Voltaire is Garbage

[HELLC]

@StormyDay

Except you didn’t give them time to fix the problem. Sh*t happens and sometimes the fit of a saddle or leather quality isn’t as high as it usually is. A custom saddle takes weeks to months, its likely your horse gained or lost muscle. Leather is a natural product, sometimes there are imperfections in the cow. On top of this they tell you not to get second skin if you ride more than a few horses a week. It doesn’t matter whose saddle you buy, if you buy the fancy thin, soft leather you are going to wear through it if you ride that many horses a week. I would highly recommend getting buffalo leather so it at least has a chance.
But instead you come on here and call a whole brand garbage even though you didn’t even allow them to fix the issue. How is that fair to the company or your rep?

Just my opinion my friend. I went with all recommendations for the saddle it was buffalo, second skin was sold to me as standing up to the wear, etc. The saddle wasn’t holding up and then as I look around my barn clients saddle aren’t holding up either and they don’t ride anywhere near as much as I do.

We live in a current culture of disposable goods and even if Voltaire replaces every saddle that is given to me with another of their saddles that will also inevitably fall apart, my underlying complaint is that they are just not made to last.

Literally the contract requires a trade in the saddle every 2 years for a new, free one. This is wasteful and unnecessary. I don’t want a new saddle every 2 years, I want the same saddle to last.

A new saddle is every so often is a gimmick to SELL MORE SADDLES. Ask Tad Coffin how often his returning clients “upgrade.”

[HELLC]

@APirateLooksAtForty

This is the silliest thread ever. I have 3 horses and the only saddle that fits all 3 is a Voltaire. My rep is extremely easy to deal with. You broke your contract. No sympathy here.

Fabulous. I am glad they work out for you and what you do.

It is of my opinion, that they do not work out for me and as a professional in the industry I am warranted in giving out my opinion about the quality of the saddle just as much as I listen to others who like and dislike certain products.

Yep, I broke my contract. And will happily do it again instead of being beholden to a company I don’t believe in.

[RockinHorse]

@HELLC

Literally the contract requires a trade in the saddle every 2 years for a new, free one. This is wasteful and unnecessary. I don’t want a new saddle every 2 years, I want the same saddle to last.

So why did you enter into the contract in the first place?

[silver_charm]

The returning saddles has been addressed by other companies - if you’re sponsored, they want you out there showing in their nicest saddles. No matter what, you’re advertising, they want you out there showing off the newest bells and whistles.

Someone on here who was a rep for another company told about how they had to beg and plead one of the BNRs to send their saddles back bc he loved to use them until they were beyond worn. They had to compromise and replace seats or flaps because he refused to break in entirely new saddles. This sponsorship program timing is not some scam due to Voltaire’s lacking in durability.

[HELLC]

@RockinHorse

So why did you enter into the contract in the first place?

​​​​​​Because I really thought I would be able to get the best of both worlds, tad tree the voltaire comfort. It is a really comfortable saddle, I didn’t feel like it held me anywhere and it was super close contact.

I didn’t do my homework and I did what everyone around me seemed to be doing and went with voltaire.

Eh, lesson learned. I didn’t really come here on the whoa-es me angle, like I said yep. broke my contract. I was already doing it anyway because I was signed with voltaire and riding, showing only in other brands.

[findeight]

@showy

Not to hijack this thread… but can an amateur barn owner’s barn be sponsored by a saddle company?

No they cannot. GR 1306.

Its fine to express an opinion based on your personal experiences.

But pronouncing your opinion as absolute fact is most unprofessional and tends to turn people off from the get go. Like " I had an issue and now hate them so they suck and are garbage and I’m telling the world they are garbage" sounds like an angry teen, not a professional trainer.

And it sounds like you did not give them any real time to rectify the situation and you are the one who broke a signed contract. Do the trainers you ride for know you are ranting and trashing the saddle company you signed on with on a well read discussion forum? If they or somebody they know happen to recognize your situation, free lance rider/ trainer sponsored by Voltaire, they might not be too happy to learn how you handle disagreements or bragging you broke the contract and would again. Doesn’t make me want to deal with you or the trainers you ride for and risk getting publically trashed over a disagreement.

Come to think if it Voltaire probably has been made aware of or actually seen this by now and your bragging you broke the contract and would again. Plus adding you never rode their saddles while accepting tne sponsorship is…well…kind of stupid with legal action against you a possibility. Guess you revealed who you really are to us here. Yup, way to build a reputation, nobody is as anonymous as they think they are on here, wonder what the trainers you ride for and the clients who own those horses, think about the lying?

