Tamar Saddles

03/08/2024

⬇️ This is a great post which shows how a correctly fitted half-pad can actually reduce pressure under the saddle if fitted correctly

01/08/2024

It’s been a busy few weeks, apologies for a lack of communication. I’m taking a ‘me’ evening to enjoy the sunshine whilst it lasts. I will get back to all texts/emails/whatsapp/messenger messages tomorrow. Thanks for bearing with me, hope everyone is enjoying this glorious weather 🌞

18/07/2024

Can’t wait for Paris 2024 🇫🇷 Wishing these incredible women the best of luck

We're so excited to reveal the four para equestrian athletes who'll be representing ParalympicsGB at Paris 2024 🥳

In order of grade...

✨ Mari Durward-Akhurst Para Dressage Rider (Grade 1) with Diane Redfern, Nick Durward-Akhurst and Rob Waine's Athene Lindebjerg

✨ Georgia Wilson Para Dressage (Grade 2) with Geoff and Julie Wilson and her own Sakura

✨ Natasha Baker OBE - Paralympic Dressage Rider (Grade 3) with Joanna Jensen, Christian Landolt, Phil and Lorraine Baker and her own Keystone Dawn Chorus

✨ Sophie Wells OBE Dressage (Grade 5) with Rowland Kinch's Don Cara M

Read the full release 👉 https://bit.ly/Paris2024PLYTeam

Photo: British Equestrian / Jon Stroud

16/07/2024

🐩 White Dog looking rather happy after we made some flocking adjustments and widened his lovely Ideal Saddle Company Barclay VSS. It’s so handy having a press on the van as it means I can make subtle adjustments onsite same day, resulting in the most accurate width fitting.

Also pictured is Buzz, we fitted him with a secondhand Optimum Performance GP a month ago and it’s just had a top up.

12/07/2024

I’ve had a few clients confess to me lately that they have been putting the saddle on too far forward, so I’ve put together this little picture guide to show the correct saddle position:

Correct - The first photo shows the correct saddle position. The white line on the shoulder marks the horses scapula, in the correct position the scapula is freely able to rotate back and not be restricted by the points of the saddle. The white line on the saddle shows the points of the tree, we do not want these interfering with the shoulder. The balance of a fitted saddle should be level as demonstrated here. The girth is sitting in the horses natural girth grooved away from the shoulder. In a straighter cut saddle you should be able to run your finger behind the scapula whilst following the line of the panel.

Forward - In the second photo the saddle has been placed too far forward. The point of the tree is just on the scapula and as it rotates backwards it would be catching this area, resulting in restriction of the shoulder. In turn this throws the balance of the saddle off, suddenly the weight is being forced to the back of the saddle and digging into the Longissimus Dorsi muscle running along the back at T18 area. The front of the saddle then bridges and the horse will likely hollow and raise its head due to the uneven dispersal of pressure and restriction to the shoulder. Note the girth (on this horse) is too far forward and sitting behind the elbow.

Backwards - The third photo shows a saddle which has been placed too far back, the balance has become downhill, therefore creating a pressure point under the points of the tree. The tree/panel is likely going to be beyond T18 which would result in the saddle sitting on the lumbar area which has no support unlike the thoracic region/ribcage.

11/07/2024

I will be at Liskeard Show on Saturday in the Horse Section, please come and say hello 👋🏻

🏅 My amazing Mum Deb Criddle MBE Dressage will be helping on the stand and I have persuaded her to bring her 3 gold medals

I’ll be bringing a selection of Optimum Performance demo saddles which can be tried at the show

10/07/2024

‘Does my bum look big in this’? 🙈

4-6 monthly checks for Buddy, Ruby and Diesel this afternoon in the glorious Cornish sunshine 🌞

04/07/2024

Molly coblet looking an absolute picture in this rather nice secondhand Ideal Saddle Company VSD 😍

01/07/2024

Wonderful morning spent at Star Andalusians PRE Stud, fitting the lovely Enzo with this beautiful Ideal Saddle Company H&C Jessica courtesy of Saddles Direct. It’s been difficult to find something to accommodate this boys rather large shoulders, he’s much wider than he looks from the side. The closer contact panels provided excellent stability and in turn really help owner Trischa feel super secure in the saddle 🥰

25/06/2024

A couple of secondhand Optimum Performance Saddles ready to go to their new homes.

Both have had a deep clean and a leather feed with Balmoral’s conditioning treatment 😍

19/06/2024

Baby Hodor learning the ropes with Shire Sport Horses, it’s so nice to finally see him under saddle. He’s very big and weak still but so much to look forward to 😍

If you are in the Blackdown area of Taunton and are looking for an instructor or rider, I couldn’t recommend Rachel enough, she is doing a fantastic job with H.

