Equipe saddle, repair of worn saddle flap

[Mulesaw]

This time at home, one of my customers asked if I could repair the saddle flap of an Equipe saddle, where the outer layer of leather had been worn through.
She had bought the saddle second hand since it fit both her and her horse perfectly, so she is not the one who has managed to wear the saddle flap to this extent.

Actually I am kind of puzzled as to why it was only worn through on the right hand side of the saddle, but the left side had just a bit of normal wear, so either the previous owner must have had used her right leg more, or perhaps have used some abrasive things on her right leg, like an unprotected zipper?

For once I have managed to take pictures through the process, to help giving an idea of how I did the repair job.

In total the job took 8 hours, so it is not a super fast job, but I never expected it to be. The value of the saddle still makes it worth making a repair like this, and difficult work holding/handling and hand sewing is the main reason for the time consumption. If I had a cylinder arm walking foot sewing machine, I might have been able to pull it off a bit faster, but I am only guessing. A saddle is fairly awkward to move around, and It only takes one slip to make the stitch line look bad and making matters worse, so I think that I would probably still go with hand sewing in this case.

 

1) outer layer of thin leather on the saddle flap is worn through.

 

2) A pleasing curve shape was cut on some paper. The inspiration for the curve came from the sides of the seat, and I wanted the ends to correspond to the angles of the lower reinforcement piece.

 

3)The curve is lowered to show the corresponding ends of the lower reinforcement piece.

 

4) A piece of thin leather (approx 2 mm thick) is cut out in the correct shape. It is deliberately made so that the lower part leaves a 3/8" gap towards the lower part of the saddle flap. (This is similar to how the original worn piece was made, to give a nice smooth transition for the lower reinforcement piece)

 

5) The repair piece is skived along all edges. approximately 5/8" wide.

6) The stitching for the lower part of the saddle flap is cut plus the lower part of the decorative stitches. The lower reinforcement piece is carefully removed and put aside to be used again. The worn piece of the saddle is cut of, following a curve matching the repair piece. Leaving approximately 5/8" overlap.

 

7) The repair piece is glued on using contact cement and hand sewn along the upper part. The decorative stitching is continued as well. (I sew over the first and last 3 original stitches to lock them in place)

 

8 ) The lower reinforcement piece is sewn in place again. Hand sewing since I don't have a sewing machine that could do it easily and allow me to maneuver the saddle easily around. I tried my best to use the existing holes in the heavy part of the flap. 

 

 

9) The completed repair job.

[Scoutmom]

nice

 

[TomE]

Well done!  That is a neat and serviceable repair.  Your stitching is immaculate and a lot of thought went into the design of the patch.  I guess we see the corresponding asymmetric wear in riding boots. 

[Mulesaw]

@Scoutmom Thanks, 🙂

@TomE Thanks for the very nice words 🙂
I also really would have liked to see the corresponding boots, but my customer bought the saddle second hand, so she was as puzzled as I. There was just ordinary light wear on the left side of the saddle, not even close to being worn through.

I did do a bit of thinking about the shape, off course it had to cover the worn part, and after a couple of initial ideas, I ended up deciding that this shape at a quick glance could look a bit like something that was original to the saddle. And since you can't see a saddle from both sides really well when it is on a horse, I don't think anyone will ever notice.

A thing that I am really happy about is that I actually timed myself doing it, and this Monday another customer asked me about a similar repair, but on a Prestige Versailles jumping saddle. So it felt really good to be able to give a ballpark figure on the time/price of such a repair job. (I just signed on yesterday, so I told her that she'd have to wait until I get back home again)
I guess that repair will be a little less complicated since there isn't a lower reinforcement piece on that saddle. I'll just have to get my hands on some brown leather that matches the existing colour. 

All in all, a job like that almost feels like cheating: Getting paid to do something that I genuinely like to do, and being able to sit inside and have a cup of tea while doing it, all while I have two large dogs snoring away on the floor next to me. 

Brgds Jonas

[TomE]

3 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

All in all, a job like that almost feels like cheating: Getting paid to do something that I genuinely like to do, and being able to sit inside and have a cup of tea while doing it, all while I have two large dogs snoring away on the floor next to me. 

Sounds like good duty inside.  We're having uncharacteristically cold weather this week and horse care is taking longer, so I haven't done much leatherwork lately.  My 1959 model joints are feeling the cold!  

I did buy some hide glue (pearl glue, bone glue) and have been experimenting with finishing edges.  It does a remarkably good job on bridle leather edges without sanding.  Since hide glue is water soluble I am trying a few different top coats to seal the edge after burnishing.  My favorite so far is beeswax applied with a heated edge iron and rubbed with canvas.

