Onsite Tack

I have found at least one USA source for wool serge. It is a company called Rose Brand and it sells a 24-ounce wool serge in several colors. And, I don't have to buy 1000 yards at a time. Is 24 ounce a weight I can use? Thanks. Kathy

Barra, thank you very much. I am away for a week, beginning today (Monday). I will tackle more of the saddle when I return. Your explanation is clear and my understanding grows. Kathy

Hi, Barra. On the panel - I have been confused by the terms, I think. The serge covers the stuffing, which is in-between the base panel and the serge, right? If so, I am still confused by 'lining'. I've been thinking 'lining' is something between the serge and the stuffing. On this saddle, inside the serge material there is a lighter, cheesecloth-like material adhering to the serge material. That is what I have been thinking you are referring to by 'lining'. Because I started out wrong, I have that serge stitching removed from the front and along the seam line to the back. I have a huge bag of whitish wool flocking I bought awhile back and am planning to stuff with that. I will be hand sewing everything back together. So, do I stitch it all back together, leaving a space for stuffing? Am I close? Thanks. :-) Kathy

I know Jim and Barra are busy right now, but I want to report I have stitched the new billets onto the saddle. I have not removed the panel fabric, but I have taken out the old stuffing. While waiting, should I go ahead and remove the panel fabric and the lining? Thanks so much. This is fun. Kathy

If the frames are usable, I might be interested in some of them. But, I expect shipping costs to Florida would be prohibitive. Kathy

WOW! This saddle - and all of you - is teaching me so much. I've attached pictures of the panel lining - it's thin, looks like tightly-woven cheesecloth. The flocking is multi-colored, material(s) unknown, and embedded with tons of dirt from years of riding. I will put in new flock. Big question now is - do I reuse this liner? It is closely adhered to the outer panel material - could it be part of the outer material? If I want new liner - what do I use and where do I get it. Having tons of fun, here. Kathy

Thank you, Jim for those great details on repairing this saddle. I am now stitching on the first billet and have been following your steps. Verlane had already illustrated the back stitch for me and I have #6 thread doubled. Working well, so far. My new question is the flocking - do I put the old flocking back in or the nice new stuff I have on hand? Is it okay to put the flocking in while the panel is wide open like this? I have not reflocked a saddle the traditional way as yet. Many thanks. Kathy

Thank you! That is what I needed to know. I'm off to the shop tomorrow. Kathy

Question! I have a customer whose dressage saddle has torn just above the seam. What leather do I need to make a patch? The saddle is a Verhan Odessey Dressage. I have attached 2 pictures. Many thanks. Kathy Onsite Tack Services

I have attached 3 pictures of this pesky saddle so you can see what it looks like underneath. It does not look anything like Dave's pictures, unless Dave has already removed the padding. I was working on this saddle this evening and it sure seems to me that I have to remove all of this padding (see pictures). Of course, I can be rather dense, too. Thanks, everyone. Kathy

I listen to audio books. I love to read and never have enough time to read everything I want to. I use the library - so the books are free - and have a very eclectic listening list. Kathy

Barra and Dave - and everyone - thank you very much. I will let you know what happens. Kathy

I think I understand now - I have to take off the panels completely to get at the billets. Am I right? Thanks to everyone. Kathy I wanted to attach photos, but couldn't figure out how to make them small enough.

This saddle has very short attachments from the tree to the billet straps. I cannot get sufficient access to them, it seems, without taking out those nails and being able to lift up most of the saddle from the tree. Is it possible to go in underneath after removing the panels? Thanks for all the advice so far. Kathy

Gary, thanks for the insight. I'd been hoping to avoid that, but it seems it will be the only way to do it. This saddle is aged and has tons of built in grease-dirt on every piece of metal. I've tried to get the nails out from the top, but no luck. Sigh! Well, now I know what I need to do. Thanks. Kathy

I am taking apart an Australian-style flat saddle to replace billet straps. I have forgotten how to remove those round metal buttons that sit up near the pommel. Any ideas are most welcome. Kathy

When we built my workshop, my dear husband also build me a work table 8 feet long by 3 feet wide. We covered the entire table with a custom-cut poly board. I can cut anywhere on that table and it holds almost every hide completely. What a guy! Kathy

I had a young woman ask me to fix her treeless barrel racing saddle. I did not realize it was treeless until I had it at home and started looking at it. I could not imagine anyone would run barrels in a treeless saddle! Duh. After I opened up the saddle and looked at how it was put together, I called the customer to advise her on the risks of this saddle, regardless of how I replaced rigging. She declined to do the repair - due to costs. Everybody here is right about the poor internal construction. Unfortunately, buyers of this saddle don't get to look inside and I have never had a coherent answer from dealers or makers on how they fix the rigging to the saddle. Kathy

Thanks for the great ideas. Grape bags - I never thought of those. And, the fabric store - I will check them out. I had thought of stockings, but hadn't gotten to trying it out. Kathleen

I have a challenge. When I have a large spool of thread on my sewing machine, as the spool moves in a circle, extra lengths of thread fall out or off the spool, ending up wound around the bottom of the spool and messing things up. When I bought my sewing machine, the dealer gave me some tubular netting that fits around the spool and keeps this from happening. However, he did not give me much of this. I am looking for the same thing or a substitute. All ideas welcomed. Thanks. Kathy

Barra, thank you very much. On the Tackleberry rig - is it really safe enough to use just that? Could I recommend this to the client? Kathy

I have my first Australian saddle in for repair. It has a pommel and cantle, so I guess I would call it a western type. There are two billets - one goes over the saddle and can be pulled back and forth. The other is made of 2 separate straps that disappear up into the saddle (I haven't opened it up yet). If anyone is familiar with these saddles, please let me know any particular challenges I might face. Also, what leather should I use to make a replacement billet for the straps that run up under the saddle? It is a black saddle, by the way. Many thanks. Kathy

Hi, Art. How and when do you apply the lube to your thread on the sewing machine? Kathy

I mostly do hand stitching when working with leather. I do use a machine when repairing horse blankets or other fabric pieces. I have a Juki DN-1541 for this purpose. My problem is: today, I was repairing a horse blanket where a strap had pulled free from the insertion site. This site was reinforced on both sides with leather and the leather was falling apart. I used some saddle skirting scraps on hand to make new replacements. I did skive off several ounces of leather, but the replacements are still thick. I used a needle for leatherwork and stitched away. Did fine until almost finished and the needle broke off. Now, after removing a jammed piece of the broken needle, my husband thinks the leather is too thick for this machine. I disagree. So, I come to the experts for advice. Is saddle skirting too thick for this model of Juki.?The machine had no difficulty moving the needle and the material. Thanks.