Mid Atlantic Saddlery and Tack Repair

09/17/2025

Today while looking up a bridle sizing I read all the way thru the instructions in one of my favorite saddlery training books.

Made me smile.

09/14/2025

Making friends early this morning. 🙂

09/07/2025

Today in the workshop I got to dig into a saddle that was clearly unstable when flexed, it was suspected to be broken, but even I was not prepared for what I found inside.

First two photos are as I got it the bench and started taking it apart. Clearly uneven, unstable even to the naked eye.

The rest of the photos are of the **REPAIRED** shattered tree!!!! Someone saw this tree was broken clean thru, then Drilled and tapped new rivets, used hard steel strapping, and attempted the pad the sharp metal edges with a piece of chipboard in the gullet. When the seat foam has been destroyed in this amature repair effort, they stuffed the seat at the pommel with synthetic flocking materials.
And then someone rode in this saddle again, after the complete tree fracture, and rode in the saddle until it broke thru the metal completely again!!!!!

If your saddle squeaks, is unstable to flexing, or makes your horse sore, please please please call a skilled/trained/qualified saddler to look into the problem.

When we say something can not be repaired, we are being truthful and taking your horses wellbeing as priority. Do not take a broken saddle to your local hobbiest, metal worker, welder, or belt maker, just because you dont like the answer from the skilled saddler! Those folks may all have amazing skills but should never work on a saddle. If the person who ended up buying this saddle had ridden in it and gotten hurt, the liability is deep and easy to spread around. The seller, the repair person, anyone who has knowledge of that broken saddle still being used or sold can be brought into the crosshairs for liability.

This saddle is destroyed, should never have been repaired, and should have been trashed ages ago.
It is now in the bin where it deserves to be. I harvested the good leather off the flaps and might make a bag out of it someday, but for now I am disgusted and heartbroken for whatever poor animals were made to perform in this saddle. Ouch.

09/02/2025

Headed home tomorrow from this amazing trip.
Tired and so grateful
I will be back to fittings and repairs and making some saddles at the end of the week. Let me know who needs to get on the schedule!

08/29/2025

Done and dusted. And then taken all the way back apart to be packed and shipped home. Sheesh!

08/28/2025

Girth straps are VITAL to safety and your ability to stay with your horse.

If you have any of the circumstances shown in these photos from KHS Master Saddler Ltd in their excellent post, it is important that you reach out to your local saddler or saddle fitter with training in billet replacement and get these repaired immediately! Don’t ride until you have safe and well secured billets!

08/27/2025

08/24/2025

Happy afternoon coffee time while I wait for the train to Birmingham for some shopping and dinner

08/24/2025

Patters done, leather picked and cut, getting so close! @

08/23/2025

Had a fantastic day off from class running out to Horses Inside Out to see the brilliant exhibition from Gillian Higgins and her models.

I was able to pick up some of her books that I didn’t already have and will be bringing them some of them to appointments to demonstrate the body configurations that we discuss frequently.

Horses Inside Out Defiant Saddles

08/21/2025

Congratulations to all!