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Please Reply to: Robert Ferrand sadddle@xxxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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U.S. EQUESTRIANS REQUESTED TO CALL THE U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Woodside, CA, October 5, 2005: The United States Federal Trade Commission has 
been made aware of Deceptive Trade Practices in the Saddle Industry, which is 
referenced in the attached letter from the Consumer Protection Division. 
However, now the Federal Trade Commission needs to hear from you, the 
equestrians of the United States, so that the FTC can determine the scope of 
the saddle fitting problem and determine the appropriate action.

Over the past two hundred years, the U.S. Saddle Industry has failed to 
establish any saddle standards, so there is no quality control on the shape of 
saddle trees, or accurate method to relate the shape of the saddle to the shape 
of the horse, which is why equestrians cannot find saddles that FIT. This is 
despite the fact that a draft United States Saddle Standard was written in 1999 
for the U.S. Dept of Commerce, National Institutes of Standards and Technology, 
however, the U.S. Saddle Industry has failed to do anything to implement such a 
VOLUNTARY PRODUCT STANDARD for saddles.

As an equestrian, if you want to find a solution to the saddle fitting problem 
and establish a common VOLUNTARY PRODUCT STANDARD for saddles that can be 
understood by all equestrians, saddle tree makers, saddlemakers, saddle 
retailers, and saddle fitters, it will require Governmental Agencies to enforce 
existing Consumer Protection Law, requiring the saddle industry to comply with 
that Law. This initiative will require that the U.S. Equestrians take personal 
responsibility to permit the appropriate Governmental agencies to be able 
understand the scope of the saddle fitting problem so that Agency can determine 
the appropriate course of action.

As is explained in the attached FTC letter: SUBMISSIONS FROM THE PUBLIC PROVIDE 
VALUABLE INFORMATION THAT IS FREQUENTLY USED TO DEVELOP OR SUPPORT COMMISSION 
ENFORCEMENT INITIATIVES.  Please read the attached letter from Mr. Neil 
Blickman, an attorney in the Enforcement Division of the Consumer Protection 
Division of the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.. Then call Mr. 
Blickman, personally, at 202-326-3038 and let him know your experience fitting 
a saddle to your horse. Leave him a message explaining the following so that 
the FTC can tabulate this information to determine an appropriate course of 
action,
1.      How long have you been riding horses?
2.      How many horses have you owned or ridden?
3.      How many saddles have you purchased?
4.      How many of those saddles actually fit the horse?
5.      How did you determine if the saddle did or did not fit?
6.      Did the saddle maker or saddle retailer refund your money for the 
saddle that did not FIT?
7.      How many pads have you purchased to correct for saddle poor fit?
8.      Tell him anything else that you think is important!
(i.e. who sold you the saddles? What did they say to sell the saddle?)
9.      Then REQUEST THAT THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TO PUBLISHED A POSITION 
PAPER to define how existing Consumer Protection Law relates to the purchase of 
saddles and saddle pads.

This FTC SADDLE AND SADDLE PAD SALES POSITION PAPER will permit you, the U.S. 
Equestrian, to know what your LEGAL RIGHTS actually are and more importantly it 
will permit the saddle industry to know exactly their LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES. 
This Position Paper will permit you, the equestrian that actually has to pay 
for the saddle or saddle pad, to make saddle makers, saddle retailers, saddle 
fitters and saddle pad manufacturers accountable not to sell you, defective 
products or to misrepresent the qualities of their saddles or saddle pads. This 
will permit you to find a SADDLE THAT FITS YOUR HORSE, without having to spend 
a fortune on saddles and saddle pads.

This phone call to the Federal Trade Commission is in the best interest of your 
horse as well as yourself and the 9,000,000 horses in the United States and 
will force the saddle industry to provide better quality saddles that actually 
FIT the animals properly. Please forward this e-mail to fellow concerned 
equestrians so that they can make their voices heard in Washington, D.C. and 
throughout the Saddle Industry.

Robert Ferrand
Inventor CEO
Saddletech.com
inventor@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
650-631-8400





UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC

Bureau of Consumer Protection

June 7, 2005

Mr. Robert Ferrand
Saddletech
Chief Executive Officer
2995 Woodside Rd., Suite 400
Woodside, CA 94062

Dear Mr. Ferrand

This acknowledges receipt of your recent communication, and accompanying 
materials, relating to your concern that current methods of labeling saddle 
sizes, and claims of saddle fit by industry members are unfair and misleading. 
You attribute these practices to the absence of standards in the saddle 
industry for accurately measuring and defining saddle fit. You assert that due 
to the lack of a uniform standard of saddle measurement, consumers are unable 
to accurately determine saddle fit prior to purchase or make value comparisons 
among saddles, which likely results in consumer injury. The communications that 
the Commission staff has received already are more than ample to allow us to 
evaluate the substance of your complaint.

As you know, the Commission has been directed by Congress to act in the 
interest of all consumers to prevent deceptive or unfair acts or practices, 
pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U,S.C. §§ 41-58. In 
determining whether to take enforcement or other action in any particular 
situation, the Commission may consider a number of factors, including the type 
of violation alleged; the nature and amount of consumer injury at issue and the 
number of consumers affected; and the likelihood of preventing future unlawful 
conduct and securing redress or other relief. Submissions from the public 
provide valuable information that is frequently used to develop or support 
Commission enforcement initiatives.

I can assure you that the information you have provided will be carefully 
considered, and that the Commission staff will take such further action as is 
warranted by the circumstances. If you have any additional questions, or would 
like to provide any additional information, please contact me at (202) 326-3038.

Sincerely,

Neil Blickman Attorney
Division of Enforcement






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