Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Saddle repair

From: Leona

Dear Jessica, I looked all over your archives and didn't see this question answered, so I hope you will answer it for me. I am fifteen and want to be involved with horses professionally. But I don't want to ride them professionally or be a riding instructor. I have been talking to my friends and my old riding teacher and I think that I would like to learn how to repair tack and saddles, because I have always liked taking care of tack and leather. But here is my question, are there enough things to do to saddles to make a living? All I know about is that you can restuff the saddles (English) and replace old billet straps. And replace elastic on girths. What else is there to do? Thank you very much for your answer, Leona

Hi Leona! Yes indeed, you can make a living doing tack repairs. If you have any doubts about it, just visit a large tack shop and ask to talk to the person who does the tack repairs -- you're probably going to have to talk to him (or her) while a saddle or bridle is being fixed, because there aren't enough good tack-repair services, and there's more than enough work to go around.

As for what you can do: you're right, English saddles can be restuffed, billets can be replaced, and girth elastic ends can be replaced. But that's just the beginning! Saddle dees can be added or replaced, stirrup bars can be replaced, saddles can get new seats and new padding for seats. Knee and thigh blocks can be added, removed, moved around, and restuffed. On old saddles, the stitching at pommel and cantle sometimes wears through, and then the saddles need re-stitching.

Don't limit yourself to one type of saddle. Western saddles need work too -- have you ever seen an old Western saddle with worn-away or damaged fleecing? That fleecing can be replaced, and seats can be repaired, replaced, or padded. Western saddles sometimes need new stirrup leathers, new billets, or new fenders. Saddle dees can be added or replaced on Western saddles too, and Western saddles sometimes need re-stitching in the cantle. The leather that covers the horn may need replacing or re-stitching as well. And with Western saddles, you can even remove all of the leather and put it back onto a new tree. (Actually this can be done with an English saddle as well, but it's much less common and much more expensive project.)

And then there are the bridle repairs... and halter repairs... and breastcollar repairs... not to mention blanket repairs! If you live in an area where horses are driven as well as ridden, there will be harness repairs to do.

You'll need to acquire skills, and that will require either a course of study, an apprenticeship, or both. In England, you would go to an established school; in the USA, it's more likely that you would learn the skills from an older leatherworker who was willing to take you on as an apprentice and teach you in exchange for pay, work, or a combination of the two.

Why not start by finding the local people who repair tack, and talking to them? If you stay interested and get really good at tack repair, you'll never have to look far for work. ;-)

Good luck!

Jessica

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