Bringing a saddle on a plane.....

[CaSaNoVa14]

I know that I saw this before but I cant find it. How do you bring a saddle on a plane, do you do check baggage or carry on. I just wanted to know what is better.Thanks:)

[blondmane]

I did it years ago when I was in college. I brought it on the plane and put it in the overhead compartment. They may have been roomer then:)

[Lieslot]

Depends what saddle.

I took a dressage saddle on and it did not fit the overhead compartments, so it had to be checked in. It come out okay, eventhough I did not like it going in with the checked-in luggage.

A cc saddle, would most likely fit the overhead compartments and you should be able to take it as carry-on luggage.

[HydroPHILE]

Check what airline you're flying as well as your flight to see what equipment (plane) they're flying. There are measurements as to the size of items in overhead and under the seat. Unfortunately, everyone brings rollerboards (large carryons with wheels) for the overhead compartment which leaves very little room for overhead storage.

[5]

Make sure the security person knows what a saddle is since I heard about a saddle having its panels cut open looking for explosives among the flocking ( a phone call is cheap insurance)

[hasahorse]

Take your stirrups off and pack them in your luggage. Carry your saddle on.

I was coming out of Gulfport a couple of years ago with my saddle. One security guard said "What's that? A saddle?" "Yes." I replied. Another security guard said "It's an expensive one." I have a custom Antares, so a lot of them do know what they are looking at.

[Sabovee]

I bought a saddle in Holland and brought it back. There was a lot of discussion about it when it went through the xray machines. :) I carried it on, because I couldn't bear to think of something happening to it in cargo. I bought a quilted, padded carrier and brought it on. It's a dressage saddle, so it wouldn't fit in the overhead bins. I caught a stewardess and they put it in one of the "closets" at the front of the plane. No fuss, no muss.

I've had friends bring saddles on planes and put them in cargo. Three of my friends did this and none of their stories ended well.

The airport and flight crew were very understanding and helpful! :)

[Foxtrot's]

I had a saddle mailed once from Moss Bros.- it came in a cardboard drum that was very sturdy and the saddle flaps were curled inside. How do they come when they are imported? Maybe a tack store has a drum.

[butlerfamilyzoo]

Check with your airline! I left out of a small airport with a small plane and they just had me check it with the strollers and car seats as it would not fit in the captains closet either... That was fine. I picked it up and carried it on the next plane, stored it in the first class closet no problem even though i was coach. Coming home with it... I was on a small plane and the check in people told me to leave it with the strollers... When i went to pick it up afterwords, it was GONE!!! They put it in checked baggage for some reason and i had to wait frantically hoping it had made it on the next plane and arrive when i did... Thankfully, it did! And was in perfect shape, but sure did scare the bajeebas out of me!

[tikidoc]

I lived in Panama for a year, and took my saddle with me when I went down. I put it in a padded saddle bag and carried it on. It was a CC (an old Crosby Prix de Nations, so light and compact).

[spaghetti legs]

If checking it in, just put it into a cardboard box wrapped in a quilt or blanket and tape up the box. It'll be fine. I've sent saddles in the post this way a few times.

[mjrtango93]

When I flew to England to look at horses I took my saddle on the plane. It did take some talking to get it through security in San Francisco but the people on Virgin were very nice and knew exactly what it was. The plane was basically empty on the flight over so they just told me it could sit on the seat across from me. The flight home was packed so that option was a no go but as I was getting on the plane the stewardess took it from me and put it in the captains closet and put his bag in the first class overhead bin. Apparently she knew what it was because she just looked and me and said "well we wouldn't want this to get damaged now would we?"

[stryder]

I had a saddle mailed once from Moss Bros.- it came in a cardboard drum that was very sturdy and the saddle flaps were curled inside. How do they come when they are imported? Maybe a tack store has a drum.

If they don't have a drum, you could try a music store? I don't know how drums are shipped...

[lesson junkie]

Several years ago I took my saddle on a trip out west. I packed in a quilted saddle bag and just checked it with baggage. Sure enough, it got damaged.

When saddles come to tack stores, they come in rectangular boxes, laid upside down, with saddle covers and lots of packing. We usually kept a couple of boxes in case we needed to ship saddles for fitting or trial-maybe your local shop has one you could use.

[LDavis104]

It's all going to depend on the planes you're on too. This summer when I flew from CT to TX, there was absolutely no way my saddle would've fit in the overhead bins or under the seat on one of my flights, didn't look like it would've fit even in the larger plane! I ended up checking my saddle in (in a padded saddle bag).

When I was flying to Colorado for a wedding I asked the stewardess if I could hang up my bridesmaid dress in the closet on the flight instead of putting it in the overhead bin and she said no. So you can't always count on them being super nice about putting your saddle in a closet or something like that...

[findeight]

Ok...first there is no "Captains Closet", just a shared one for all passengers and once it's full, it's full. And US rules forbid lashing something into the seat next to you unless you buy the seat, planes are pretty full anyway.

The good news is a typical saddle fits easily in a gym bag and just as easily in the overhead of the mainline aircraft IF you get on when your row is called and don't show up at the last second when they are full. On the Regional jets, there are no overheads but they take the stuff from you at the door, hand carry it to the baggage hold and give it back at the door-no bag eating conveyor belts and carousels and no bumpy journeys across miles of tarmac banging around on a trailer hitched to the back of a tug.

The best way? SHIP IT AHEAD. Have used both Fedex and UPS with good service. You carry it on, you'll have to check your rollaboard and it's just not worth sweating a tight connection with no room left.

[tangledweb]

In this day and age relying on the willingness of airport and airline staff to bend rules and let you carry it on is risky. If you pack it lightly enough to have some chance of fitting in an overhead and it will get destroyed if you are told to check it.

I'd buy one of these and check it: http://www.pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=0340 (they are about $250)

Or securely pack it in a strong cardboard box and send it ahead.

[findeight]

In this day and age relying on the willingness of airport and airline staff to bend rules

Willingness to break what is essentially a law and the policy of their employer whom they work for and can lead to penalty? To them, not you. That is not willingness, that is ignorance of what can happen to them and does if there is but a single complaint from another who was not accomodated or the feds happen to see it. Unless you enjoy getting into trouble at work, I wouldn't ask them to stick their necks out and "bend" the rules.

And, yeah, sore point with me.

Ship it.