Used Passier - Rusty Stirrup Bars?

[Dawdler]

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but I figured dressage riders may have more experience with Passiers.

I’m seriously looking at buying a used 2001 Passier GG. The specs are all correct for my horse, the saddle looks good etc etc, but the stirrup bars are rusty and I don’t know how worried I should be about that. Will a bit of steel wool and elbow grease fix it up, or should I be more concerned about the integrity of the saddle as a whole? I wouldn’t think the metal on Passiers would rust easily . . .?

TIA!

[Velvet]

I wouldn’t worry about the integrity of the metal on Passier, but you’ll know a bit more after you clean them up. Usually it’s all superficial stuff. Nothing to really worry about. It wouldn’t stop me. If it was a little rusty, not a big deal. I’d just be giving the saddle a good sniff test to see if it has mold in the flocking. That would then have to be replace. The leather having a musty smell could be taken care of, the flocking would have to get removed. The stirrup bars probably just have a surface rust. That happens a lot. I’ve seen it on saddles where the owner never really cleaned them. Drives me nuts. Same with nail heads on saddles that are rusty. Just shows the owner didn’t care for it as well as I would.

[Velvet]

BTW, I had an old Stubben that was used and had some rust on the bars that cleaned up really easily. Just used metal polish. I didn’t need to scrub super hard and wouldn’t have used steel wool because of potentially damaging the surrounding leather or adding more scratches to the bars.

[merrygoround]

I too would thin that Passier would use a better quality steel on their stirrup bars, they are such an integral part of the safety of the saddle.

I would contact Passier and ask!

[csaper58]

Is it surface rust, does it scrape off with a fingernail? Not a big deal.

Or does it go deeper, is the metal pitted? This would be a red flag for me, as this tends to happen to saddles that got very wet, as in a flood, or were stored for a long period of time.

If the stirrup bars are deeply rusted, the leather would be impacted by what ever caused that as well. How does the leather feel?

How do the nails at the tree points look? They should be made of the same metal as the stirrup bars.

And, because I have a suspicious nature, look very carefully at the saddle and be sure someone has not taken the tags off a real Passier and put them on one of the cheaper knock offs. It should have 2 maker tags, 1 on each side. It should be stamped on the under flap, that protects the main flap from the girth buckles.

As suggested above contact Passier if you have doubts.

[Dawdler]

Thank you for your replies!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for your replies. The saddle is definitely a Passier, it has the stamp on the underside of the flap and Passier is also stamped on the (rusty) stirrup bars.

The problem is the saddle is pretty far away and I would have it shipped to me, so I can’t check it out in person. The stirrup bars are really making me pause. One looks like mostly surface rust, but I do think that one looks pitted. It’s a shame, because the saddle is otherwise perfect for me and my horse

[csaper58]

Will they do a trial?

Will seller take it to a reputable saddle repair person, in their area, for an unbiased opinion?

Or tell person that you would like to try try saddle, and to call if they put it on consignment.

If all else fails, create a new post and ask if there is a COTH member in that town who could go look.