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Don't let the "from" address confuse you: this is from Lance (actually his
wife, Eileen). Thanks for your response to my Albion mystery. In answer
to your questions, this is my (long) Albion story. I bought my saddle two
years ago from Offut's in Penngrove, CA. It had been selected for me from
among many by Diana Thompson (a respected saddlefitter and bodyworker),
also fit to my horse by an Offut's salesperson who agreed it was a good
fit. My horse had already had a few white hairs from her first saddle (a
Crosby), which is why I wanted a new one. But Diana also had some
suggestions about the padding, so I sent it immediately to the company in
New York for restuffing (to flatten the panels in the back; at that point
she thought the front was perfect). They are a wonderful company to work
with; they did exactly as I asked for free (I had to pay for the D-rings,
though).
But after a season of use, more white hairs came in with her winter coat.
Meanwhile, I thought the saddle was heaven to ride in. I couldn't detect
any back soreness so I continued to use it. Had Diana Thompson look again,
she suggested some corrective padding with equalizer pieces, also possible
restuffing. So I sent it back to the company again, giving all the
information requested from the company about the problem (photos of my
horse's back, dry spots on saddle pad, photos of saddle on horse before
and after riding, photos of me in saddle, multiple tracings from a
flex-curve (sent to me by the company), photos of the flex-curve on her
back so they could see exactly what position each measurement was taken
from. ) Quite a science! Again, the company was wonderful in working with
me personally; I spoke a few times by phone with the man who was doing the
work. He said he could change the tree size, wider or smaller, but that
the tree actually did fit, so he didn't want to change it. I think he may
have changed the stuffing a little. But basically he felt the saddle was a
good fit but that I was not placing it back far enough on my horse.
So I continued to use the saddle. My horse didn't show any signs of
soreness, but the dry spots continued. My horse is a very hard fit: no
withers, and no matter where I place the saddle with crupper, it slides
forward while riding to where it wants to be (not where Albion wants it to
be.) So I kept experimenting with equalizer pieces trying to get rid of
the dry spots; finally gave up and got a new saddle (which does give us a
nice even sweat pattern).
So as you can see I tried my hardest to get it fit right. I concluded that
the Albion for whatever reason just wasn't a good choice for my horse. But
in my research into a new saddle I did hear about problems others had had
with the Albion, so I'm still curious. Do your friends ride in the
dressage saddle or another style? Maybe that would make the difference. I
do think it's a beautifully made saddle and that the company is really
wonderful to work with.
Thanks! Eileen
I
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