saddle squeaking. (Butet)

[Beau Cheval]

My butet squeaks. I notice at the trot most. It isn't the common squeak you hear, but it is less audible and more high pitched. Why is this?

[TSWJB]

When my beval natural started squeaking, it was because the rivets in the saddle tree sheared off. i had to have the tree replaced. bevals did the repairs under warranty. i would get someone to inspect your saddle.

[TheHunterKid90]

If you have a squeaky saddle I would have someone look at it asap....it usually means that the tree is not in good working condition...if nothing's wrong with the tree then I would condition the hell out of it because it's most likely the leather.

[eclipse]

Get your saddle inspected & send it to an authorized dealer for the make of saddle. Mine did that a year after buying (different make though) and I was told it was just the "leather".......nope, tree was broken due to rivets breaking. They then sent it to get fixed, but I didn't know that there was acutally a recall on my saddle to to this defect (& the store neglegted to check). Long story short, I had the tree replaced & had to pay out of MY pocket as they sent it to an unauthorized repair person. I was furious as I could of had a new saddle if they'd bothered to contact the maker. The store pretty much washed their hands of it & said I had to pay they hadn't made a mistake as they didn't "deal" with that maker anymore!! grrrrr

So, be careful & get it checked out, but make sure they send it to the proper people!

[Beau Cheval]

Ugh. We just got this saddle off ebay. Beautiful saddle 2004, great condition, very average size. Reserve at 2700 but seller let it go for 2100 (now we know why, right?) . My dad will freak out. crap-ola.

[neigh.neigh]

My butet squeaks too... its from 1997 though so i dont think it will be under warrenty. Should I take it to bevals anyway?

[meupatdoes]

This is why I don't understand why people prefer to spend months searching for a saddle only to spend the same amount of money on a used saddle off the internet, when they don't know where that saddle has been and have only a picture to go off of to pray it fits their horse, as it would cost for a pro fitter to come out have a brand new saddle in any number of brands made custom to horse and rider.

Or, fit and custom-flock a used one to the horse from the saddle-fitting truck which is sitting in the driveway with 50 used saddles on it for even-cheaper same-day service.

Honestly, I don't get it.

I believe my fitter travels to Long Island if the OP is interested.

[Aubreyyy]

Ugh. We just got this saddle off ebay. Beautiful saddle 2004, great condition, very average size. Reserve at 2700 but seller let it go for 2100 (now we know why, right?) . My dad will freak out. crap-ola.

Yeah, I'd say broken tree :(

[Dooner]

I had a saddle start squeaking because of a loose rivet. I had a saddler deal with it promptly and it only cost me the fee ($60 -$100, I believe) to have it taken apart and put back together. The work was done about 5 years before I let the saddle go, and the fix seemed to be permanent.

Only sign was that the leather at the back of the gullet was re-attached with small brass tacks. Invisible 99% of the time, but I did have to explain when I sold the saddle on E-Bay.

The work was done by one of the few certified master saddlers in the country--so I can't imagine anyone else would charge more, and I certainly believed her when she said that there were no lasting effects to deal with.

On the other hand, if you're not as lucky, I believe most saddles have a lifetime guarantee on the tree....

[Beau Cheval]

I would be interested in the fitter. Pm please?
thanks

Also, I don't understand how the tree on a saddle that is in immaculate condition is broken? I mean wouldn't it have had to suffer some kind of impact for the tree to break and I know that if I smudge my saddle you can see it, so I don't know how you could not see evidence of something like a broken tree in the saddle? :confused::confused:

[neigh.neigh]

im getting mine checked tomorrow!

[TSWJB]

my saddle was a 1.5 years old when i started hearing the squeaking noise. i brushed it off as a minor problem. but the squeaking continued and since it was fairly new i wanted someone to look at it. i was never in an accident. i always kept my saddle on saddle trees. i took good care of it. i could not believe that the rivets holding the tree together had sheared off and the tree was coming apart. it was very new looking. looked just fine. but underneath it was a problem. they said i couldnt just fix the rivets. get new ones. the tree had not cracked yet. they said i needed a new tree. and it took 2 months for the tree to be imported from england. but i am happy to say that bevals fixed it for free. but had it not been under warranty, the cost to fix the tree is really expensive.

[Dooner]

I would be interested in the fitter. Pm please?
thanks


Is this directed at me? The saddler and I are thousands of miles from you. I'm sure there are qualified people in your area.

You could check here: http://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/

[anchorsaway]

Is this directed at me? The saddler and I are thousands of miles from you. I'm sure there are qualified people in your area.

You could check here: http://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/


I believe the OP was speaking to meupatdoes, no?

[Seven-up]

Now, I know full well y'all are talking about BUTET'S, but I just keep reading that sentence as, "My BUTT squeaks.":lol: And I just don't have a solution for that.

[meupatdoes]

If you are talking to me about the fitter, I did pm you about her.

