saddlers/ saddle fitters

[Forever Fern]

i am wanting to get my saddle checked, as i dont think it fits very well, and fern is being a nightmare to ride and im ruiling things out, however i dont want a new saddle i just want my saddle adjusting, will saddlers do that, and are any reccomnded around lincolnshire
xXx

[Yann]

You could do worse than see if Nr's very own Poohsmate will come and pay you a visit on his next sweep north (might even be next weekend if my calcs are correct). He'd not be able to carry out any adjustments but you will get a reliable opinion on the current state of play.

[Forever Fern]

Oh yeh :D um so he could come and see how it looks, but couldnt correct it or anything is that right?
xXx

[Yann]

Well, you'd know for sure whether your saddle was the problem or not, whether you needed a new one or the current one could be altered and if and where your horse was sore or had any muscle atrophy, he does bodywork too. Saddlers you can rely on are few and far between and he has a lot of very satisfied customers on here :)

He could also sell you a nice Saddle Co saddle which can indeed be tweaked and adjusted if that's what you wanted but you won't get any hard sell.

[jovi_y2k2]

which part of lincolnshire are you in?

[Chip]

I don't know any saddle fitters in your area, but any decent saddle fitter should be able to make some adjustments for you, all depends on how much alteration it needs really;)

[gypsygold]

I dont know whereabouts in Lincolnshire you are but I used to live there and two master saddlers and saddle fitters are Mark Bushell at Wellingore I think it was and also John Robinson of T & C Robinson saddlery at Billinghay. Both these are in the Sleaford area, but I believe the only ones qualified in Lincolnshire.

They were both recomended to me but I never had a need of there services whilst I lived there. I have moved now and have just this week had my saddle checked and reflocked to fit. It cost £65 alltogether for the visit, very detailed checks etc and the actual reflock.

[gypsygold]

Here their full info -

MARK BUSHELL SADDLER Master Saddler & Harness Maker 01400 273711
Manor Stables, Craft Workshops, Fulbeck, Grantham


T & C ROBINSON Master Saddler Retail 01526 860436
Kesteven Works, Tattershall Road, Billinghay
also at:
11 Queen Street, Louth Master Saddler Retail 01507 604596
4 St Mary’s Street, Stamford Master Saddler Retail 01780 755378

[bexj]

Karen Coxon at R&R Country in Selby - she will, I'm sure cover the north lincs area if that is any good.

[CurlyWurlyRach]

if karen at R&R will cover you then i reccomend her. you can email R&R on their website and they'll let you know.

www.randrcountry.co.uk

[Forever Fern]

Thankyou for your reccomendations, but i have Poohsmate coming out soon so its all sorted now but thanx for the recomendations :D :D
xXx

[CurlyWurlyRach]

congratz :D Poohsmate gets to meet the beautiful Fern... *jelous jelous jelous* lol.

[Bebe]

You won't go wrong with Poohsmate.

Just a heads up on something re: Master Saddlers, the master saddler qualification is not a saddle fitting qualification. A master saddler is qualified to make and alter saddlery and harness, that's it. Quite often they'll also sell and fit saddles too but the qualification itself does not cover this. In fact, last time I checked the saddle fitting qual was only a 2 day course and could only be taken by those who owned or worked for saddlery shops. This info came directly from a saddle fitter who was very honest about his qualifications (or maybe lack of would be a better word for it).

The best saddle fitters tend to be found via word of mouth. I personally would be very, very hesitant to use one that was strongly allied to a tack shop.

[Forever Fern]

congratz :D Poohsmate gets to meet the beautiful Fern... *jelous jelous jelous* lol.

Aww thanx, you will have to come and meet her one day but only if i can meet curly :D:D
xXx

[gypsygold]

Can I just add in response to Bebes post (which I do agree with).

The two saddlers I sugggested are both qualified saddlers and qualified saddle fitters. There are more saddlers in Lincs but only these that actually qualified to fit as well.

[gypsygold]

Forgot to add - To become a a fully qualified saddle fitter (as the two I suggest are) there is in total 6 days of training (2 is for the intro course for which no qualification is awarded) and some pretty heavy assessment criteria.

[Bebe]

To become a a fully qualified saddle fitter (as the two I suggest are) there is in total 6 days of training (2 is for the intro course for which no qualification is awarded) and some pretty heavy assessment criteria.


That's good to know. The guy I used (years ago now, pre-saddle fitting hell!) was quite upfront about not being qualified to be fair. The sorry thing is he was still the most qualified of any of the well known fitters in my area at that time.