The Native Pony Saddle Company

Ella19

Ella19

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25 May 2010
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Please can I have up to date experience of this company? Especially south east saddle fitters.

I really think this could be the solution to saddle fitting for my connie x who is very wide and barrel shaped which causes alot of saddles to roll or bridge. They have replied to me on facebook and have lots of positive comments on there. So far i'm impressed with their product and service from an online prospective, but I would like to hear about real life experience.

pm if prefered good and bad. Thanks :D
 
This has cropped up in the New Lounge a couple of times and there has been some good feedback. I'm looking for one for my welsh A who's barrel-like. And about to take on a Welsh C who's also going to be difficult to fit...
 
Sorry to say I was not impressed by them at all: saddles ok, fitters not. Talked a lot of nonsense and did not know where/how to put a saddle on a horse imo, I won't go into details here, but wide horse was not comfortable with narrow saddle placed forward on his shoulder and elastic girth done up as tight as it would go... I bought elsewhere.
 
Is there any chance you'd let me have more details? I'm a fitter for Native Pony but there is also another company, unfortunately, making saddles branded as NP and they are not the same. The situation will be resolved soon but it would be really useful to know what happened and with whom, and if it was a fitter that still works with us, so we can address any training need.

Thanks so much.
 
Morland I hope I won't offend you even more by posting this, but having not heard from you, I looked up your location and you are in Devon. Historically Devon was covered by a fitter who worked, and still does, for Saddle Exchange and not us - I now cover Devon. I'm very sorry you had a bad experience but it was not our fitters, and, if in the last year or so, was not our saddles either. I sure hope we can end this confusion soon, it is not doing our business any favours and is certainly causing massive confusion for our customers.

Hope I'm allowed to post this but we (including the lady, Andrea Hicks, who has always designed NP saddles) are at www.nativeponysaddles.com and no other address. Our FB page is The Native Pony Saddle Company and not a similar looking one with a longer name :mad:
 
Hi sbloom, I have pm'ed you. I am happy to confirm it was not a fitter from your company who came out to my horse, and not your saddles either as it turns out. I hope I have not added to the confusion. Other people I have spoken to have also said good things about NP saddles :-)
 
sbloom said:
Morland I hope I won't offend you even more by posting this, but having not heard from you, I looked up your location and you are in Devon. Historically Devon was covered by a fitter who worked, and still does, for Saddle Exchange and not us - I now cover Devon. I'm very sorry you had a bad experience but it was not our fitters, and, if in the last year or so, was not our saddles either. I sure hope we can end this confusion soon, it is not doing our business any favours and is certainly causing massive confusion for our customers.

Hope I'm allowed to post this but we (including the lady, Andrea Hicks, who has always designed NP saddles) are at www.nativeponysaddles.com and no other address. Our FB page is The Native Pony Saddle Company and not a similar looking one with a longer name :mad:
Click to expand...

Can I ask: how does one tell the difference between the two? My budget is limited and I've two wide natives to fit (sec A and sec C) so I'm looking for second hand. I'm now worried that the saddles I've been looking at on certain auction site might not be the Native Pony Saddle Company ones I'm after.. certainly, I've been looking at the wrong website for new ones, I now realise after reading your post.
 
Hi OldNag

The NP brand only split in two just over a year ago so most old stock was designed by Andrea Hicks from our company. We did use a couple of different workshops over the years, and the quality is definitely slightly varied between the two - if you can get an ID number I can let you know more about any given saddle. The ID number is on the near side sweat flap and will be 4 numbers or a 7 digit "number" which includes one letter.

I am always happy to help wtih selecting the right used saddle so feel free to email me photos of your pony and links to the saddle you are considering - obviously I can't guarantee a fit but I can help you reduce the odds of it not working!

Steph
 
To add to what sbloom has said:

Saddle Exchange Ltd ceased trading in 2010, and I have since established AH Saddles, specialising in saddles for native ponies and cobs. I continue to develop new designs concentrating on comfort, quality and reliability. Customer service is key to AH Saddles and we strive to make the whole purchasing experience a pleasure for both horse and rider. I no longer trade with my ex Saddle Exchange partner Dean Woodward. My understanding is that he now operates as Woodward & Woodward ltd trading, Saddle Exchange Saddling Solutions, The Original Native Pony Saddle Co, The Pony Saddle Co, Comfort Saddles and Reactorpanel Saddle Co. I would like to make it clear that I have no association with these companies and my apologies to any customers that have been caught up in any confusion. For all AH Saddles Ltd fitting and supply please refer to the fitters contact page on the AH Saddles website:

Andrea Hicks
 
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