I am so happy for you! And Kudos to Frank Baines for taking on that really custom challenge and also getting it right. I think they are a good company that doesn’t get the respect they deserve and this impresses me even more.
Oh, and I did the same thing for my sausagey ArabianX but with a western saddle maker. He came with some trees, put those on her back and in his head just eyeballed what needed to be different. He told his tree maker and they got that done. It was a lot of money, so I am very grateful and impressed. But this is more common in Western world than in English world, so I’m really happy to hear your story with it’s happy ending.
I agree completely! People I know either let their leather get dry enough to crack and snap, or oil it so heavily it turns mushy. I like a happy medium, my 45 year old Passier is a good example of that. It’s “firm” in that it is reasonably stiff, but it bends without cracking, the flaps and billets lay nice and flat without needing to be held down by stirrups and legs. It’s no buttery calfskin but it is tough as nails and feels, to me, like a quality piece of equipment. My Santa Cruz was too soft. It warped and stretched, and marked super easily. My heavy flat hunt bridle is the same “firm but supple” as my Passier, too.
The therapeutic barn had an inspection recently to renew our facility accreditation and the evaluators commented specifically on my pony’s tack. The more senior evaluator told the other evaluator that my tack is what she needs to be striving for with hers at her facility, which was a bit of a boost to hear, haha.
Now that I’ve gotten my hands on my saddle, I think it will feel like my hunt bridle pretty quickly. That lovely firm but supple feeling.
Frank Baines doesn’t get nearly the recognition here that they do in the UK. Which is unfortunate because their saddles are lovely and their customer service is fantastic. I was a fan before but this experience has just made me even moreso.
True custom fit is definitely more common in the western world. A lot of “custom” english saddles seem to be more customized for the rider but still generic cookie cutter for the horse. Which is unfortunate, really.
I completely agree with this! I like to buy used tack online and have had my fair share of both way too dry and over oiled stuff. I think either extreme is bad. I also love a firm, but supple feeling; not mushy/floppy and lifeless, but not cardboard stiff, either.
What’s your favorite leather care routine and products to maintain that feel?
I’m likely changing it up a bit with the new saddle for the first bit, but here’s my usual routine:
Regular routine:
Clean with Higher Standards (slightly creamy consistency) or Sweet Water (locally made saddle soap, less creamy than HS, slightly stronger, better for really grimy areas like underside of girth or bit ends), condition with Higher Standards. I do this a couple times a week, then every other week in the wet months, and once a month in summer, I seal with a beeswaxed based conditioner to protect from water damage (currently using Outback Leather Seal, which I also do my oilskin coat with periodically. I live in a temperate rainforest area, so we get a LOT of rain)
For drier leather:
Clean with Higher Standards or Sweet Water, condition with slightly warmed Passier Lederbalsam or Flexalan in thin coats allowing to absorb between coats until leather won’t absorb any more, if really dry I will lightly flex the leather between coats to help open the “pores” and let more oil in, then soap any unabsorbed oil off so it isn’t greasy, and seal with a less greasy beeswax based conditioner.
If I have a bridle or other strapgoods that was originally decent leather but has been neglected and turned into cardboard, I generously (like, until the leather is dripping in oil, generously) apply Flexalan, put it in plastic bag, and put it in a warm room with indirect heat for a few hours to let it soften. I use Flexalan because it is less likely to rot stitching than neatsfoot, in my experience, and it doesn’t darken the leather like Hydrophane does. I won’t flex super dry leather until it has had the plastic bag treatment a few times so I don’t risk cracking the leather.
The fit looks great! Good for you, sticking in with the process and working to get a saddle you want. You’ll be really happy for a long, long time. So worth it!
Thank you! It has just enough forgiveness in fit to let me slip my Thinline Trifecta under it on bad pain days, but if Tuesday was any indication I’m not sure how much I will actually need to add the thinline. I was hurting pretty badly, but riding didn’t make it any worse, which is a first!
I’m able to ride almost pain-free at long last. Or at the very lest, ride without maming existing pain worse. Something I never thought possible after wrecking my leg 7 years ago, and subsequently wrecking my body from compensating for the trashed leg, and finally developing extensive neuropathy. I didn’t realize just how much I was fighting my Santa Cruz until now. I’ve always just dealt with “good enough” because I’ve either ridden lessons horses, leased horses with their own saddles, or settled on whatever fit my pony and was close enough for me. I thought what I had had for him previously was pretty good but I was very wrong.
It’s going to take a while to recover from the expense, but it was SO worth it and I have no regrets.