I won’t quote you but if somebody does, it’s around forever even if you come to your senses and delete some of this ranting. Which is something I would certainly think about doing before you dig yourself a deeper hole.

[Scribbler]

Anothet super soft calf leather foam panelled Frebch jump saddle: I have seen a pile of CWD come on the local resale market recently with shocking wear for a saddle that costs $10,000 CAN and is only 5 years old.

I assume folks feel they are getting a performance advantage and are happy to trade in every few years like I am resigned to sneakers lasting a year maximum in aerobics class.

Whereas my leather lined leather soled quality dress shoes last decades. If I don’t wear them to the barn.

[HELLC]

@findeight

No they cannot. GR 1306.

Its fine to express an opinion based on your personal experiences.

But pronouncing your opinion as absolute fact is most unprofessional and tends to turn people off from the get go. Like " I had an issue and now hate them so they suck and are garbage and I’m telling the world they are garbage" sounds like an angry teen, not a professional trainer.

And it sounds like you did not give them any real time to rectify the situation and you are the one who broke a signed contract. Does your head trainer know you are ranting and trashing them on a well read discussion forum? If they or somebody they know happen to recognize your situation, they might not be too happy to learn how you handle disagreements or bragging you broke the contract and would again. Doesn’t make me want to deal with you or your head trainer and risk getting publically trashed over a disagreement.

Come to think if it Voltaire probably has been made aware of or actually seen this by now and your bragging you broke the contract and would again plus you never rode their saddles while accepting tne sponsorship is…well…kind of stupid with legal action against you a possibility. Guess you revealed who you really are to us here.

Okay. To make this more clear: this is a colloquial statement about my personal experiences with a brand’s merchandise. My saddle does not fit and is wearing down. My students are having similar problems.

The accessories, the girth and stirrup leathers in particular are the only ones I have used, are very low quality stiff leather that does not break in well and rubbed the hell out of every horse I used them on and my poor legs. They have been sitting in a box for months.

Many of my kids saved their money to buy second hand voltaire saddles that are not holding up and there is no voltaire guarantee for these kids.

Because of these reasons, I won’t vouch for the brand.

[HJdaydream]

@HELLC

In February, Voltaire Design came out to my barn to fit several my students for saddles. I had expressed interest in the Tad Coffin tree and sat in the blue wing. The twist was wider than my taste so ended up getting a sponsorship for the barn with a Palm Beach along with the trade in of my Tad Coffin.

In May the Palm Beach arrives and it put to use on my 6 horse plus a day ride list. After one month the stitching starts to show wear and the underside of the saddle looks worn through. Worst yet, my competition mare starts getting saddle rubs and isn’t performing well.

The chiropractor comes out, work loads are changed, yadda yadda. I haven’t had problems with saddle fit before so I look for multiple reasons for the back sore in my mare. Then, another horse gets saddle rubs and I won’t use the palm beach all together. It sits in the tack room untouched. I call our local saddle rep and she gets back to me within the week, at that point its too late, I meet with another saddle rep and Devoucoux fits perfectly and the leather quality looks fabulous. I sign with Devoucoux and trade in the Palm Beach.

Voltaire will not accept my trade in saddle and are threatening to sue for the sponsorship discount (2500) and accessories (~500).

Garbage saddles and garbage treatment of trainers- instead of creating a saddle that is supposed to last they want to trade in trainer saddles every two years. I can’t get behind my clients spending their hard earned money on something that is meant to fall apart.

Just the 2 cents from someone who rides anywhere from 6 to 15 horses a day. I would rather pay full price for a saddle that fits and lasts then be given some garbage I can’t in full conscience tell people to buy. Yep, I broke my contract; in good conscience I can’t promote a brand I don’t believe in.

Just putting this right here

[BeeHoney]

I don’t get your logic how one saddle that showed wear too early means that all their saddles are crap. So there was an issue/defect–you work with your rep and you give them a chance to fix the problem. I get it that you are out showing and you want the problem fixed NOW, but unfortunately that’s not how things work with any saddle company. As someone riding six horses a day, you should have a pile of backup saddles you can turn to. I ride fewer horses per day than you and I have plenty of backup saddles to use should my favorites get damaged, etc.

Sorry, but I think you acted in very bad faith here. If you wished to get out of your contract with Voltaire, there were about five other legitimate ways you could have approached this instead of trading in the saddle you got on a sponsorship deal to another saddle company.

It was extremely unethical of you to trade in a saddle you received as part of a sponsorship deal towards a saddle of another brand. I’m pretty sure you do in fact owe Voltaire for the value of the sponsorship discount they gave you. Sounds to me like Voltaire has every right to pursue you for it.

