Saddle Construction
Part 1
We thought it would be interesting to take a saddle apart to show exactly what's inside a typical English saddle; how it's assembled and also point out some features and common issues that can affect horse and rider comfort.
We were donated this used full leather GP saddle for this purpose and sadly found some serious problems with it - read on to see what we discovered.
Here's the underneath. It has full leather lined panels. You can see that the central gullet narrows towards the rear of the saddle. This can be due to the original design and/or the panels flattening out as the flocking compressed over a long period of time. We would have some concern over this as it is a possible cause of problems with rubbing the horse's spine.
The panel has been taken out and this picture shows the side which is in contact with the saddle top. It is essentially an elaborate bag stuffed with a wool flocking. You can just about see the slits in the top of the panels where the flocking is stuffed in. If you have a saddle re-flocked then the panel should be taken out like this, the old flocking removed and the new flocking added with the panel on a flat surface to ensure an even, consistent density of flocking.
At the front of the panel you can see the point pockets which the points of the tree locate into. These pockets help to locate the panel onto the tree.
Some of the flocking has been pulled out of the slit.
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