Why are bates leather stirrup leathers so expensive?

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Charla

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I've just bought a bates caprilli dressage saddle (yay!) and started looking for the stirrup leathers to go with it...They're about £75! Can't say I've ever bought stirrup leathers that expensive and don't fancy paying out that much either! Is there a cheaper equivilent does anyone know?
 
Sorry if I'm being stupid....but what's the difference between webbers and leathers? I'm just looking at equestrian clearance now :confused:
 
Stirrup leathers double back over the stirrup and under your leg. Webbers don't, so you have closer contact.

"Webbers are revolutionary stirrup straps, made without buckles to reduce the lump under the rider's thigh and provide closer contact to the horse. The single thickness under the rider’s leg removes excess bulk and interference, facilitating the accurate delivery of leg aids, which is particularly useful in dressage. Bates Webbers are made in luxurious Bates leather to perfectly match your Bates saddle and feature a webbing core which ensures that they will not stretch and cause unevenness." - nicked off a retailer's website...may explain better than my random mumbling.
 
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When we bought my dressage saddle the lady said that if we didnt want the extra soft leather to be rubbed by hard stirrup leathers we needed to buy extra soft Jaguar leathers at a cost of £70!

Luckily she threw them in with the saddle but I would think thats why yours are expensive because they are already really soft and dont require "working in" so they wont rub the leather like the harder ones do.
 
Most likely the quality of the leather puts the price up - I have some Stubben leathers and they were an horrendous price but they are excellent quality.

Cheaper leathers wear out faster, stretch more and generally need replacing too often.
 
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