Saddle from master saddle fitters a nightmare help!!!!!

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fuzzle

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My young horse is a flat back and round, i decided to go to a master saddle fitters for a new saddle whom i cant name, this saddle they sold me cost £1475.00 it is lovely and well made, but from day 1 i have not been happy at ALL, it moves rolls and lifts at the back, i called them and they came out and re flocked the saddle so it would be higher at the front and it would then sit and not move, i gave it a week and had to call them back, it was lifting and twisting, they sent an independent saddle fitter out whom said the saddle was over flocked,took it away re flocked it totally and put point straps on. the saddle is more stable put got a permanent lift on the back, it smacks me on the ass when i go in canter when i take the weight out of the saddle. was at a show at the weekend and the judge said i need the saddle looking at has too much movement and my friends are horrified how bad it lifts, i have taken a video of this. so i called the independent saddle fitter and he came out tonight, he said all saddles lift at the back, and gave me a gel stabiliser pad and said nothing more he can do has far has he is concerned that the saddle fits perfect he did not sell me the saddle and he cant do anything else to help me!!!! rode in it tonight still lifting and no different, im devastated, this saddle was a huge amount for me to pay for and just feel that im been fobbed off, totally heartbroken!!!! The best comment i had about this saddle was " a blind man galloping passed on a horse could tell you that saddle is not right" think that says it all!!!! what do i do?? master saddle fitters say " they are master saddle fitters and has far has they are concerned the saddle fits the horse" im trying to blank out the companys name on the saddle so i can post the video so you can see for yourself how this saddle is, my friends just so cant believe i have been told this saddle fits the horse!!!xxx
 
Horrible situation to be in, and exactly the reason I backed out of the made to measure route ( my horse sounds a lot like yours, I couldn't get a treed saddle wide enough, so ended up down the treeless route - solutions/ansur - which has worked well).

You need to badger the master saddlers, try and make them accept not fit for purpose and at least for them to take it back and sell on. V difficult situation, sorry!
 
Contact the society of master saddlers, if this fitter is a master fitter registered with them they may be able to force some form of resolution for you.

I'd have a think about what you would like the outcome to be, is it a full refund or somebody else to adjust the saddle to fit properly (if possible) then give the society a call.
 
I try hun but they insist that they are the master saddle fitters and that they believe that the saddle fits the horse and the independent saddle fitter says the same has them, i do have a sneaky feeling thoe that the independent saddle fitter actually is works along side the company, but this im going have to look into!!!!! they just speak to me has if im the one with the problem, totally cheesed off i have done horses for over 35 years and i know when something does not fit, its like riding on a water bed and im more concerned what this is doing to my horse and her back after all she is the one thats more important than the saddle xxxxx
 
Shooting Star said:
Contact the society of master saddlers, if this fitter is a master fitter registered with them they may be able to force some form of resolution for you.

I'd have a think about what you would like the outcome to be, is it a full refund or somebody else to adjust the saddle to fit properly (if possible) then give the society a call.
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Thank you so much i will defo contact them, thats a great help!!! if the saddle can be altered to fit the horse properly by all means i would defo keep it!! the saddle itself is lovely but at the end of the day the poor horse needs a saddle that is the best for her not something that is going to lift up and down and move cant be doing her much good at all!!! xxxx
 
When you say 'master saddle fitters', do you mean you have taken this up with the Society of Master Saddlers?

I was told to address them earlier this year with a saddle problem I had, although didn't go down that route as was too busy trying to sort out my horse's back problems, resulting from saddle problems.

Sorry to hear the problems you've had - I had months of similar problems and have ended up with a remedial saddler who thankfully has been wonderful.
 
I had issues with an SMS reg saddle fitter. Went to the SMS,and saddle fitter had to refund and pay for the physio and back man that the horse needed as a result of damage to his back by the ill fitting saddle.
Go back to the SMS in writing.
Failing that,did you pay by credit card? You can claim the money back through them possibly if the SMS/saddler won't help you.
 
Good luck!

