I have a collegiate diploma close contact saddle. Over the weekend my horse decided to take a sharp turn and I wound up on his neck. Now for the weird part, my stirrup leather slipped out from the stirrup bar resulting in a nasty fall. My opposite stirrup came off a few strides later as my horse cantered off. Has anyone else had a problem with stirrup leathers that slip easily off an on? The bars have never been difficult to get a leather underneath but after my fall I noticed that it is very easy to take the leather off/on. Is this fixable? I have emailed collegiate but have not received a response back yet. Would appreciate any input as I feel this is a real safety issue but I like my saddle otherwise.
Some saddles are just like that, especially after they get broken in and the leather behind the stirrup bar stretches a bit. Do you have really slim stirrup leathers that might be contributing?
I don’t know that this is any kind of defect as long as the bar is still firmly in place and by “loose” you just mean the leather is a bit loosey-goosey behind it. If the bar is wobble-y, that is definitely a problem that needs to be addressed. Otherwise perhaps you could wind a rubber band or electrical tape around the end of the stirrup bar, or coat the bar in something, to provide a bit of resistance to the leather sliding off but not so much that the leather couldn’t come off if you got hung up.
The leathers easily slide on and off my Thorowgood, but it has a one-piece (unhinged) bar that is curved up at the end, so it is hard for the leather to slide off the back accidentally.
Or get some thicker stirrup leathers?
Is there a screw that needs to be tightened? Like if there is a guard piece and the hinge is loose… That can be tightened.
We had a similar “problem” with one of the stirrup bars on an Anky. The tree was replaced and the saddle fitter never put the screw back in that holds the stirrup bar in place.
If you are in an area where Saddlers are at shows (like the people who do repairs and flocking and all that), take it by one day and see what they say.
My stirrup leathers are average thickness. I could try some friend’s leathers with the saddle though just to see if that makes a difference. The bar itself does not seem loose. I will definitely try a rubber band too! That is a good idea.
Thanks for the suggestions!