18/06/2024

We’ve seen a massive improvement in Connor since I fitted him with a Cavaletti Collection jump saddle, his atrophy from a previous saddle has completely disappeared and he has really opened up through his paces. The independent panels have allowed his shoulders to move totally unrestricted. He previously had some tightness over his lumbar area which has gone entirely since switching, keep up the great work Michaela 💕

18/06/2024

Something a little different yesterday, a friend of mine tasked me with fixing an old gun slip which holds lots of sentimental value. It was a first for me but really pleased with how it came out ✨

Before and after with a coat of Renapur

16/06/2024

My Mum’s horse Akilles is a shining example of how good a horse can look in their veteran years. 24 years young, looking amazing despite having equine Cushing’s disease. Still enjoying work and living up to his nickname of ‘Dangerous Dave’, he very cleverly untied himself 5 minutes after this was taken 🙈

Modelling his Ideal Saddle Company Tonisha dressage saddle which was custom made for him and my mum. Always ridden in Griffin NuuMed sheepskin saddlepads. Only the best for this special boy 🍊 Both pad and saddle are 12 years old and standing the test of time, British is best, quality at its finest 🇬🇧

13/06/2024

👀 Win a FREE pair of GFS wrapped stirrup leathers and a Griffin Nuumed cc saddlepad worth £90.

To be in with a chance do the following:

👍🏻 Like the Tamar Saddles page
🔄 Share this post
🏷️ Tag 3 friends in the comments section

🎉 Winner will be announced on Friday the 28th of June

🍀 Good luck!

12/06/2024

🔥🔥🔥

Caroline and Flynn flying around a BE100 in her custom Hunt Jump monoflap 😍

10/06/2024

👀 Something very exciting is finally happening, really pleased to announce that I will soon be stocking some lovely Crown and Barclay demo saddles made by The Ideal Saddle Company 🥰

06/06/2024

Jenn and Ash making a splash in their new Optimum Performance custom Hunt Jump 💙

05/06/2024

We had lots of fun kitting Sophie out with her new Cavaletti Collection GP this afternoon, quite the upgrade from their previous synthetic saddle. Pony and rider both approve 👌🏻

04/06/2024

Had a very exciting delivery recently 😍 The new Kent & Masters low wither jump saddle has arrived 🙌🏻 With low profile panels and a shorter S-bar, this saddle is designed for the cobby/connie types. Very excited to get this demo out on some horses 👀 The quality is beautiful and it’s great value from a price point, message to book in for a demo ride

04/06/2024

IMPORTANT NOTICE

From now onwards, absolutely no new client appointments will be booked in the diary without an enquiry form. I have been far too soft and understanding for too long, however it’s now getting to a point where it is taking the mick!

In the past week I have had one cancellation the day before and two on the same day, no enquiry forms for any appointment and only one person has paid the cancellation fee.

I understand things happen, especially with horses, but childcare issues and work emergencies are not a good enough reason.

As a business I can’t run like this, I appreciate the forms may be a bit of a faff but it allows me to be fully prepared for your appointment so you get the best service possible. It also means you can fully read the terms & conditions so you too can be fully prepared for the appointment.

This is a big loss of revenue, which pays for my many huge outgoings. It’s completely unfair on myself and anyone who could have had the appointment. I also organise days and routes dependant on numbers and areas, so late cancellations can really mess this up and be incredibly difficult to fill.

I know this message does not apply to 99% of my clients, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who makes sure that their horses and selves are ready for appointments 🥰 I massively appreciate it

28/05/2024

Absolutely love seeing client photos 📸 Bonnie flicking her toes in her newly re-flocked Hastilow show saddle 😍

Wishing this combination the best of luck at the Royal International Horse Show 2024

27/05/2024

🩷 Got to fit a very special Barbie pony today… All 18 hands, sorry, 17.3 and three quarters of him! This is my Mothers rather large youngster who is away on an educational holiday. He was quite tired after trying on 3 saddles, we settled on a secondhand Optimum Performance dressage saddle.

Loving the Cavaletti Collection adjusta pads, it allows me to subtly add asymmetric shims without the bulk of a full pad.

26/05/2024

Ted looking super snazzy in his new Kent & Masters competition monoflap XC saddle 😍 This gorgeous boy has just finished racing so this is his first proper saddle, being changeable gullet the saddle can be easily adjusted as he develops. He has a high wither and the longer bar/tree points compliment his shape very well

22/05/2024

From asymmetric, to completely broken! This old saddle was a little too flexible for my liking, unsurprisingly it had a crack across the entire headplate and is now off to saddle heaven.

22/05/2024

This shows the importance of listening to what your horse is trying to say. Any ‘abnormal’ behaviour should be fully investigated.

It is not ‘normal’ for a horse to have its back up if the saddle is well fitting, or to be biting and pulling faces when girthing, sadly I see the later far too often. Please have that conversation with your vet, because your horse can’t and as owners we need to be advocating for horses.

Did you know that most often, ulcers are a secondary issue (Turner, 2011). There is always a reason for lack of performance or ‘naughty’ behaviour, ridden and on the ground.

16/05/2024

💙 Feeling blue? Cheer yourself up with a new saddle. Lots of colour combinations, like this lovely blue welt 😍

15/05/2024

Unlike the post below, this saddle is not crooked, it may look so in the top photo. However, if you look closer, you can see that the panel hasn’t been laced in symmetrically and there is different amounts of flock in each panel, giving the illusion that the tree is twisted.

After a re-flock and stitching adjustment this little saddle is looking and feeling as good as new. Unfortunately when buying saddles secondhand, minor faults like this are often found, luckily they are usually rectifiable. A lot of hours have gone in to make this saddle ready for a horses back. Please bear this in mind if you wish to source a secondhand saddle privately. It may be slightly cheaper to buy but it could cost you £100-200 to rectify if there are flock or panel issues. When you buy direct from a fitter, you can be sure that the flocking is of a good standard and everything has been checked.