Would you be happy or just accept this...

lea840

lea840

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I've recently bought a lovely saddle that I saw advertised, lots and lots of pictures in the advert, saddle looked perfect. Saddle was advertised as a 'Medium fit'... Perfect I thought. Also stated that the saddle had recently been re-flocked.

After paying for the saddle, I got a message to say that the saddle had been 'Flocked wayyy to much' and that it had come with the sellers new TB who was a narrow.

So I waited for it to arrive (Which took a week by courier, whole different stroy lol) Well it arrived today and it wont go anywhere near any of the medium horses and its pushing it to get it on a narrow one :(

I've had it to the saddler this afternoon who has said it will cost £40-£50 to correct the flocking and return it to it's original state of 'Medium' he said it was very narrow due to the amount of flocking.

Now, I bought this saddle as a medium, but it it's turned out to be a narrow with the over flocking.. to me it's like buying a size 16 dress which the seamstress has taken in and its now a size 10-12... well it just aint gonna fit someone who is a size 16...

Whats your thoughts on this one...?
 
what you paid for doesnt match what you received, you are entitled to refund for saddle and postage I would think. If you have bought from ebay put in a dispute (they are brilliant and will resolve it for you) if not then if bought with credit card contact credit card company.

Hope it all turns out ok ! (just a thought if you love the saddle and want it altered you could ask for refund of £50 towards that although I would beware as tree may need to be widened if it has been narrowed and cut of saddle still may not suite)
 
For me it would depend on if I liked the saddle, whether it was still a good buy after the cost of alteration. also if your saddler is SURE it will fit afterwards

If not tell seller you are not happy and see what happens
 
lea840 said:
I've recently bought a lovely saddle that I saw advertised, lots and lots of pictures in the advert, saddle looked perfect. Saddle was advertised as a 'Medium fit'... Perfect I thought. Also stated that the saddle had recently been re-flocked.

After paying for the saddle, I got a message to say that the saddle had been 'Flocked wayyy to much' and that it had come with the sellers new TB who was a narrow.

So I waited for it to arrive (Which took a week by courier, whole different stroy lol) Well it arrived today and it wont go anywhere near any of the medium horses and its pushing it to get it on a narrow one :(

I've had it to the saddler this afternoon who has said it will cost £40-£50 to correct the flocking and return it to it's original state of 'Medium' he said it was very narrow due to the amount of flocking.

Now, I bought this saddle as a medium, but it it's turned out to be a narrow with the over flocking.. to me it's like buying a size 16 dress which the seamstress has taken in and its now a size 10-12... well it just aint gonna fit someone who is a size 16...

Whats your thoughts on this one...?
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You are kind of in a bind. Before you received the saddle, you were told it had been over-stuffed. In my opinion, that would have been the time to ask for your money back. You could still try but I don't fancy your chances. The good news is because it does need to be re-flocked, you can get it fitted to your horse. I see that as a positive. Because re-flocking is something that could be regarded as maintenance, you could perhaps consider it as maintenance that you are doing sooner than anticipated? Darn annoying but something that you would have had to do at some point in the future anyway.
 
Thats what I was worried about... if the tree has been altered then putting it back to a wide fitting is only going to weaken the tree, I did notice that although it was advertised as a GP, when I've compaired it to the identical saddle I already have (Only in brown) I've noticed that the new one looks slightly more straight cut at the front, it didn't occur to me that it could of been cut back when altered...

The saddle is lovely and the seller has been very helpful, keeping in contact with me making sure it arrived safely... but I wouldn't of paid the amount I paid for it had I know the first thing I would of had to do was fork out money on day one...
 
kippen64 said:
You are kind of in a bind. Before you received the saddle, you were told it had been over-stuffed. In my opinion, that would have been the time to ask for your money back. You could still try but I don't fancy your chances. The good news is because it does need to be re-flocked, you can get it fitted to your horse. I see that as a positive. Because re-flocking is something that could be regarded as maintenance, you could perhaps consider it as maintenance that you are doing sooner than anticipated? Darn annoying but something that you would have had to do at some point in the future anyway.
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The saddle had already been dispatched to me by the time I was told it had been over flocked and that it didnt fit her 'Narrow TB' shows you jusy how narrow this saddle is. It's a good make and like I said in fantastic condition... i didn't know if I was being cheeky in asking her to maybe refund something towards getting it fixed, as it isn't what was advertised...