Buying a new saddle should be exciting but so often seems to be a minefield, I've been through 4 fitters and umpteen saddles with my boy, still haven't found a fitter that I would use a second time :(

I tend to buy secondhand now and fit myself then get somebody else out to do any adjustments once I'm happy with the basic fit.
 
all fab posts!!!! i bought 2nd hand saddle and seemed to be getting a collection of them thats why i went to a master saddle fitter ,these saddles are changeable so they can be altered with the horse when they change shape which i thought with my horse been 5 it was a good idea at the time, i even research the company and they seem to have a good name!! they sell saddles world wide its just my luck to have this problem, but i feel for the horse she suffered ulcers last year got them cleared up and now its the saddle problem think im going have ulcers this year lol!!!!! I have had her back done from carapractor and equine massage where she was sore. will phone SMS on monday i really just want someone whom is going to be truthful with me about this saddle because its not fare for me and defo the horse and its upsetting that everyone is pulling me up about it and they all keep telling me do something about it!!!! when the saddle is girthed up you can lift the back up by 4 inches, when i showed the saddle fitter this he just says all saddles lift its not the fitting its a stability problem, know you know what im dealing with, you would all be horrified if you saw the saddle, will tape over the name of company and re do the video so you can see what i mean!! xxx
 
Hi how did they fit it for you? How much riding did you do in it? I think the problem might be if you accepted it if you rode in it? Also did they suggest using a different girth and saddle cloth before the independent saddle fitter did?
 
I am sure there are very good saddle fitters out there, just hard to find. I always fit my own saddles now . I have a friend who has had a saddle fitted to her horse by a local saddle fitter ,one of the worst fitting saddles I have seen. I hope you have success getting your saddle situation sorted . x
 
I have a saddle fitter out later this month who has already told me that if I buy a saddle on the day, I will get a mandatory 14 day cooling off period, in which time, if I'm not happy with the saddle for whatever reason, I can return it for a full refund. Did you buy yours on the day or was it specially made for you? The way I understand it, if you bought it "off the shelf" you should have been entitled to a full refund in the initial 14 day cooling off period and therefore I'd be inclined to chase them on the basis that they didn't make this clear at the outset but you now want to enforce your customer rights.

Unfortunately though, I don't think this applies if the saddle was custom made for you.

If it were me, I'd start by writing (proper post, recorded delivery) to the company and explaining that you are unhappy with the saddle and have been since the outset and that you want to return it for a full refund. State in the letter that you expect a written response within 14 calendar days detailing what palliative measures they will take for you otherwise your next letter will be copied to Trading Standards as (and this bit only applies if you bought off the shelf) you believe they breached the Distance Selling Regulations by failing to inform you of the 14 day cooling off period at point of purchase.

Good luck! :)
 
I bought the saddle at the end of May, only had the saddle a day when i phoned them and said i was not happy, they told me that the saddle fits the horse and to keep trying it to let it mould to the horse, 2 weeks later i phoned again the saddle fitter was away abroad for another week, this has been going on until he did come out and re flocked the saddle after the saddle was re flocked and i told them it was not right they transferred me to a independent saddle fitter, he said the saddle was major over flocked and needed point straps on he took it away, told him it was lifting he came out said it needs a stabiliser pad and said nothing more he can do!!! xxxxx

Ps i ride in the saddle 6x a week, i have bought a leather special girth which they recommend and i use a light cotton saddle cloth,i was told not to use any saddle cloth, which i now don't use will get video done today for you to see, would love it if you could tell me what you really think xx
 
Sounds like I could have written the post myself..... Down to the judges comments (well our judge actually said the saddles dangerous).

The 'alleged' master saddlers (turns out they hadn't paid their membership for a few years but still advertising they were members) were hopeless. The 'all saddles move' comment was banded about hundreds of times.

We eventually managed to get a 'proper' master saddler out. He took one look at the saddle and went 'hmm that doesn't look right'. Sat it on the horses back for 2 seconds didn't even girth up took if off and exclaimed that the saddle was '********d' the tree was totally twisted.

Now this had been ongoing for some 18+ months but we had kept a detailed log of everything. We contacted the manufacturers of the saddle directly (ideal) and they were fantastic the took the saddle back and replaced the tree for a small cost. (Hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new saddle) we threatened to pursue the original saddlers thru small claims and they refunded the cost that Ideal charged, the result is we have a fantastic saddle that fits and doesn't move!

Our horse is a round (very wide) flat backed cob!

Pm me if you want names (not sure where you're based) x
 
I found a Smart model from Solutions Saddles works well too. It flexes with the back movement instead of rolling around - much comfier for both of us!
 
