If so, where did you learn it and what is it like? Are you a saddle fitter?
Kind of? I’ve had my County saddle fitters show me a few times. Much like with my shoeing activities (I can pull a shoe off and put a shoe back on and do a rudimentary trim…though would never try to do it all together on my riding horses! :lol:), IOW, I feel like I’ve learned enough to be dangerous. But flocking isn’t inherently difficult. More that flocking well (like shoeing well) is an art. So I consider myself capable of adding a bit if my saddle seems “flat,” but wouldn’t try doing anything more extensive.
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I’ve watched and asked questions. I’d also like to learn to make minor changes in my saddle.
I feel like the best way would be to buy a crappy wool flocked saddle and the tools and then go to town practicing.
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As PNWjumper said, flocking is easy. Flocking right is hard! Or, knowing where the flock needs to be and what problems can or cannot be solved with flocking.
I am a saddle fitter and I learned from https://saddleguy.com/certification/
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Right.
All of us under the riding instructor program learned how to do most anything in the saddle shop, just so we knew how things worked.
Flocking was something the saddler taught us, but would never have let us do it on a saddle that went out the door.
A finished saddle is one he did himself.
You could tell the difference in how smooth it was and what he was working to achieve, that took years working under a master saddler to learn.
Those lumps of wool have a mind of their own.
You need to develop a feel to how they work together to stay put in saddle panels, tight enough, not hard and/or lumpy, even and giving a bit.
You can feel if you go under a saddle with your hand, especially under weight, with a rider on top and then the rider moves around, lightly first, heavier later.
That is what the horse will feel on its back.
A few years ago I worked for a high end tack store, and I was sent to Ithaca to train for saddle fitting/flocking with the Albion fitter, who had trained in England to earn her certification as a master saddle fitter. It was fun and very rewarding, and with the right material, isn’t so hard.
I agree, flocking is easy, doing it well is another thing.
I have seen too many saddle fitter doing a poor job by lumping the panels or over flocking, I would not recommend it. It takes a lot time time, skill and practice to do it well.
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Reading through the qualifications for taking this course should give you pause if you are thinking it’s an easy do. Unfortunately, I’m afraid there are far too few “saddle -fitters” out there who wouldn’t pass.
https://saddleguy.com/certification/
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