alsxx
Well-Known Member
Well first off best introduce myself - I've posted a couple of times but never really said hi!! I live in Kent with my two Monsters - one 16 year old Section B gelding who I've had now for 14 years and my 14.2hh part bred appaloosa mare who has just turned 4. If I can ever work out how to post pictures I'll put some up of them. Originally from near Southampton and have been up here for almost a year now.
Anyhow...the saddle...I'm not going to go into too much detail if I can help it as you never know who may be on here, feel free to PM if you want more detail on the story/find out who it was. I had a saddler out to fit my 4 year old with her first saddle about 2 months ago now - she wasn't backed at the time but I wanted to get something that fitted instead of using any old thing...I think at the time I should have listed to the alarm bells ringing, as when it was fitted there were a number of things I didnt feel happy about. First off, I was told that I would really struggle to find a saddle that didnt move on her because of her shape. Even though I thought this was a bit odd at the time (thinking that if a saddle is 'fitted' properly then it shouldnt move?) I didnt question her as after all, she was a member of the society of master saddlers - she must know what she is talking about?
I was told that I would need to hurry up and back her to see if the saddle she had fitted did move, and that I would need to let her know pretty quickly if that was the case or she couldnt do anything.
Didn't particulary want to rush my mare, so we took our time, she was backed about 3 weeks later (and was a star!!) and so the ridden work started. Saddle didnt move at all and there were no initial problems, all was going really well. We started to hack out, and we do have a few small but steep hills to negotiate, saddle started to slip forward when going down hill.
Gradually (over last 5 weeks) she has got quite grumpy to tack up, trying to bite and kick (ending with teeth on my hip last night - not good when you don't have much padding
). She's also become very lazy and won't go forward off the leg, infact sometimes she just wont walk on at all!! YO was about last night and i asked her if she wouldn't mind looking at it as by this time I was convinced it must simply not fit. To cut a long story short, she agrees, lent me one of her saddles to try on her and she was honestly like a different horse to ride.
So what I'm wondering is, where do I go now, I'm getting someone else out to give a second opinion and more than likely to fit her again. But is there any comeback against this woman? It was a secondhand saddle, but would she be obliged to give a refund? I cant imagine she is going to admit that it didnt fit when she sold it to me. My situation is I dont really have the ££ to try selling one saddle and in the mean time buy another - must not use CC any more either....!!! Has anyone ever been in a similar situation?
Anyhow...the saddle...I'm not going to go into too much detail if I can help it as you never know who may be on here, feel free to PM if you want more detail on the story/find out who it was. I had a saddler out to fit my 4 year old with her first saddle about 2 months ago now - she wasn't backed at the time but I wanted to get something that fitted instead of using any old thing...I think at the time I should have listed to the alarm bells ringing, as when it was fitted there were a number of things I didnt feel happy about. First off, I was told that I would really struggle to find a saddle that didnt move on her because of her shape. Even though I thought this was a bit odd at the time (thinking that if a saddle is 'fitted' properly then it shouldnt move?) I didnt question her as after all, she was a member of the society of master saddlers - she must know what she is talking about?
I was told that I would need to hurry up and back her to see if the saddle she had fitted did move, and that I would need to let her know pretty quickly if that was the case or she couldnt do anything.
Didn't particulary want to rush my mare, so we took our time, she was backed about 3 weeks later (and was a star!!) and so the ridden work started. Saddle didnt move at all and there were no initial problems, all was going really well. We started to hack out, and we do have a few small but steep hills to negotiate, saddle started to slip forward when going down hill.
Gradually (over last 5 weeks) she has got quite grumpy to tack up, trying to bite and kick (ending with teeth on my hip last night - not good when you don't have much padding
So what I'm wondering is, where do I go now, I'm getting someone else out to give a second opinion and more than likely to fit her again. But is there any comeback against this woman? It was a secondhand saddle, but would she be obliged to give a refund? I cant imagine she is going to admit that it didnt fit when she sold it to me. My situation is I dont really have the ££ to try selling one saddle and in the mean time buy another - must not use CC any more either....!!! Has anyone ever been in a similar situation?
