Saddle caused my accident?

I would say poor saddle maintenance on yours/owners behalf to be honest. When was the last time this saddle was checked? Do you check your tack properly before getting on?
 
The only ways I can think of where one bar will be looser fit than the other is if the airbags on each side do not have equal air in them, or if the gullet plate is bent, and the older unbraced ones can do that. Or f someone got a stirrup caught on a gate, or something, and the horse pulled away strongly sideways.

Have you checked the filling and the gullet plate, Jade? Of they are OK then the seat probably needs to go back to WOW for a thorough check. It all unbolts, so sending the seat only is easy and not too costly.

.
 
Tiddlypom said:
The seat/tree does need checking out by someone who understands Wows. Maybe it is broken? I hope that you find someone that you can trust (I don’t know much about Wows apart from the sales pitch).

View attachment 36135
Click to expand...


Those aren't the bars in her saddle, hers are the metal ones, which are much thinner and much easier to get a leather on and off.

They do, however, unless the saddle is very old, still sit up inside a fixed flap of leather close to a piece which blocks the leather from moving directly backwards off the bar, as you can see. To get the leather on and off that bar you have to angle it.


.
 
Last edited:
wow do refurbish seats for people, I would not expecting it to need to be binned. But agree it should be checked out.
 
IF you think the saddle (whichever the make is) either caused or contributed to an accident, and IF you were injured and are considering litigation surrounding that?? - then my instinct (albeit as a non-legal person) would be to respectfully suggest that one might need to be a tad cautious if posting on social media about it.......

If you are a BHS Gold member then it might be worth having a chat with them and see what you say - if you are thinking of pursuing the legal route.

Alternatively, I don't know whether the Society of Master Saddlers might interest themselves in this?? And/or the trade organisation BETA which, if the makers of the saddle concerned are members of, might be able to advise you?

Or your local Trading Standards if you feel there has been an issue of safety or mis-manufacture involved??
 
Much as I think that in the normal way of things, the stirrup leather should not have come off unless your leg shot back, I also think that if you are saying that you knew long term that the left side was very loose compared to the right (and other saddles) and the stirrup leather came off long term too easily, then you are taking some responsibility of negligence.

This is compounded, as a previous poster has said, by saying that you think the saddle caused your serious accident, then you allow other people to ride with the same saddle/ set up.

If I was WOW and you took action against me, then I would be using this information for my defence.

Not that I like WOW saddles, but maintenance is an owner issue, especially if the owner is aware of the fault.
 
Strongly suggest OP that you get into the habit of riding without stirrups on a regular basis this really really helps to maintain an independent seat. This is invaluable as it means your stickability improves and the ability to "sit" previously un-sittable whoopsies increases. I have spent many hours riding without stirrups both on hacks and in the school which gave me the nickname I use on here. I did it more in my flat XC no knee rolls saddle and it has served me well.

The last bad fall I had was when I was in Argentina riding on a gaucho saddle which is a wooden frame with blankets and sheepskin cinched to hold in place. You have absolutely zero feel of the horse underneath as you are perched about 3 inches above the horses back. The horse got stung went into total bronc mode, apparently I sat 5 before I was planted (was KO'd and fractured 5 ribs next to my spine) the horse bucked the saddle off as well as me!

A couple of years later went back to a different area of Argentina and had the opportunity to ride Paso's with their 5th gait in a traditional Paso saddle which is in effect a treeless leather pad I enjoyed the experience as I was able to sit and absorb the movement without the help of a deep seated saddle.

Interestingly I had a school master lesson on a horse that had a really deep seated dressage saddle which I found really nasty to sit in. I found that strange as I use the same brand but a shallower seated model and manufacturers tend to have similar qualities in their different models.
 
I'm guessing that it's too new a wow to have one of the old gullets in it? I had an accident whereby the saddle ended up under the horse while he galloped off home and jumped a hedge ( horse alright, I was concussed) and the gullet had bent and skewed the seat a bit-it was a fault with the original gullets and the seat was sent away for repair, the stirrup bars were made a bit unlevel by it before it went off.
A long time ago-but even if the saddle has been poorly stored/damaged somehow then maybe this could have happened.
 
Old gullet plates can be bought second had MoC. You'll see unbraced ones and stretched hole ones (that are easier to fit but can potentially shift) regularly come up on eBay, and we don't know what the owner or fitter might have put in it.
 
I can only vouch for regular wooden trees and their bars - they are adjusted by hand on each saddle so could have been slightly off to begin with but don't know if that's possible on a synthetic tree or with that bar. If the saddle is tipping back it will make it more likely that the stirrup could fly off, not uncommon for it to be a factor and not something riders are very good at spotting. The fact the lower front bars feel odd rings alarm bells for me on that front. Definitely get back to Wow and ask for their opinion, I don't think they would have liability but I'm not a lawyer and we can't see the saddle.

In flocked saddle on bar can feel much tighter than the other due to uneven flocking, not that I ever agree with asymmetric flocking but it plays a part, so it's worth riders/owners checking the tightness of the bars as a sign that the flocking may be settling in an undesirable way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top