Saddle Flocking for Flash

This morning, the saddle fitter came up to evaluate my new saddle.  Now that I've had it for awhile and it is broken in, she wanted to make sure it fit correctly.  It does.  No adjustments needed.

The we had her look at Flash's dressage saddle.  It's about eight years old and has only been worked on once -- and that was quite a few years ago.  We've been playing with shims and fleece pads to get it level.  She looked at the fit and agreed (that was a no-brainer).

When she pressed on the underside of the saddle, she noticed that the flocking was compressed and hard.  She said that back when we purchased the saddle, they were commonly flocked with synthetic wool which tends to get compact and hard over time.  She recommended reflocking the saddle so it would be comfortable for Flash.  We agreed.  Brett explained the procedure to Flash.  He likes to be informed.

She took the saddle into her van and got to work.  It took a good couple of hours to complete.  Brett kept her company while she worked.

She took out all the old flocking which was a mix of synthetic and some white cottony wool that was added when we had the saddle worked on about five years ago. 

She stuffed it with a natural sheep wool.  This should be softer and more resilient.

I expect that Flash will feel so good that he'll be doing airs above ground.