Sobs!!!!! :(

[Queenbee]

Well, whatever happens my bates momentum is sold I've already got 11 watchers and one starting bid on it with 4 days to go on a five day auction...

I know its a good thing, as I really need to get a nice WH saddle for him and it's too forward cut, but I am sad, I coveted a bates for years ever since I rode in my friends one, and I saved up and got it for ebony, I was so pleased when I got it and she floated in it. I'm really going to miss it and the what it represents. Ah well, here's to the future!

Soooo stupid and nostalgic I know.

 

[neddymad]

It's not stupid. I shed a tear when I sold my late mares ideal whp saddle because of it's sentimental value. Hope you get a good price for it.

 

[Ellemoo]

I know the feeling, im still holding onto my old mares saddle 6 years after selling her. It doesnt fit her daughter who i still have and im unlikely to ever have a use for it- but can I get rid of it!?

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Soooo stupid and nostalgic I know.

Not at all.

We still have all the saddles we have ever had bar one - and that one was sold to someone we know who desperately needed a saddle to fit her weirdly shaped horse and couldn't find one. Most of them will never see another horse but we keep them because of their sentimental value.

 

[TandD]

I cryed when I boxed up my bates innova to its new owners! Best saddle I've ever owned and my horse loved it! Had to sell it to buy the next after his ks fiasco!

I now look back and wish I'd kept it! As I will have another horse one day it would hopefully fit....

 

[Bazzel]

not stupid at all! I have a reeeeeeeally old probably worth nothing saddle that fitted two of my favourite horses, I was devastated when it didn't fit my newbie, now it's just gathering dust in the tack room. Someone else will get great pleasure from it

 

[Queenbee]

Thank you! Good to know I'm not the only one! I bought a lovely show saddle for ebony at the beginning of 2012, it never even got put on her as she then got ill, that was a killer to sell, I must admit I just took it and some other stuff to the horse sales in Exeter and sold it off there, I got pennies for it, but I just couldn't bare to look at it, I wanted it gone, but getting rid of it hurt just as much as looking at it. The sad thing is that this does fit Ben, but it's just not the right saddle for what we want to do, I want something I can show in and do flat work in at home, it's just far too forward cut for that, and although it fits, being forward cut, doesn't help him move through his shoulders, it's just not practical for him. I find the length of stirrup I ride him in also just doesn't feel right on this saddle, strange really as it felt perfect for ebony, but I think it may be because he takes a lot more leg work than she did. Hopefully it will go to a lovely new home and they will get as much joy out of it as I did! X

 

[Love]

I welled up when my first ponies saddle sold and that was only a wintec! Can totally understand where you are coming from.

 

[Queenbee]

I remember I wrote something on fb just after I'd had ebony PTS, my friend replied along the lines of one day I'd meet her again in heaven and we would be riding bareback together through the fields. I replied, "**** that, if I'm going to see her in heaven, then I'm damned well taking my bates with me!"

Apparently my friend couldn't stop laughing, she had an image of me at the pearly white gates, with my hat, jods and boots on and saddle in hand!

 

[Goldenstar]

I hate selling saddles it's like loosing a link to dead friends .
I still will say put x in Golds saddle confusing as Golds long gone .

 

[Queenbee]

It is hard GS, when I lost ebs, I had the wintec 2000 I bought brand new when I first got her, the much coveted bates and the show saddle and £1000 vets bills. Every one of these saddles has been a wrench for me to part with for different reasons but all relating to her. I still see the bates as hers, even after 20 months use on Ben but it's time. I had her shod just before she fell ill for showing, I have her full set of final shoes, her old bridle is hanging up next to bens in the tack room, has been since the day I moved there even though she was PTS before that, I have my momentos and my focus has to be on the future and Ben. There is so much history and life in a saddle though.

 

[Auslander]

Feel your pain. Im sort of half heartedly selling my dressage saddle - it's the last thing I have that was Aussie's - and it's going to be hard to see it go. Mind you it's going to be a pig to sell, so it might not be going anywhere!

