I have a 20-ish year old Simco that fits me and my pony quite well, but the seat is hard as concrete. My seatbones feel bruised the next day every time I ride in it. I have my eye on a Cashel gel seat saver, but was wondering if re-doing the seat with more padding was an option? Is that a thing? Do people do that? Is there anyone in the SEPA area that does it?
[QUOTE=caradino;7174410]
I have a 20-ish year old Simco that fits me and my pony quite well, but the seat is hard as concrete. My seatbones feel bruised the next day every time I ride in it. I have my eye on a Cashel gel seat saver, but was wondering if re-doing the seat with more padding was an option? Is that a thing? Do people do that? Is there anyone in the SEPA area that does it?[/QUOTE]
Any good western repair shop should be able to replace the seat.
OP, I can’t help you a lot as I have circled the idea like a vulture, but never landed and had a saddler do the job.
IME, not all saddlers are created equal. And plenty of them thing “fixed but fugly” is good enough. I’m looking for a OEM look if I have someone work on a saddle. In your spot, I’d insist on seeing one they had done.
In my travels, I learned that if you have some of the metal lacking on the cantle or pommel that was popular in the 1980s, it makes the whole job a big one. According to the saddler I spoke with (and she was not a good one), you have to unlace those sections to take off the leather on the pommel and cantle. Then you can get to the seat’s leather. But putting the whole thing back together and again and relacing? I dunno…
Sorry to not have better news or a solution. But I think the job can be done by someone somewhere.
I had a Dale Chavez saddle and had the seat redone by them. I just sent them the saddle, they kept it for a month, and I got it back a few hundred dollars later. It looked better than new. Didn’t have the laced cantle, though. That would be a bear to work with, for sure.
I have had a couple done and they turned out fine.
Have you consider just using a gel seat saver until you find a repair guy?
Most cutback/saddleseat saddles do not differ much in how they fit horses, like dressage, western or jumping saddles can. They are molded on a lane fox tree and are usually quite standard. The variations occur from quality of materials used, cushioning and craftsmanship. For the money you would spend to have this seat replaced, I would simply buy a new or quality used saddle. Recommended quality brands that fit multiple horses well are: Barnsby, Crosby, Whitman/Campbell, Joesph Sterling, and most anyone made in England (vs India or Argentina where the leather is not as supple).
http://www.smithworthington.com/index.php?p=home
Smith Worthington makes high quality tack and takes pride in what they do. I bought a Tucker Equitation Endurance saddle and wasn’t used to all leather, so I brought the saddle to them to sew on a Suede Seat. Luckily the Company and I are both in CT. It is a small company and everything is hand made to perfection.
They do take ship-ins and will ship back when the saddle is complete. Was speaking with the Manager and they even ship saddles to Europe.
Thank you! Sorry it took me forever to get back to this thread… good things to think about.
I will definitely invest in a seat saver in the meantime, but was wondering about a more permanent option.
The saddle itself is a really simple trail model, so I don’t think it would be a crazy job to have it done, but then again I’m no pro.
I’ll have to get in touch with Smith Worthington and see what they can do, thanks for the tip! CT is not crazy far…
