Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2011 15:55:06 GMT 1
I had Martin from Penfolds out today, I think a few others on here were thinking about booking him so thought I'd feedback 
He was very nice, presented a very professional front, seemed intelligent and switched on and best of all LISTENED! How rare a trait in a saddler!
He said the saddle I'm using is a very nice fit and he couldn't recommend anything better ;D He is going to add a teeny bit of flock throughout the panels as when I ride it's well balanced but is squashing down a little too much and he wants Talin to have a little more clearance. I asked him to add another billet as it has two billets on the same web and a point strap and he agreed with me the point strap is only going to tip the saddle up and for safety I need billets on separate webs.
Interestingly his advice was that Talin should never wear anything over 16.5 inches as that is taking up all of the available space on his back. He said he really strongly advises against having a saddle going past the last rib and on Talin 16.5 inches is all of the available space. I knew he was close coupled but didn't realise it meant going that small!
He was also honest and said that if I can keep Talin in work now he thinks I'll need a new saddle in a year regardless of what he fits him with now as he'll hopefully build up a lot more topline, so he said if I can buy the saddle I'm borrowing it makes more sense than getting anything new only to have to replace it in a year.
So all in all I'm really pleased with the whole thing. I felt Martin was honest and fair and he didn't say or do anything that set alarm bells ringing. He also agreed with everything I've already learned about saddle fit so I felt I could trust him and he certainly wasn't just trying to make extra money out of me
He was very nice, presented a very professional front, seemed intelligent and switched on and best of all LISTENED! How rare a trait in a saddler!
He said the saddle I'm using is a very nice fit and he couldn't recommend anything better ;D He is going to add a teeny bit of flock throughout the panels as when I ride it's well balanced but is squashing down a little too much and he wants Talin to have a little more clearance. I asked him to add another billet as it has two billets on the same web and a point strap and he agreed with me the point strap is only going to tip the saddle up and for safety I need billets on separate webs.
Interestingly his advice was that Talin should never wear anything over 16.5 inches as that is taking up all of the available space on his back. He said he really strongly advises against having a saddle going past the last rib and on Talin 16.5 inches is all of the available space. I knew he was close coupled but didn't realise it meant going that small!
He was also honest and said that if I can keep Talin in work now he thinks I'll need a new saddle in a year regardless of what he fits him with now as he'll hopefully build up a lot more topline, so he said if I can buy the saddle I'm borrowing it makes more sense than getting anything new only to have to replace it in a year.
So all in all I'm really pleased with the whole thing. I felt Martin was honest and fair and he didn't say or do anything that set alarm bells ringing. He also agreed with everything I've already learned about saddle fit so I felt I could trust him and he certainly wasn't just trying to make extra money out of me