 

[Tnavas]

Well, whatever happens my bates momentum is sold I've already got 11 watchers and one starting bid on it with 4 days to go on a five day auction...

I know its a good thing, as I really need to get a nice WH saddle for him and it's too forward cut, but I am sad, I coveted a bates for years ever since I rode in my friends one, and I saved up and got it for ebony, I was so pleased when I got it and she floated in it. I'm really going to miss it and the what it represents. Ah well, here's to the future!

Soooo stupid and nostalgic I know.

So feel your pain, I loved my Bates Caprilli saddle and eventually had to sell it as it never truly fitted my TB. I got a Bates Olympia which was not so deep and over the years it's been on many different horses, it's as tatty as can be now at 20 or so years old, but it has a forever home.

Hope you manage to find a replacement.

 

[Goldenstar]

It's not just us years ago I bought a second hand saddle called a Topani it was a very early forward cut jumping saddle .
In time of course better saddles came along it was in the attic , I was very fond of it I bought with my own money when I was in my teens so there it was in the attic cleaned twice a year.
It was when I was doing my welfare stuff one day we where having a sandwich with one of the yards that took in horses who where removed .
We where talking about saddles and this saddle came up .
Later the lady who owned the yard came to me and asked what saddler it came from .
Turns out it was her saddle and she had to sell it when they where in a difficult financial situation .
A few days later she rang me and asked if I would sell it to her of course I did , we got out the attic I cleaned until it gleaned when she came to get it was sitting on the saddle horse gleaning she cried and stroked it , it's not just us there's lots of memory's and emotions tried up in horse stuff .
This story does not have a nice ending not long after a filthy thieving toe rag broke into their tack room and nicked it and she lost her special saddle again.
I am also attached to rugs . I remember who each rug was for when it was new and hate slinging them if the horse has gone .

 

[Queenbee]

It's not just us years ago I bought a second hand saddle called a Topani it was a very early forward cut jumping saddle .
In time of course better saddles came along it was in the attic , I was very fond of it I bought with my own money when I was in my teens so there it was in the attic cleaned twice a year.
It was when I was doing my welfare stuff one day we where having a sandwich with one of the yards that took in horses who where removed .
We where talking about saddles and this saddle came up .
Later the lady who owned the yard came to me and asked what saddler it came from .
Turns out it was her saddle and she had to sell it when they where in a difficult financial situation .
A few days later she rang me and asked if I would sell it to her of course I did , we got out the attic I cleaned until it gleaned when she came to get it was sitting on the saddle horse gleaning she cried and stroked it , it's not just us there's lots of memory's and emotions tried up in horse stuff .
This story does not have a nice ending not long after a filthy thieving toe rag broke into their tack room and nicked it and she lost her special saddle again.
I am also attached to rugs . I remember who each rug was for when it was new and hate slinging them if the horse has gone .

Oh GS what a lovely story (barring the bad ending that is). Yes, rugs, it was very hard to put ebony's MW on Ben but now, it's still going strong which is a good thing I suppose

 

[micramadam]

Still have Ruby's dressage saddle and her jumping saddle which has hardly been used. The dressage saddle was specially made for her as she was such a difficult horse to fit a saddle to. There is hope on the horizon though. We think the dressage saddle will fit or eventually fit her son. We have a saddle fitter coming soon to have a look. If it doesn't fit him, hoping it will fit my new mare as she will also mature to be a chunky girl.
Quite interested in your bates saddle though. Can you post the link!

 

[Queenbee]

I can't post it as it may be seen as advertising but I will pm you mm. I simply love bates saddles, they are so comfy, I wish they did a WH saddle

 

[Tnavas]

I can't post it as it may be seen as advertising but I will pm you mm. I simply love bates saddles, they are so comfy, I wish they did a WH saddle

BEing ignorant here - what does WH stand for?

 

[sprytzer]

Iv still got my Stubben Siegfreid saddle, bought 2nd hand about 30yrs ago, the most comfortable saddle iv ever owned and just seemed to fit most horses used on. Now sitting in the bottom of my wardrobe, where its been for the last 8yrs, will most defo never see another horse.

