I have a custom-made Voltaire that does not fit my horse. This is my 2nd saddle with the company and I refuse to get another set of foam panels.
Does anyone have experience getting Voltaire to wool-flock their saddle (or, at the least, put on wool-sized panels, since they need to be larger than foam-sized panels)? Or, does anyone know a company (prefer high-end French saddle brand) to do this?
I have a friend who is a certified independent saddle fitter who regularly reflocks foam saddles to wool. I haven’t seen her do a voltaire specifically, but several CWDs, a Butet and a Devoucoux for sure. Some panels wont accommodate wool, but many more than you’d think accommodate it just fine.
As far as French companies that do wool, I know Butet will do a wool flocked saddle, but I’m not sure who else.
You may be better off talking to an independent saddle fitter to see if your particular saddle would accommodate being converted to wool.
If the saddle fits the horse, switching from foam to wool will create a thicker panel and the saddle wont fit.
If the saddle does not fit, what is the problem?
Is the tree the wrong shape, either width or curve or drape? In that case sell the saddle.
Is the problem just in fine tuning the foam? Can you get a good fit with a shim? If so you just need the foam tweaked.
But basically if the tree is wrong there is no fit fix you can get through altering panels. On the other hand if the problem really is just in the panels, a bit of bridging or you need a bump up pad, you can’t switch to wool without losing your almost for and making the saddle too tight.
CWD and Butet both used to offer wool flocking as an option, I don’t know if they still do. But my friend with the wool flocked Butet had it custom made for her and her horse, I don’t know if it can be changed from wool to foam with as good results. I do remember reading on this forum that Devoucoux says their saddles cannot accommodate wool flocking.
But as already mentioned, if the tree doesn’t fit correctly it doesn’t matter whether you use foam or wool, it just won’t fit.
Check out this link, if you scroll down to a 7/26 post, she talks about converting foam to wool on french saddles.
You have had issues with just about every trendy French saddle company (you started threads on not only Voltaire but Dev, CWD, etc.)
For once why not go with an independent saddle fitter that can sell you a British saddle designed to be flocked with wool that will actually fit your horse? I know, it’s NOT TRENDY. But how many times do you have to get burned before you decide to do something different. If trendiness really matters, then how about trying a County? I still think a FITTER who KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING and does NOT WORK FOR JUST ONE COMPANY is better-- but at least the County saddles come in wool and have a variety of shapes and fitting options. And while their reps work on commission, they tend to be a bit less “hit or miss” than the trendy French brands.
I do not have a lot of confidence that a saddle that was designed for foam panels (thinner than wool and shaped differently) that has been remade 2x and doesn’t fit can be fixed by Voltaire to now be a wool saddle that will fit. i actually have almost no confidence in that. And I am not sure many good saddle makers are going to want to or be able to try to convert this to wool-- or that it would be cost effective. If I was going to convert it, I would pay a true saddle fitter to do it. I would not try to get Voltaire to do it. A saddle fitter worth their salt will know if it can be done and done right. Might not be worth the cost though.
You could sell the saddle used, buy an Albion/Black Country/Ideal/Hastilow, etc., have a saddle that fits, and have money left over.
The French saddles are PRETTY and it’s nice when they fit. But yours doesn’t and you’ve been around and around with the French saddle reps. Their job is to MAKE SALES. They are not necessarily experts in saddle fit. I suspect they’re going to blow whatever smoke it takes to get more money out of you and then you’ll have a f-ed up Voltaire that you CAN’T easily resell and it still doesn’t fit.
Sorry if I sound frustrated. I am frustrated FOR you… but at some point you have to stop doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I don’t think retrofitting a Voltaire to wool is wise. If they couldn’t make the foam fit, and allegedly foam is their jam, what gives you any confidence they can make wool fit?
I had my independent saddle fitter do back tracings of my horse. I took these to a reputable reseller of French foam saddles who used to rep for one of the French brands. We put my back tracings into a number of her saddles, and she told me my horse was just not going to fit in any of the brand’s or models, her back was too beefy. She said there was one model of Equipe that might fit, but I should stop even thinking about CWD or Voltaire etc.
I ended up with a Passier.
Point being it’s possible none of these brands are a good fit for any given horse.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