The saddle wont be just used on one horse... so fitting it to that one horse wouldn't be something that I would of been doing if you see what I mean...
 
Hi i would never buy a saddle off the peg and think it would fit my horse so £40 to £50 is ok to fit it nicely but if saddle is not good i would go for money back
 
Be careful about it being overstuffed, it can stretch the leather and if it has been like it for some time and you may never get it back to the normal 'medium' size it was. When the saddler takes the extra flocking out make sure the leather panels aren't loose and saggy.
 
lea840 said:
The saddle is lovely and the seller has been very helpful, keeping in contact with me making sure it arrived safely... but I wouldn't of paid the amount I paid for it had I know the first thing I would of had to do was fork out money on day one...
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If your saddler thinks that the saddle simply needs re-flocking, then the worst thing that has happened is that you have spent a bit more money than you would have wanted. If you want to follow up on it, you could always contact the seller as you have said that they are very helpful. Cheers.
 
Did you buy it on Ebay? If so you can dispute it and they generally favour the buyer. However I would rate a narrow vs a medium by the tree or any stamp the saddle may have, not the flocking so technically the seller may be correct.

Is it for the horse in your sig? If so, I would have thought you need more than a medium fit?

If you got it for a decent price and the saddler is confident it will fit after alteration I would forget about it personally - it's just the risk you take buying it unseen.
 
Tuffles 23 said:
Hi i would never buy a saddle off the peg and think it would fit my horse so £40 to £50 is ok to fit it nicely but if saddle is not good i would go for money back
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I've never had a problem with buying saddles before, because they have been exactly what they said they were... not advertised as something they wern't. unless you have a particually difficult horse to fit to then most good saddle makes are the same eg 17" medium, I wouldn't expect there to be much difference in an Albion & an Amerigo and I could confidantly purchase one without the worry of it fitting or not, don't get me wrong here, I not proclaiming to be a proffesional saddle fitter but I don't have difficult horses to fit too...
 
lea840 said:
The saddle had already been dispatched to me by the time I was told it had been over flocked and that it didnt fit her 'Narrow TB' shows you jusy how narrow this saddle is. It's a good make and like I said in fantastic condition... i didn't know if I was being cheeky in asking her to maybe refund something towards getting it fixed, as it isn't what was advertised...

The saddle wont be just used on one horse... so fitting it to that one horse wouldn't be something that I would of been doing if you see what I mean...
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Sorry I don't understand - we're you hoping the saddle would fit several horses without it being checked by the saddler?

Also, my 'narrow tb' takes a medium wide fit saddle so perhaps that's not quite what the seller meant.
 
LouandBee said:
Did you buy it on Ebay? If so you can dispute it and they generally favour the buyer. However I would rate a narrow vs a medium by the tree or any stamp the saddle may have, not the flocking so technically the seller may be correct.

Is it for the horse in your sig? If so, I would have thought you need more than a medium fit?

If you got it for a decent price and the saddler is confident it will fit after alteration I would forget about it personally - it's just the risk you take buying it unseen.
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Yes the horse in my sig is one of the horses it was for... and the saddle she has on is the identical saddle only in brown and fits her perfect. She does measure a perfect medium.

I see what you mean about the medium V's narrow and although the seller say's she has sold it in good faith as a medium when it was measured today it is a very narrow, narrow due to the flocking, which the seller knew prior to putting her advert up, but she just didn't mention this in the advert...

I'm just waiting to hear back from her, after raising my concerns about it...
 
LouandBee said:
Sorry I don't understand - we're you hoping the saddle would fit several horses without it being checked by the saddler?

Also, my 'narrow tb' takes a medium wide fit saddle so perhaps that's not quite what the seller meant.
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It was advertised as a 17" medium and I already have the identical 17" medium which fits serval horses... and she said it had been recently fully re-flocked, giving the impression that it was re-flocked as it should be... not that it was over flocked and the leather was very tight to the touch underneith...
 
