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Posted

Hi Everyone, I am new to the site and am looking for a little help steering to a quality english saddle making school. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. 

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Posted

I'm sorry, I meant to include in the good ole' US of A.

 

Posted

@retiredranger not just a few people in the US have been trained by George http://uksaddlery.com/. People worldwide are going to him and being trained in saddlery. Let me know if you find a better English master saddle maker than @gmace99 teaching beginning saddle makers. Saddle makers of some of the biggest brands in the US have been trained by him. 

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Thanks Thor, I will send a message. I did look at the website, only 2 weeks in country isn't a bad start, gotta brush off my passport!

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Hey fiveways and Thor thanks for the kind words....  @retiredranger  My course in July is full. I have another person asking for another date if you message me we can set something up..  It is cheaper for you to fly to Scotland than do a course in the USA.   I charge £1200 for 12 days  We cover a lot in that time  Hotels here are about 500 / 600 for 12 days   I'm sure they can be got cheaper and dearer.   The exchange rate really helps you at the moment. Email me at Sales@uksaddlery.com  or message me on facebook  Geo Dunoon  if you want more info.

 

www.uksaddlery.com

Saddlery training courses in Dunoon Scotland UK.

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Posted
1 hour ago, gmace99 said:

Hey fiveways and Thor thanks for the kind words....  @retiredranger  My course in July is full. I have another person asking for another date if you message me we can set something up..  It is cheaper for you to fly to Scotland than do a course in the USA.   I charge £1200 for 12 days  We cover a lot in that time  Hotels here are about 500 / 600 for 12 days   I'm sure they can be got cheaper and dearer.   The exchange rate really helps you at the moment. Email me at Sales@uksaddlery.com  or message me on facebook  Geo Dunoon  if you want more info.

 

The problem is that my bar-tab for whiskey would cost more than the course!! :)
 

Alexander
 

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Posted
1 minute ago, SolarLeatherMachines said:

The problem is that my bar-tab for whiskey would cost more than the course!! :)
 

Which brings to mind some additional research topics:  Which whiskey is best, really .. And just how much can you bring back duty free?  - And how much are "Lourdes Water" labels?

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Posted

Solar It is cheaper to buy the water of life by the bottle. ....Billybopp.    There is no bad whisky's they just made some better than others. I am not sure how much you can bring back duty free.. I would have drank it before I got back.. Lourdes water ...Yuk who drinks water?

www.uksaddlery.com

Saddlery training courses in Dunoon Scotland UK.

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Posted

There are some things you can do in preparation for your course. If you are going to make English saddles, for someone to use on a horse, you need to know about saddle fit. Otherwise what you make is either going to hurt the horse it is used on, or will only be useful for exhibition. Thre is a lot of information on the net on this subject, and Rod and Denise Nikkel have left up all their info, although they have retired.It is an enormous subject, but the basics are much the same.

Part of your course will be doing what is called the flocking-this is the sheeps wool stuffing that goes into the panels, that has to be horse shaped. It needs to fit the horse correctly, and sit in the right place. Trees also come in different widths, too. Can you find an English saddle seller that also fits them, so you can see what is involved?

Go buy an old saddle, and take it to pieces. The techniques have not changed much over the years.

Teach yourself to do a welted seam- this is the thin line of leather on the seat that you will see joining the three parts that make up the seat.

There are one or two books about that are on English saddle making, with pattern illustrations. I cannot find mine at the moment to give you the details. Many of these books will be out of print, so try people like Abe books.

I speak both as a horse owner, and someone that has made and altered saddles for my horses, both Western and English.

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