 

[Queenbee]

BEing ignorant here - what does WH stand for?

Working hunter saddle, something that is relatively straight cut for the show ring but also suitable for jumping in working hunter classes

 

[BlackVelvet]

Its so hard to let things go! I got rid of my saddle (only a wintec cheapy) after B died purely because we were selling our house so had no room. My mum suggested selling his bridle and i welled up! It still reminds completely untouched in my garage, i keep meaning to get it cleaned and put it away but i cant bear to even look at! Silly i know, il be taking that with me to the pearly gates so i can stop the ****** when we are galloping through the clouds!

 

[splashgirl45]

It's not just us years ago I bought a second hand saddle called a Topani it was a very early forward cut jumping saddle .
In time of course better saddles came along it was in the attic , I was very fond of it I bought with my own money when I was in my teens so there it was in the attic cleaned twice a year.
It was when I was doing my welfare stuff one day we where having a sandwich with one of the yards that took in horses who where removed .
We where talking about saddles and this saddle came up .
Later the lady who owned the yard came to me and asked what saddler it came from .
Turns out it was her saddle and she had to sell it when they where in a difficult financial situation .
A few days later she rang me and asked if I would sell it to her of course I did , we got out the attic I cleaned until it gleaned when she came to get it was sitting on the saddle horse gleaning she cried and stroked it , it's not just us there's lots of memory's and emotions tried up in horse stuff .
This story does not have a nice ending not long after a filthy thieving toe rag broke into their tack room and nicked it and she lost her special saddle again.
I am also attached to rugs . I remember who each rug was for when it was new and hate slinging them if the horse has gone .

i read this and it bought back memories as my first saddle(for my first horse) was a toptani mark 11, must have been very similar to yours as it was very forward cut but i loved it....i also had the bad luck to have it stolen from the yard with 12 other saddles and it took me ages to find a saddle that fitted my horse as he had very prominent withers and it was perfect for him...i loved that saddle!!!!!!

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

After being used on my two favourite horses I sold the only leather saddle I've ever owned from new. It was a slightly odd saddle but the perfect shape for me. After ten years of having nothing it fitted I decided it was neither use nor ornament and that I was being silly to keep it for sentimental reasons. I've often regretted selling it especially now I once again have something it would fit.

 

[Tnavas]

Working hunter saddle, something that is relatively straight cut for the show ring but also suitable for jumping in working hunter classes

Maybe one of the Bates GP saddles would do, they are not too forward cut and also straight enough to show off the shoulder.

I used to do Working Hunter in my younger days in UK and used a nice GP. Bates have some really nice ones.

 

[Queenbee]

Thank you TN I was considering something like their vsd saddle, my local saddler stock bates so I think I may well pop along and have a nosey at what could suit, they do a lovely show saddle now but I think perhaps that's a bit too straight.

 

[Tnavas]

That's a really nice saddle, it's on my wish list!

 

[Queenbee]

It is gorgeous!

 

[Queenbee]

We'll, that's it! It's sold . The auction ended and I've made a reasonable sum on it, in the years I've owned it it's only lost me about £50, so I'm happy with that. It also seems that it might be going to a HHO user, as she messaged me the other day saying she thought she was bidding on my saddle, and it was the bidder at the time who ended up winning the auction tonight. I do hope so, it's kind of nice to know someone from the HHO gang who has maybe read about Ben and Ebony and knows what the saddle means to me, will now have it. .

On the plus side, i may have some breathing space to look for a new one for myself/Ben as my friend who's horse I am caring for now has generously offered me her Jeffries vsd to try on him, it's been used about 10 times! Since it was used for her mare who is just about to drop a foal, it's not needed for a while, so I'm going up to the yard where that mare is kept this week to get that and see if it fits him

It will be lovely to see the mare too, who is due any day now... I haven't seen her since she was a yearling, and she was out of Tilly the mare I'm now caring for.

Fingers crossed for me that the saddle fits