried 10. 4 fitted well, so rode in those. Picked the one that fitted he and me best. fairly limited budget that I needed to stick to, so picked a high wither GP from Kent and Masters. Wasnt overly keen on the look of it as have been spoiled with made to measure Sue Carson for own horse, but this chap is on loan, so wanted what fitted him, but at not huge cost!

Have only ridden in it three times due to drought in Suffolk, but already it appears that the 'coating' is wearing off! The saddle actually looks as if it has been painted havanna, not dyed, and has 'scratched' off on the panel, along the bottom of the flap, and all down the flap where the leathers hang. the coating has also scratched off on the flap above the stirrup bars. It really looks a mess!

in my 49 years of riding I have never had a saddle look as poor as this. I have registered a complaint with the company and shall be ringing the shop in the morning. I paid £795 for this (including call out and fitting). I know i paid twice this for my Sue Carson, but it is certainly more than twice the quality of this one.

does anyone know what the coating is? It really is horrid, and I have shoes that have a better finish.

oh well, lets hope I get some sense from someone - I just want them to take it back! I was being pushed towards more expensive ones, but held firm! I'd rather have had a decent second hand one than this!
 
There's a post in Stable yard about the quality of Kent and Masters leather reccently - might be worth a look. I have exactly the same saddle as yours, but a couple of years old...it is brilliant, but you need to get the leather quality sorted - speak to your saddler.
 
Have sent an email to k&m had mine 5 weeks- it looks dreadful! Exactly as you say, the coating appears to have rubbed off !
 
thespanishmane said:
Got new saddle for new horse 25th April. Saddle fitter came out, and we tried 10. 4 fitted well, so rode in those. Picked the one that fitted he and me best. fairly limited budget that I needed to stick to, so picked a high wither GP from Kent and Masters. Wasnt overly keen on the look of it as have been spoiled with made to measure Sue Carson for own horse, but this chap is on loan, so wanted what fitted him, but at not huge cost!

Have only ridden in it three times due to drought in Suffolk, but already it appears that the 'coating' is wearing off! The saddle actually looks as if it has been painted havanna, not dyed, and has 'scratched' off on the panel, along the bottom of the flap, and all down the flap where the leathers hang. the coating has also scratched off on the flap above the stirrup bars. It really looks a mess!

in my 49 years of riding I have never had a saddle look as poor as this. I have registered a complaint with the company and shall be ringing the shop in the morning. I paid £795 for this (including call out and fitting). I know i paid twice this for my Sue Carson, but it is certainly more than twice the quality of this one.

does anyone know what the coating is? It really is horrid, and I have shoes that have a better finish.

oh well, lets hope I get some sense from someone - I just want them to take it back! I was being pushed towards more expensive ones, but held firm! I'd rather have had a decent second hand one than this!
Click to expand...

There has been a bad batch of leather and it sounds like you have bought a saddle that is affected. Kent and Masters will replace the saddle as soon as they are able to. They are well aware of the problem so you will get your saddle replaced straight away.

I have a Kent and Masters saddle and the quality is excellent, the leather is beautiful and soft and is in very good condition after two years (and having never been cleaned!).

Good luck! Not a fault in the company - just in a batch!
 
Many thanks for your help! I have had a look at the other posts in the Stableyard and they have the same problems that I have! There is a picture of one, and all I can say is, mine is much worse!
 
Mine is a Kent and Master 4 weeks old and the stirrup leather leg area is worse worn than my 8 year old GFS. It sounds likely we are all having the same issue. I hate complaining but if I am not the only one. Can you post photos? to cpmpare.

Also Ive notice mine is so deep it presses on my er pubic bone (sory no other way to say it) to put it politely and I am 9 stone and 5'2 so not a large person. It hurts and I am bruised. Saddle also slips when getting on and horse has started biting when girthing. Pretty much hate the saddle but stuck and £800 out of pocket. :(
 
Have spoken to the team at K&M. Apparently they stopped making the brown saddles 4 weeks ago due to this problem with bad leather. They are more than happy to take the saddles back, but they must go via the supplier. If it is the flaps only they will renew the flaps, but if it. Is the skirt as well, then you will get a new saddle. The saddler from where the saddle was purchased from will give you another saddle. They won't lose out either as K&M will give them a new one too.

I have to say that if they had stopped making 4 weeks ago, how come they were still being sold? The saddle fitter didn't seem in the least bit surprised!

She is going to let me know when she is coming out, but I have told her I don't want of these again!
 
Thats interesting, I will ring my saddler tomorrow. How do I post a photo so you can comment on whether mine is normal wear and tear or a saddle fault. My saddler actually commented on how mine was the last of an 'old batch' so I got £10 off!?
 
If it is a quality problem they will have to take it back, if they like it or not. And if they try to play dum, mention trading standards.
 
Right, not sure this will work but this is my 4 week old saddle. Probably used it 12 times?

KSSaddle1.jpg


KSsaddle2.jpg


Let me know what you think in comparison?
 
Mine is much the same! Do get it sent back!


Here is a copy of my email, straight from the horses mouth, so to speak!


Hi Karen

Thank you for your email.

I am sorry that you have experienced this problem with your saddle.

We have had a sub-standard batch of leather which has caused us to stop the production of all Brown Leather saddles for the last 4 weeks.

We are expecting delivery of a new batch of leather from a new supplier today which means that we will be able to rectify the problems that we have had.

In the first instance you should return the saddle to the retailer that you purchased it from. *We will then collect the saddle from the retailer and get the flaps changed with the new supply of leather.

If you would like to continue using the saddle until there is a convenient time for you to be without it for approximately 1 week then that would be ideal.

Kind regards

Kathryn Jones
Fairfax Saddles Ltd
Tel: 01922 711676


-----Original Message-----
From: Kayknights@aol.com [mailto:Kayknights@aol.com]
Sent: 07 May 2012 18:05
To: Kathryn Jones
Subject: Online enquiry from the Kent & Masters website

------------------------------------------------

**********Karen Sturgeon Mrs has made the following enquiry...
* * * * **
* * * * **Enquiry about :Products

* * * * **Other :

* * * * **Comments :Purchased high wither GP on 25.4.12 from Long Melford Saddlery,Suffolk. *I *have only ridden in saddle 3 times owing to weather being so bad, and am extremely disappointed to say that the \'coating\' has appeared to have rubbed off the saddle flaps, where the stirrup leathers hang, also on the edge of the flaps where you would lift up for the girth, and again on the stirrup bar flaps. *it looks awful. *I have had many saddles from new in my lifetime, but not one that looks as bad as this! I have a Sue Carson saddle which is now 4 years old, and shows no signs of wear, only softening with age. The Bates didnt show any signs of wear, and even the Wintec did pretty well. I would like a refund on this saddle. *It would appear to have been of quite poor quality. *The only thing that I can say in its defence is that it is a good fit
* * * * **----------------------------------------------------
 
Im wondering how many bad batches of leather they have had, or how big a batch is, as Ive seen a few of these saddles with problems on here and other forums going back some time now.
 
Annoyed a lot! Just bought a new K&M saddle and it is peeling after 1 ride. Really fed up as like you guys, it's a lot of money and they know there's a problem.. Am waiting for a response from them.:mad:
 
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