Hogbens Saddle and Harness Makers

29/11/2024

Friday FAQ!

Q. Do you have that in brown? (black, blue, pink etc)

A. When you think about it this is a slightly odd question but one which comes up again and again.
For the most part I sell used saddles. That means I have to buy used saddles and the criteria I have for choosing them involves style, age, condition, possibility of fitting a horse (believe me, some of them are never going to be good for that), price etc. Almost never colour unless it’s a particularly bad shade of tan which is not going to appeal to anyone.
Consequently every saddle is an individual and unlike the local shoe shop I am unlikely to carry the same thing in more than one colour. I usually have a fairly even mix of black and brown but it comes down to luck, just now for example, a lot of black ones have come in for no particular reason.
It can be quite hard to find a suitable saddle that fits you, your horse and your pocket so if you are going second hand my advice is to be as open minded as you can and get the saddle BEFORE the bridle has you set on a colour way.

26/11/2024

Kings have always been a forward looking company and saddles have passed through all the styles since they began in the late 80s. Set up by two brothers the factory is in Walsall and when I last visited, probably 20 years ago, it was a labyrinth of workshops and passages, all dim with the haze of smoke.
These are a good quality saddle, and while Grainne hates this one for its slightly dated look, I don’t. We see many riders that benefit from and prefer the deeper seat, it would also accommodate a longer leg.

King's Saddlery, GP. 18 inch, N. €350.

08/11/2024

Friday FAQ!

Q. What do I do if my saddle falls in a bog hole?

A.If you fall in with it first climb out and decide if you need A&E, or if a hot bath will sort you out. Check out your horse, a hose is good but if you make habit of it a Waterboy is a sound investment.

Now to your tack. Before you get in the bath, strip off all the bits that come off (NO - I’m talking about your saddle here so stirrups, girth etc). Use plenty of plain lukewarm water to sponge off all the debris, mud, grit etc. A toothbrush will help with the fiddly bits. Please don’t be tempted to use the pressure hose, I’ve seen it a few times and it takes the surface off the leather. Of course if you are going for the stripped suede look go ahead.

Next hang to dry in an airy place but not near direct heat. You can now retire to the bath but it might be easier on your Mum if you strip off on the door step, don’t worry she has seen it all before.
In a day or two you can start to nourish your saddle, water dries out the oils and it will need a few small applications of leather oil to bring it back, finish with saddle soap and it will be as good as new.

Or will it? Best bring it up for a quick health check, it’s free and most broken trees don’t show from the outside.

05/11/2024

What a good tempered little saddle this has proved to be. A good medium and always seems to fit beautifully level this Elan by Frank Baines has an excellent pedigree and a flocked panel. 👏
Practically new and peachy soft.

Frank Baines 'Elan' jump. 17 inch, M. €950.

23/10/2024

I think they speak mostly Spanish in Argentina, definitely not English. However, Collegiate is based there and do produce a reasonable English style saddle. Across the range they are fair quality for a reasonable price and even if not quite as robust as some they do offer a useful, affordable alternative.

Colligiate 'dignitary' GP. 17.5 inch, M. €370.

18/10/2024

Q. If I buy a saddle from you what does the price include?

A. The saddle of your choice, it will have been fully serviced and repaired as necessary.
Fitting, either at my place or yours.
Any additional flocking or alterations needed.
14 day trial which includes full refund or exchange if it’s not working out for you (if your horse loses a shoe, you get Covid and your car breaks down just keep in touch, you can take a little longer).

Ongoing support and retrade should you change your horse within a reasonable time.

What isn’t included?

If you live within a reasonable distance and you purchase a saddle I won’t charge for call out.
There will be a call out charge if you are more than 30mins drive away, this depends on drive time and starts at €40. Happy to quote at time of booking. Shared visits welcome.
As time goes by I am happy to check fit, repair or part exchange, just ask for a quote.
I’m probably not going to buy it back 10 years later.

I realise I do things differently to some, that is because I find the best success is to get to the horses, especially the ones on a tight budget.

15/10/2024

Look at Jessica - she’s all grown up!

The Ideal Jessica has been a solid choice for a dressage saddle for many years. Like any girl she has grown and changed during that time and is now a rather more curvy affair.

The unique tree design allows for an extra wide gullet without compromising panel width, so a lot of freedom goes along with excellent weight distribution.

