Dressage saddle put together with nails

[Chaoticchronicles]

Hi COTHers,
just want to see if anyone has experienced anything like this. I recently purchased a Zaldi dressage saddle which is absolutely beautiful, (well… not anymore now that I have stained it with my blood…) it has an interchangeable gullet system which I thought was great. Although, tonight I went to change out the current gullet on it and when I popped off the gullet, I ended up stabbing myself with a two inch nail all the way through my thumb. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a saddle with actual nails sticking in it… has anyone else?

[MorganSercu]

Why not contact Zaldi directly? They don’t want injuries to occur and it may be a one-off or an indication of a bigger problem.

[js]

I doubt that any company makes a saddle with a 2" nail; however, it might have been a home fix it job by a previous owner. I would be concerned that there has been damage to the tree, hence someone trying to nail it together? There maybe nails (per say) in saddles but they are quite small (less than an inch) and have a rounded head.

[Equibrit]

@js

There maybe nails (per say) in saddles but they are quite small (less than an inch) and have a rounded head.

Those would be saddle tacks. (below). Note the shape of the shank. I guess they could have used a long nail to hold something in place temporarily during construction, and forgot to remove it.

[sheltona01]

That actually looks like the fall down staple or the head nail. What is on the other side of the saddle ie directly though the leather?

[no.stirrups]

Agree with sheltona01. Looks completely normal.