Angelbones
Well-Known Member
to cut a very long story shortish - I have had my saddles fitted by someone (qualified / registered etc) and am not happy. My own horse's saddle - supplied by him - has been sent back to have the tree narrowed, it has been restuffed at least once, poss twice, and is still not right. My groom took my horse hunting on Christmas Eve and today told me that the horse had lumps either side of his withers afterwards - this is where he already has some new grey hairs from presumably where the saddle sat too low and tight before it was sent back last time. I am mortified that he has an 'injury' due to bad saddle fitting after having spent so much time and money on saddles/ pads / visits etc.
My daughter's pony's saddle was also bought from the same saddler, and has been refitted once, padding fiddled with etc, and recently had a balancing strap put on which resulted after only a couple of outings in a big (size of half an avocado) sore on his saddle patch where the hair fell out and the skin was raised and swollen, hence two weeks unridded. The saddler has been out to fit yet another saddle but nothing he brought with him was any good so we decided he would go back and source a particular one for us and ring that day with an update. Well I haven't heard from him and have now left two messages.
Obviously I have lost all faith in this man, and want to see the back of him, but I do need the saddles sorting out and I think he should be made to do it - although once he had I would then go and get another opinion. He has said he will swap pony's saddle for a replacement without any cost to me (the current saddle is only a few months old, and that itself is the 2nd one I've had for the pony from this man) so i don't want to ball him out and be left with a saddle I can't use.
Another complication is that he has at least 4 excellent used saddles of mine to sell which obviously I want back before I send him packing.
So what to do? Are there people I can complain to? A sort of ombudsman for saddlers?
I know I've got to get tough, and I'm not very good at that, and I should have kept detailed notes in the diary as I went along but each time he came and supplied a saddle (I've spent a fortune) I had then proceeded with things assuming all was well until it obviously wasn't.
So any ideas / similar experiences that may help me? How should I proceed and how tough should I be? I'm a wimp when it comes down to it.
thanks guys x
My daughter's pony's saddle was also bought from the same saddler, and has been refitted once, padding fiddled with etc, and recently had a balancing strap put on which resulted after only a couple of outings in a big (size of half an avocado) sore on his saddle patch where the hair fell out and the skin was raised and swollen, hence two weeks unridded. The saddler has been out to fit yet another saddle but nothing he brought with him was any good so we decided he would go back and source a particular one for us and ring that day with an update. Well I haven't heard from him and have now left two messages.
Obviously I have lost all faith in this man, and want to see the back of him, but I do need the saddles sorting out and I think he should be made to do it - although once he had I would then go and get another opinion. He has said he will swap pony's saddle for a replacement without any cost to me (the current saddle is only a few months old, and that itself is the 2nd one I've had for the pony from this man) so i don't want to ball him out and be left with a saddle I can't use.
Another complication is that he has at least 4 excellent used saddles of mine to sell which obviously I want back before I send him packing.
So what to do? Are there people I can complain to? A sort of ombudsman for saddlers?
I know I've got to get tough, and I'm not very good at that, and I should have kept detailed notes in the diary as I went along but each time he came and supplied a saddle (I've spent a fortune) I had then proceeded with things assuming all was well until it obviously wasn't.
So any ideas / similar experiences that may help me? How should I proceed and how tough should I be? I'm a wimp when it comes down to it.
thanks guys x