DW Lea, the "OMG, how can you buy a saddle without getting it fitted" brigade are on their way out ;) ;)

I'd send it back. You bought a medium that was advertised as a medium and a narrow has turned up. Either she pays for the reflock and any repairs overflocking may have caused to be needed or she takes it back on a full refund.
 
Serenity087 said:
DW Lea, the "OMG, how can you buy a saddle without getting it fitted" brigade are on their way out ;) ;)

I'd send it back. You bought a medium that was advertised as a medium and a narrow has turned up. Either she pays for the reflock and any repairs overflocking may have caused to be needed or she takes it back on a full refund.
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lol to the brigade... I've not had a problem with buying saddles over the last 25 years and never had any issues when the back man comes out to do his routine checks, they need little if any work on their backs, so buying a saddle without having it fitted isn't an issue :)

I've basically asked her would she consider a small refund, even just to cover the saddlers bill, as I genuinely feel as though I have been sold a pup... The woman seem's really nice so I am just hoping she see's my issue here.

I just wanted to sound some of you guys out... as I don't want to come across as an awkward customer :)
 
I've just had a message off her, she has stated that she advertised the saddle based on what her saddler told her... yet mine is saying something different and it wont go anywhere near any of the medium horses... I guess I will know more when the saddler has had a really good look at it tomorrow :)

At least my back man doesn't have me lining his pockets :) but I bet some can... just like vet's lol
 
I must admit, when I bought a second hand saddle the first thing I did was to get my fitter out to make any adjustments needed. New/Second hand, I'd still get it flocked to fit the horse?

ETA I hope you get resolution - I don't know if there is a straight answer.
 
I bought a medium off ebay a while back for a very good deal. Unfortunately it is very much a narrow. I have cut my losses, and stripped stirrups and girth off and kept all to get the youngsters used to it, so am a lot less fussed when they dribble on it, fall over it or drag it back over to dump at my feet (one youngster I swear should have been born a dog!). Had it been more expensive I would have put it back up for sale with an honest write up

Pan
 
lea840 said:
I've basically asked her would she consider a small refund, even just to cover the saddlers bill, as I genuinely feel as though I have been sold a pup... The woman seem's really nice so I am just hoping she see's my issue here.

I just wanted to sound some of you guys out... as I don't want to come across as an awkward customer :)
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That sounds fair to me. Law states that you are available to partial refund from product that is mis sold and no longer worth the original amount.

If you do send it back, you aren't legally entitled to postage, just a warning as I got a shock on that!

Pan
 
Just because a saddle is stamped medium doesn't mean it will automatically fit your horse. Different makes and models of saddle will fit different horses. I bought a DR saddle last year (Ideal Jessica) that was sold to me as medium. My saddle fitter took one look, said it had been overflocked in an attempt to make it more like narrow-med, removed a lot of the extra flocking and reflocked it to fit my horse. The medium description, IMHO, relates to the tree width not the flocking. Flocking can be removed and TBH you should expect to flock the saddle to fit your horse anyway. If the only issue is the flocking then I'd have your saddle fitter remove some of it. As long as the tree is a medium then there's no prob (IMO) but maybe the saddle simply isn't the right shape for your horse?
 
chestnut cob said:
Just because a saddle is stamped medium doesn't mean it will automatically fit your horse. Different makes and models of saddle will fit different horses. I bought a DR saddle last year (Ideal Jessica) that was sold to me as medium. My saddle fitter took one look, said it had been overflocked in an attempt to make it more like narrow-med, removed a lot of the extra flocking and reflocked it to fit my horse. The medium description, IMHO, relates to the tree width not the flocking. Flocking can be removed and TBH you should expect to flock the saddle to fit your horse anyway. If the only issue is the flocking then I'd have your saddle fitter remove some of it. As long as the tree is a medium then there's no prob (IMO) but maybe the saddle simply isn't the right shape for your horse?
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Ah misread OP. Mine was sold a medium and was very much not! It was nothing to do with the flocking. I'd still be a bit put off by the 're-flocked' comment suggesting it's in good condition original as opposed to over flocked though.