Still at the core of the Ideal dressage family a few sisters have now made an appearance but never eclipsed her popularity. Keep trying Suzanna, Rebecca et al.

Pic 1 - Ideal 'Jessica' dressage. 17.5 inch, M. €300.

Pic 2 - Ideal 'jessica' dressage. 17 inch, M. €550.

08/10/2024

Lovatt & Ricketts have stood the test of time and bent to fashion a little as they have gone along. This one could be described as a good solid cob saddle, with very little life experience and it even comes with the original matching key ring!

Lovatt & Ricketts. GP. 18 inch, W. €440.

01/10/2024

If I liken saddles to chairs it goes like this:

🐴 1920s saddle = Garden wall
🐴 1950’s flat saddle = Kitchen stool
🐴 Average old Stubben (1990) = Kitchen chair
🐴 Mid range English (2000) = Computer chair
🐴Modern English (2010+) = Armchair
🐴 Optimum Performance by Nathanial Underwood = Recliner with footstool.

So, if you value comfort for you and the horse this would be an excellent choice.

Regarded as one of the best saddles on the English market I can only hope they stay that way since the retirement of Nathanial Underwood a couple of years ago.

Optimum Performance by Nathaniel Underwood. Jump/GP. 17.5 inch, MW. €610.

27/09/2024

Q. What is an air panel?

A. The puffy underneath bit of your saddle is the panel. There are two common air bag systems to pad it for the horses back. These are branded as Cair and Flair.

The main difference is that Cair is a system of four sealed plastic bags of air, two each side which overlap in the middle. The centre is usually secured with, wait for it …. Sellotape! The join tends to sit under the riders seat bone so this is a point to watch as their weight will cause the air to move out from underneath them accentuating the join.

Flair is a very similar system but has a complicated plumbing arrangement so that the air pressure in the bags can be topped up, with a regular football pump.

What’s good?

Overall they produce a very smooth panel on the horses back which pressure tests well.
Manufacturers swear your horse will move more freely.
Can be fitted to most saddles.

What’s good to know?

Life span is usually less than 10 years, but they can easily be replaced with flock.
Punctures occur along the plastic welded seam lines, particularly where the bag didn’t fit the panel very well and it has been folded to get it in.
The centre join can be lumpy and the centre lack protection for the horse.
If your tack room is cold at night the air will contract.

Unfortunately it doesn’t re inflate to the same size in the morning so for Flair vigilance is needed and regular pumping. They will also lose air from the plug on the end of the pipes.
Cair will just get smaller.

Punctures are hard to detect and most people continue to use the saddle completely unaware there is a problem. This is particularly true of the slightly newer versions which have a piece of foam inside the bags.

Biodegradable? I don’t think so. 🫤

26/09/2024

We’re delighted to be sponsoring ‘The Best Turned Out’ prize for the Endurance Ireland National Championship. It’s such a pleasure to support a great event at a great venue!

This weekend we will have prizes for BEST TURNED OUT thanks to Hogbens Saddle and Harness Makers . Horses will be picked on turn out but no hoof oil....
Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this event

24/09/2024

Ideal is one of the most prolific saddle manufacturers out there, and if they didn’t make it, they’ve probably bought the company that did.

Always reliable.
This one is a great example, would happily go hunting and keep you comfy all day. Not too deep, good big flaps so plenty of space for a larger rider and in pretty good nick too.

Ideal 'international event' GP. 18 inch, MW. €520.

20/09/2024

Friday FAQ!

Q. How can I stop my saddle getting stolen?

A. Unfortunately it’s not unusual for us to get that call, the saddle has disappeared usually along with anything else horse related that moves.

Here’s a few ideas:

🐴When you get your saddle from us it has a label which includes the serial number, keep it. Then if your saddle is recovered you can positively identify it.

🐴Consider insurance.

🐴Take and file a series of photos specially of any damage or imperfections.

🐴Keep your eye on it when out and about at shows etc, not everyone is as nice as you. If you are travelling with it in a tack locker keep it locked, I have heard of them disappearing while you stop at the lights.

🐴Don’t leave it in a yard that is not inhabited at night. Horses in the fields are a magnet. Even if there are people around always lock your tack room at night. Individual saddle locks are available but it doesn’t take a second to wrench the saddle rack off the wall and take the whole lot.

🐴If the worst happens let us know along with as many other used saddle stockists as you can. We might just be offered it back. Share it far and wide on social media and it might be worth taking a trip around any fairs over the succeeding weeks. Make it too hot to handle.