It does sound like the tree may be too curved and the flocking can't make up for that. I will say though that lifting the saddle at the back manually tells you very little - if the saddle was girthed on balance straps it would make it harder to lift, doesn't mean it fits any better though. Pressing on the pommel tells you a little more, it shoudln't lift, not should it lift in trot or canter, on a healthy back. On a damaged back it may lift a fraction, as the muscle is soft at the front it can allow the front of the saddle to drop, but that should be minimised with something like a sheepskin pad and possibly shims.

Buying from stock wherever possible is much better, you do have a cooling off period and generally can trial the saddle for 7 days, with a further week to send it back if you no longer want it. You also must communicate, in writing, any issues you are having with the saddle within that trial period so that the company can help you. Leaving it for three months (OP you clearly haven't :D) and then saying the saddle never fitted isn't fair, and would leave the company with a very second hand saddle that they'd not had a chance to correct.
 
OP I don't know what area of the country you are in......... and I don't know whether another poster on here had a similar issue with a local "master saddlers" set-up, BUT (am trying to not disclose where or who here!!) there was shall we say a certain Master Saddler that I'm aware of, who fitted a saddle to a horse - and that horse then went unsound. A vet attributed the cause directly to an ill-fitting saddle. Said "Master Saddler/Saddle Fitter" was then sued, successfully, by the horse's owner.

I don't know the owner's name, but I do know who the "Master Saddler" was.

So basically if you've been left in an unsatisfactory position after going to a Master Saddler, then you should be entitled to redress I would suggest; and your best line of attack would be to contact the regulatory body, i.e. the "Society of Master Saddlers". Which is presumably what the owner in the instance I have described did.

Good luck anyway.
 
Hi OP, really feel for you, have you had any joy ? they don't have the right to say well the saddle fits your horse, only you know that as the owner and the person using the saddle.

Be firm and don't let them fob you off, Hope it gets resolved good luck :)
 
I am getting a very highly recommended saddle fitter out by myself now, he is happy to do his assessment and speak to the company in question regarding how he feels about this saddle, i have also got my osteopath to give me a written report about the saddle not fitting and a pro instructor and i managed to track down the show judge whom commented about the saddle not fitting also taken videos which i will forward to the society of master saddle fitters and trading standards if the company doesnt help me out, nightmare but i will keep you posted on the out come of my independent saddle fitter!!! i am really hoping that he can alter the saddle and get it right because it is a lovely saddle and would be amazing to ride in when its fitted properly xxxxx
 
ester said:
I would definitely be wary of quite how indepedent the independent fitter is in all this....
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Your very very right!!!!! i found out the independent saddle fitter whom the company sent out to assess my saddle is selling saddles for the company which is involved and highly recommending them so think its all a set up xxx
 
I think the key is not to give up and be as annoying as possible - it is so disheartening - we rely and trust these professionals, we are paying well for this service, then you find out that you would have been better fitting the saddle yourself, so annoying. Hope you get it sorted.
 
fuzzle said:
I am getting a very highly recommended saddle fitter out by myself now, he is happy to do his assessment and speak to the company in question regarding how he feels about this saddle, i have also got my osteopath to give me a written report about the saddle not fitting and a pro instructor and i managed to track down the show judge whom commented about the saddle not fitting also taken videos which i will forward to the society of master saddle fitters and trading standards if the company doesnt help me out, nightmare but i will keep you posted on the out come of my independent saddle fitter!!! i am really hoping that he can alter the saddle and get it right because it is a lovely saddle and would be amazing to ride in when its fitted properly xxxxx
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Fantastic! you show em ;) and yes keep us posted xxxxx
 
I had same problem. Had the saddle 3 months and kept getting saddler back. In the end I was blunt and told them I wanted a full refund which I was given

However I later found out they were master saddle makers NOT fitters

A friend on here had exactly the same problem you do with saddle lifting. She went down the Association route and got a full refund too
 
UPDATE!!!!!!! My independent saddle fitter came and wow he was so shocked at how bad the saddle is!!!! he is now going to act on behalf of me and speak to the company, the saddle has many faults!! which i will let you know about later when he has spoke to the company, but im still shocked what he has found! he is fuming that i have been left in this position and he has taken another video of me riding in the saddle, if he has no joy with the company he says he will be sending the video and a very strong video to the society of master saddle fitters!! will keep you all posted on whats happening, thankyou for everyone whom has replied and for all your support!!!!!!!!xxx
 
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