Depends if photos showed over flocking etc. Worth giving the seller a quick message but not holding out over it.

Pan
 
chestnut cob said:
Just because a saddle is stamped medium doesn't mean it will automatically fit your horse. Different makes and models of saddle will fit different horses. I bought a DR saddle last year (Ideal Jessica) that was sold to me as medium. My saddle fitter took one look, said it had been overflocked in an attempt to make it more like narrow-med, removed a lot of the extra flocking and reflocked it to fit my horse. The medium description, IMHO, relates to the tree width not the flocking. Flocking can be removed and TBH you should expect to flock the saddle to fit your horse anyway. If the only issue is the flocking then I'd have your saddle fitter remove some of it. As long as the tree is a medium then there's no prob (IMO) but maybe the saddle simply isn't the right shape for your horse?
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Exactly.
 
By the time you have paid for the postage for a saddle to return it to the seller, you may as well have paid for some flocking/de flocking.

Hopefully she might offer to go 50:50 or even pay for the correction to the flocking but if the saddle is at its bones the size described then I dont think you should reject it.

Unless you see a saddle and try it on your horse there is always a risk of some expense. After all, thats why its cheaper to buy a saddle unseen online.
 
lachlanandmarcus said:
By the time you have paid for the postage for a saddle to return it to the seller, you may as well have paid for some flocking/de flocking.

Hopefully she might offer to go 50:50 or even pay for the correction to the flocking but if the saddle is at its bones the size described then I dont think you should reject it.

Unless you see a saddle and try it on your horse there is always a risk of some expense. After all, thats why its cheaper to buy a saddle unseen online.
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I don't see why the seller should contribute towards removing flocking from the saddle. Even if you asked a saddler to come out with brand new saddles, they would in all likelihood still need to remove or add flocking to get the correct fit for your horse. Saddles are made to fit horses, not horses to fit saddles. You (OP, not poster I'm replying to now) should expect to need the saddle fitting to your own horse's individual shape.

FWIW my horse's Jessica is a medium. His second hand Thorowgood has a MW gullet in. Both have been flocked to suit his shape and both fit him well. It doesn't matter that they are "officially" a different size. There will be a tolerance within which a saddle must be to make it a medium.. ie, Xcm width with + or - (say) 1cm. That means you could buy a medium that's more like a MW or a NM, depending on which end of the range the measurement is.
 
Just to say there are very big differences in sizing between different makes and even styles. America and Albion medium are not the same fit let alone considering panel size etc. if that was the case then last time round I should have been able to keep my Albion SLK MW..but it did not fit. Albion SL MW did..

In this case it is a mute point as you already have the same saddle and style so know it fits. I would expect a refit regardless if sorting out a new saddle anyway.

I can ( and do) check my own saddles to keep an eye in between but rely on my saddler to keep on top of them for me. She's the professional not me and has saved me a lot of time and money over the years!
 
chestnut cob said:
Just because a saddle is stamped medium doesn't mean it will automatically fit your horse. Different makes and models of saddle will fit different horses. I bought a DR saddle last year (Ideal Jessica) that was sold to me as medium. My saddle fitter took one look, said it had been overflocked in an attempt to make it more like narrow-med, removed a lot of the extra flocking and reflocked it to fit my horse. The medium description, IMHO, relates to the tree width not the flocking. Flocking can be removed and TBH you should expect to flock the saddle to fit your horse anyway. If the only issue is the flocking then I'd have your saddle fitter remove some of it. As long as the tree is a medium then there's no prob (IMO) but maybe the saddle simply isn't the right shape for your horse?
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It is the idential make, model, size to one I already have, the only difference is, this one is black, hence why I went for this exact saddle... It does look as tho the tree has been adjsuted (Bent) in order for it to now be so narrow...

It's with the saddler as we speak :)
 
Hi
If the advert stated the measurements from D to D then you haven't really got a leg to stand on. It's down to you to check the details of the item you're bidding on before buying by asking questions and i think i'm correct in saying that flocking doesn't adjust the tree.
By the sounds of things the seller has been more than honest with you and she's quite within her right to refuse to refund your money.
If it will fit after re-flocking you haven't really lost out.
 
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