Saddle in pieces

S

spiderweb4567

Member
Joined
4 May 2010
Messages
10
Location
northants
Visit site
Hi i am posting on behalf of a friend and this is proberlly a bit of a wierd one but we wondered if anyone had any ideas!!

My friend has a Martin wilkinson made to measure gp saddle based upon an ideal tree which is about 4 years old which she had made to fit her welsh section D but was only used for about 18 months. origianlly cost around £1500.

She was unable to get Martin wilkinson to come and check the saddle as it was slipping to the left so she got another saddle fitter to come and check the saddle. This saddle fitter said that the saddle was not wide enough and needed stretching which she did in a vice in her van. it made the saddle slip even worse after numerous checks by the same lady she said my friemds horse was very one sided and needed the muscles on that side building up. My friend was extreemly unhappy about this and got RB equestrian to come and check the saddle and the tree of the saddle had been twisted quite badly from the stretching. The saddle needed rebuilding with a new tree my friend successfully got this as compensation for the saddle!!!. My friend decided to go for a new saddle instead. RB stripped down the Martin wilkinson saddle into it's constiuant parts but the Head saddler left and the saddle was returned to my friend in bits. She does not have the money or the need to have the saddle rebuilt for her own horse but the saddle is far too good to just throw away.

does anybody know of anyone that would want this or how much it may be worth or anywhere that may repair???????

i have pictures but don't know how to add!
 
Sorry but returning it in bits is just not on, you could contact martin wilkinson and see if he can put it back together cant imagine anyone wanting it in bits.
 
attachment.php
[/IMG]


hi ya thanks for the reply

just trying to p load picture
 
spiderweb4567 said:
Hi i am posting on behalf of a friend and this is proberlly a bit of a wierd one but we wondered if anyone had any ideas!!

My friend has a Martin wilkinson made to measure gp saddle based upon an ideal tree which is about 4 years old which she had made to fit her welsh section D but was only used for about 18 months. origianlly cost around £1500.

She was unable to get Martin wilkinson to come and check the saddle as it was slipping to the left so she got another saddle fitter to come and check the saddle. This saddle fitter said that the saddle was not wide enough and needed stretching which she did in a vice in her van. it made the saddle slip even worse after numerous checks by the same lady she said my friemds horse was very one sided and needed the muscles on that side building up. My friend was extreemly unhappy about this and got RB equestrian to come and check the saddle and the tree of the saddle had been twisted quite badly from the stretching. The saddle needed rebuilding with a new tree my friend successfully got this as compensation for the saddle!!!. My friend decided to go for a new saddle instead. RB stripped down the Martin wilkinson saddle into it's constiuant parts but the Head saddler left and the saddle was returned to my friend in bits. She does not have the money or the need to have the saddle rebuilt for her own horse but the saddle is far too good to just throw away.

does anybody know of anyone that would want this or how much it may be worth or anywhere that may repair???????

i have pictures but don't know how to add!
Click to expand...

That's really bizarre isn't it. Is it worth going back to RB, presumably at some point they are replacing their saddler? I know they're doing all sorts to their store and expanding so it would be worth asking...
 
Not difficult as most of the tree prep has been done, looks like the girth webs and straps are on ready and the seat foam so that means the tree's been webbed up which is good. All that's left from what I can see is to re strain the seat and skirts on, add the dees and falldown staples, insert new saddle nails in skirts,attach flaps, insert new saddle nails in flaps, tack gullet/channel leather cover in place, re lace panel back in, done.
It's fiddly as you have to make sure the seat is on straight which takes a bit of time, your local saddler should be able to do this but it might prove expensive depending on their skill level and how long it takes them..
Oz
 
Omg! I can not believe that was returned to you in that state! Have you checked if that is the new tree that's started to be rebuilt or the old twisted one half stripped? That's dreadful. Was the saddler that adjusted it an SMS saddler? Why didn't rb finish it? Surely they have more than one saddler? Was the saddler who twisted it to pay for the rebuild on a new tree or was a new saddle the compensation?
 
Interesting that your friends martin wilkinson saddle slips to the left as mine used too until my horse built up more of a topline. I was told that he had a 'dip' in his muscles which his saddle was falling into, they said all they could do was reflock it (did this about 3 times) and wait for him to build up his muscles more.
 
cremedemonthe said:
Not difficult as most of the tree prep has been done, looks like the girth webs and straps are on ready and the seat foam so that means the tree's been webbed up which is good. All that's left from what I can see is to re strain the seat and skirts on, add the dees and falldown staples, insert new saddle nails in skirts,attach flaps, insert new saddle nails in flaps, tack gullet/channel leather cover in place, re lace panel back in, done.
It's fiddly as you have to make sure the seat is on straight which takes a bit of time, your local saddler should be able to do this but it might prove expensive depending on their skill level and how long it takes them..
Oz
Click to expand...

Oh, is that all???
 
Think you need to go back to RB, they have effectively made the original problem worse.
If you have legal advise helpline with BHS or home insurance,it may also be worth speaking to them.
At the very least, I would expect RB to cover the cost to put the saddle back together.
Also, contact the master saddler society, they were very helpful when I experienced a problem with a different saddle fitter not a million miles away from RB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top