Good luck on the ship.  Hope you're going to a warm part of the world.

[Mulesaw]

1 minute ago, TomE said:

Good luck on the ship.  Hope you're going to a warm part of the world.

Not a chance on that one 😄We are in the southern part of Norway, and it is bitterly cold here at the moment. Plus there is some incredibly bad weather in the North Sea at the moment, so we have been told to just stay put in the harbour until the sea calms down a bit and we can deliver supplies to the platforms again. 

On your triple stitched halters, the edges looked fantastic. Did you only use beeswax and heated edge irons on those, or also hide glue?

It sound like a very interesting experiment to use hide glue, but I think that I would be afraid that it would be sort of delicate and not handle rain too well? 

 

[chuck123wapati]

You're a master man that looks great and after some use, no one will be able to tell it wasn't original. Maybe the saddle was used for some kind of event or something where the horse turns one way more than the other.

Stay warm, my friend!!

[Mulesaw]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

You're a master man that looks great and after some use, no one will be able to tell it wasn't original. Maybe the saddle was used for some kind of event or something where the horse turns one way more than the other.

Stay warm, my friend!!

Thanks for the very nice words Chuck.
It is so frustrating, that I haven't got the answer to why the wear is only on one side. It is really puzzling. I had thought about the "one way" idea too, but it just doesn't make any sense when it is a regular dressage saddle. Equestrian vaulting would fit that category, but that is a completely different type of saddle. 
And also I am puzzled, why the original owner didn't notice that the saddle got so worn in one side and not in the other side - and in time did something about it. 

Take care

Brgds Jonas

[Tove09Tilda]

Well done, Jonas!

I can imagine how happy your customers must be — finding a truly well-fitting saddle is still a real challenge.

I might have a possible explanation for the one-sided wear you mentioned. From a biomechanical point of view, there are usually two likely causes:

1. Hip imbalance
An uneven hip can destabilise the leg and cause the rider to push or load the saddle more on one side.
If this comes from a leg-length difference, it can sometimes be compensated for with different stirrup lengths. If it originates in the hip itself, correction usually requires a fully bespoke saddle and close cooperation between the saddler and an orthopaedic specialist. The seat must be shaped according to the imbalance that occurs when the rider sits in the saddle. And getting a bespoke saddler to work with your doctor and really taking the time is almost impossible, at least I know of non who would be willing to do that here in Germany if you are not a very successful sports rider. 

In those cases, I can only encourage investing in a bespoke saddle. Otherwise, the joy of riding is often replaced by recurring hip pain and cramping — in the worst case leading to painful dismounts and difficulty walking afterwards. This is really, really painful and definitely also makes the horse's life harder. But it's worth the 6.000€ to 10.000€ 

2. Knee instability
From experience, this is often the more difficult issue. A destabilised knee can sometimes be helped by a bespoke saddle, strength training (though in my experience this is rarely a complete solution), or temporarily fixing the leg position in the saddle. Very often, this also involves a confidence issue after injury.

As a trainer, I was always wary of mind-related problems, simply because they take so long to resolve. My own knee hasn’t been fully “fixed” for years after surgery. As a result, I have one very stable leg and one that constantly drifts toward the grid. You can clearly see this reflected in the wear pattern on the inside of my boots — even more than seven years after the operation. Since the surgery I was unable to have a nice and stress-free ride and I loved riding dressage, now I can't even ride a straight line as I confuse the horse with that one leg being a total mess and we tried every trick in the book, besides a bespoke saddle. 

Best,
Tove

[Mulesaw]

Hi Tove,

Thanks for the nice words 🙂

That sounds like some very plausible causes you mention, I think that the situation in Denmark is pretty similar as in Germany, with very few people being able to invest 6-10.000 Euro on a bespoke saddle. Mys customer is petite, so though she is an adult, she has specialized in training dressage ponies, so I think it was a 16" or 16.5" saddle, And the range of people willing and able to make a huge investment on a special saddle for a pony /pony rider is even smaller than for a full size dressage horse. So it makes sense that it was one of the causes you suggest.

One of our good friends had a bespoke saddle made for her horse, maybe 15 years ago. The horse had a bit of a crooked back as far as I remember, not much, but enough that a standard saddle hurt the horse. So she had someone from Kieffer coming up to her and measure her and her horse, and she ended up with a saddle that fit perfectly. 
I would love to be able to do that kind of work, but I haven't got the knowledge to do a proper fitting on a horse, so I just have to stick with doing repairs (but that is also a nice job)

Brgds Jonas