I wrote:
I am a customer of a WONDERFUL saddle fitter who is certified by the UK Association of Master Saddle Fitters. This means she had to undergo a lot of schooling and pass five (5!) tests before they would give her the stamp. So she is super, SUPER qualified to fit a saddle and to work on one that needs a little adjusting.

She has a variety of different brands that she sells in all price ranges, so she does not just try to sell one brand.

From her, you can get an entirely custom made saddle that is fit perfectly to your horse for $2,500.
You specify the leather, color and how you want the flap to be and everything.

It is also possible to go higher end and get models for $3,500 and $4,500, but let me reemphasize that the $2,500 saddle was brand new, totally custom fitted to the horse, and fully customized to the rider.

On October 29, 2008.

Her website is (and remains) www.dutchessbridlesaddle.com

Btw, she is now representing Thorowgood in addition to the brands she was representing before, so if you are desperate for something you could probably get something brand new and custom fitted for in the whereabouts of $500.

[vxf111]

If the saddle you bought was that 17 inch off eBay I linked to in response to your last post-- it looked a bit beat up to me. It looked well CONDITIONED but as though it had had some serious wear (wear pattern on the seat and the missing stitching etc.) I don't know that I would be entirely surprised, given the way it looked in pictures, to hear it had enough wear/damage to shear the rivets in the tree. In addition to being dropped, in a fall, etc.-- it could have been stored improperly-- like stored flat and spread out. Who knows what happened to it. :( That's why I always either buy from a saddle fitter or have a saddle fitter examine/check out any used saddles I buy. One good squeeze from someone who knows what they're doing might have saved you the hassle.

I am bummed for you. Are you able to return the saddle? If not, perhaps the seller will refund you back what it costs to repair the saddle. If indeed there are rivets loose/missing/broken-- that is going to be a $500+ repair (could be MUCH more, I've never had to have this done). Plus $400 to convert to wool (if it's the 17, it's foam based on the pictures) if you decide to do that. Plus $150 or so to fix the stitching-- that ain't cheap. Perhaps the seller, if she won't take the saddle back, will meet you halfway on the return and refund some money.

You can get some good deals on eBay but you can also REALLY get ripped off. I won't buy anything over $150 unless I feel confident, based on pictures alone and my own knowledge, that I can ID and properly assess an item. Other than that-- there had better be a return policy. I've been burned on a saddle before, thankfully it was superficial wear and not a tree issue-- but it still SUCKS.

[neigh.neigh]

My butet squeaks too... its from 1997 though so i dont think it will be under warrenty. Should I take it to bevals anyway?

Okay so I brought my butet to bevals today and had it checked out by the saddle expert there. She said my tree was not broken and that she thought the
webbing that goes under the leather of the seat was rubbing together making the squeaking noise, which is normal wear for a 12 year old saddle... My saddle is in REALLY good condition though.... probably not used very much before I bought it. The person at bevals did say that I could get the saddle sent out to be taken apart and looked at which is at least $80 and two weeks depending on what they needed to fix. (I don't think I am going to send it out though)

But to make a long story short the tree wasn't damaged so there is still hope for yours beau cheval!

[mvp]

To the E-bay person whose dad is (understandably) flipping out. Read the fine print about returns. Contact the seller-- whether you think you have a chance or not. Give him/her every opportunity to make it right, and then contact Paypal and/or your credit card company to help you if you think you were sold a product that was misrepresented.

Best of luck! I do hope you do this in part to keep Ebay a viable source of saddles. Many of us would pay saddle fitters to help us, or go to bricks and morter stores if they were within reach.

[Beau Cheval]

Thanks for the replies. I contacted beval directly, but I haven't heard back yet. No, this saddle is in absolutely perfect condition (superfically speaking).
thanks again, and wish me luck!

[Jo]

My old saddle squeaked... looked to be in great condition, never any issues. Took it to our local guy, he said it was an issue with the rivets... Got those fixed, the squeak went away. Later found out the tree was broken or cracked (I can't remember which). The saddle had never been dropped, flipped on, nada.

Good luck - but it doesn't sound good.

[lauraware]

If you get it checked and it's fine, try oiling it. That sometimes will usually make the squeak go away.

[Jo]

And powder under the flaps. :)

[Mayaty02]

Just to reiterate, here's what you need to do:

1. Contact the seller and let them know there may be a problem, and what's their return policy?

2. Get it checked out ASAP

3. IF something is wrong with it, and the seller is not willing to take it back, and you paid via paypal, you should absolutely file a dispute with Paypal. There is a time limit that you have after the transaction to do this, which I think is 30 days so that's why you need to be speedy.

4. Also, if you paid with an American Express, contact them to see if you can file a complaint as well.

All in all, get on the stick immediately and get it looked at. You MAY have a chance to get at least some of the money back...

[Whimsically Smart]

I, too, have a saddle that I CANNOT get rid of the squeak, I'm beginning to worry that the tree may be broken... anyone know a saddle fitter in the lower mainland, BC?