Re: Aussie Saddles and E-Z ride stirrups

[raymond.santana@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu]

>------------------------------
>From: "Lisa" <lpopp@pa.net>
>To: ridecamp@endurance.net
>Subject: Aussie saddles and E-Z ride stirrups
>
>Hi Campers!

>I just bought a used Australian stock saddle for endurance.  I find it =
>extremely comfortable and secure and it seems to fit the horse.  I know =
>absolutely nothing about these saddles and would like to ask the experts
>=
>out there, how can you tell a good quality stock saddle from one of the =
>cheaper ones?  There are no markings on it at all, but it seems well
>made=

>Lisa <lpopp@pa.net>

Lisa,
As you can guess the best made Aussie saddles are made in Australia.
Australian made saddles always have "Made In Australia" or something close
to that stamped in the leather, usually under one of the outer flaps. SYD
Hill is the premier Australian saddle make but there are many saddle
makers in Australia.  The SYD Hill tree is made from injection molded high
density plastic. It is extremely strong. The best saddles are using high
loft fiberfill in the panels, it doesn't compress like wool, nor does it
break down like the so-called "doe hair" which is actually cattle hair. 
The panels are usually wool serge but some stock saddles have wool felt on
the bottom.  The  billet leathers  should be double thick stitched edges
and be supple not stiff. Look for cracking on these as  they would then be
made from improperly tanned leather (too dry).  The leather should smell
good, like leather. This may sound silly but some saddle made in Asian
countries used a tanning process that made the leather smell like urine,
maybe even tanned with urine. The leather is  usually thick and
dry/cracking. 

An unmarked saddle is usually an Aussie copy, not a made in Australia
saddle, but sometimes you come across a  saddle made in Australia but not
marked by the maker, usually the small hometown makers. Like I said there
are a lot of saddle makers in Australia

----------------------------------------------------
Raymond Santana
Network  Operations
UC Davis Medical Center
Sacramento, CA
rtsantana@ucdavis.edu  or
raymond.santana@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
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