The sensible thing to do at this point would be to get the trade in saddle back, request to return it to Voltaire for the price you paid, and ask them to consider voiding the sponsorship contract since it obviously isn’t a good fit for you. Then you are free to order whatever saddle you want from whatever company you want.

[findeight]

That’s better.

But you signed the contract and didn’t abide by it. Doesn’t matter if it was a POS, you needed to work with them on a solution or disolution of the contract that would at least leave a paper trail you tried to rectify it and not end up with them coming after you. And you should never have publically said you never used their saddles after accepting sponsorship even befireyou broke the contract.

[findeight]

@HELLC

​​​​​​Because I really thought I would be able to get the best of both worlds, tad tree the voltaire comfort. It is a really comfortable saddle, I didn’t feel like it held me anywhere and it was super close contact.

I didn’t do my homework and I did what everyone around me seemed to be doing and went with voltaire.

Eh, lesson learned. I didn’t really come here on the whoa-es me angle, like I said yep. broke my contract. I was already doing it anyway because I was signed with voltaire and riding, showing only in other brands.

This is kind of a problem…not sure you understand the implications. To you, not to the saddle company.

[HELLC]

My last post on this thread: I merely wrote as my experience with a companies quality. Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve on my part to best handle the legitimate retreat from contract but the end all be all. As it stands, having tack that gets the job done is more important then me having a discount, etc. I really pride myself on trying to do what is best for my horses and clients.

From all of my personal experience with Voltaire saddles they are not comparable quality to saddles in the same bracket. I do not recommend them to clients looking for quality and definitely would not recommend to them to anyone riding multiple horses a day.

[HELLC]

@findeight

This is kind of a problem…not sure you understand the implications. To you, not to the saddle company.

As I said in the original post I was at a horse show when the chiro said my saddle didn’t fit my mare. My back up saddle is another brand. So, what am I supposed to do? Show in a saddle that doesn’t fit?

[enjoytheride]

There have been multiple threads on this page abput quality of saddle brands or dealing with the reps. Why are those threads ok but this one is not?

[Scribbler]

I don’t think anyone is objecting to a criticism of a brand.

People are pointing out that it isn’t fair to trash the customer service element if you never even tried to get the problems rectified.

And there may be actual legal repercussions if you violate a sponsorship agreement rather than discuss the problems and try to fix nd a solution or properly end the contract and perhaps return the saddle. I think selling the saddle rather than returning it is potentially problematic.

Plus this issue raises the ethical question of what happens when a trainer strikes a sponsorship deal that benefits them personally but also involves strongly encouraging the clients to buy the saddle.

Many saddle sellers apply points for saddles sold to clients, so trainer earns a discount based on client purchases. Often clients are not aware of this arrangement. Often it is not in the best interest of the client either.

[BeeHoney]

@HELLC

As I said in the original post I was at a horse show when the chiro said my saddle didn’t fit my mare. My back up saddle is another brand. So, what am I supposed to do? Show in a saddle that doesn’t fit?

Ok, please. I really don’t think that Voltaire (or any other saddle company) would have come after you for quietly riding in another brand of saddle while Voltaire fixed the problem saddle or discussed how to best end your sponsorship deal.

[Jealoushe]

I also think the sponsor thing of upgrading is because they get a better pay off selling used saddles. They sell you a saddle, then sell it again later. The used ones have a much higher pay out for them.

[HELLC]

Again, everyone. I realize I didn’t handle the default of contract well.

But I am starting to think this saddle contract is nonsense. One can not speak of other saddle brands, be photographed in other saddle brands etc. Not all saddles fit all horses. I literally have a kid that saved up all her pennies to buy a used voltaire and it is falling apart. She bought the damn thing because of me and I look at it everyday and think that shouldn’t have happened.

BUT nothing negative popped up when I googled voltaire saddle quality. I look at reviews when I make all big purchases.

[findeight]

@BeeHoney

Ok, please. I really don’t think that Voltaire (or any other saddle company) would have come after you for quietly riding in another brand of saddle while Voltaire fixed the problem saddle or discussed how to best end your sponsorship deal.

I don’t think so either, they probably never would have noticed…at least until the end of the contract OP signed when it was time for her to return the saddle for a new one as per contract terms Now OP told the world she hates the brand, never upheld her end of the sponsorship, willingly broke the contract and sold the saddle she got the discount on…

This saddle complaint is different because it was expressed as an all out, name calling rant to start out with then OP added the info she accepted their sponsorship, never used the saddles and broke the contract without trying to work it our for more then a week.she has since done some editing to tone things down but it’s been quoted.

Goes beyond the usual disappointment in the quality of saddles and efforts to correct issues threads.