🐴Other things get nicked too, trailer locks are small and cheap and you can take it with you whoever you go. There was a fashion for painting the eircode on the roof at one time, maybe there still is, it’s a great idea. If your yard is vulnerable do it to your rugs too, might spoil the unicorn pattern but if you lose them they will at least scream stolen and know their way home.

🐴When you are buying, if it’s too good to be true it’s probably nicked.

🐴If everyone turned away there would be no profit in it, unfortunately they won’t and as long as there are saddles there will be thieves!

17/09/2024

Slightly unusual but no worse for that, this one benefits from long straps and although it has double flaps will have a more close contact feel.

Labeled Horse and Rider, I suspect this was the original retailer. Who made it? Who knows 🤔, but I’m sure it has a West Midlands accent.

Suede seat for super grip and plenty of space for long legs, a little faded in places, but not too many miles done.

Horse & Rider, GP. 17.5 inch, MW. €475.

13/09/2024

Q. Do I need to get the studs on the front of my saddle repaired if they break?

A. Yes you do.

Head nails, particularly the ones on the skirt can indicate that you have a problem. If the arch has been under pressure - maybe you ran over it with the jeep or your horse had a roll or fell over - they can pop out. They tend not to do it alone so even if you haven’t broken the tree you may have dislodged internal rivets and it needs to be fixed.

These days the heads come off quite easily, branded nails are single use so that they can’t be harvested and put on another saddle.

The whole point of the head nail is to stop the skirt being pulled up to the extent that it tears at the seat seam. Sometimes the result of unscheduled intimate time with trees and gate posts.

Seat leather is thin and rips easily, it’s a lot more cost effective to fix the head nail than to have to repair the seat.
So, even if it’s just the head that has come off get it fixed and keep your skirts down, you’ll save yourself in the long run.

06/09/2024

Q. Why are you so fond of flock panels and why is this the hill you’ve chosen to die on?

A. For many years now other materials have been used to pad saddles. What are essentially air bags, plastic foam and gel have all had a run, some more successful than others. The problem is everything is lovely when they are new and factory fresh. A few years later when your plastic has gone brittle and has air leaks and your plastic foam has compressed not so much.

Let’s take a look at what your saddle has to endure. Riders bumping around, horses doing gymnastics, heavy weights landing on the stirrup bars with a crash after every jump, even dead weights perched up there for hours. All this at hot horse temperature amid rising steam, then chucked in a freezing shed when you are done. It is tough but the panels’ job is to protect the horse and soften our bad behaviour for the life of the saddle.

Now let’s look at maintenance. It needs to be readily accessible, reasonably priced and fairly speedy. If it isn’t no one will bother.

Air based systems have a life of up to around 10 years, after this most have air leaks. Air systems are a little bit restricted in size and shape so it is usual to use the nearest size and fill up the remaining space with flock or foam as they don’t conform perfectly to the shape of the leather panel. Some riders love them, others claim they feel as is if they are on a bouncy castle.

Foam, like air takes the breathability out of the saddle and will not wick up moisture in the way flock will. Compression usually happens relatively quickly and the saddle has then to be returned to the manufacturer for new panels. A few months and a big bill later you are ready to go again.

So here I am, surprisingly very much not alone, supporting the wool flocked panel. Instant adjustment, alteration or replacement at what should be a very affordable price. Wicks away moisture and fully biodegradable at the end of the day. The crowd is growing, recently several manufacturers who had turned to foam for cheaper manufacturing and keeping up with the fashion have begun to come back to wool.

Not against progress, but sometimes it doesn’t seem to be better.

03/09/2024

A really useful little jump saddle at a really useful little price. So what’s wrong with it?

A horse has tasted it, taken a bit of the surface off the leather but not gone through on the cantle and his friend the cat has had a little prickle on the front of the seat. Not detrimental to the use of the saddle and not noticeable when ridden and I’m sure you love animals so what can you say?

Olney Saddlery, jump. 17.5 inch, N. €350.

30/08/2024

Friday FAQ.

A. What is a drop panel?

Q. A drop panel is deeper and wider behind the shoulder. Often used on high withers and large shoulders with a slight hollow below or behind the wither the extra width provides maximum contact and comfort for the horse and can enhance stability. Sometimes an advantage on a croup high conformation too where the saddle wants to move forward.