When things aren’t what they appear…
I glanced at this saddle (image below) that was recently on the market and noticed something not quite right about the stirrup assembly. It’s backwards!
Now this isn’t something that everyone would notice, but to someone who handles these saddles on a regular basis, it’s glaringly obvious. The reason I point this out is because there is a safety issue with it and a solution for it, but someone needs to be aware of it.
The solution is simple- you need to treat this like it is a roller fitting and not a safety fitting. So use a safety iron. I have included a picture of the correct orientation so people can understand how the Mayhew patent works – see below.
If the lady goes backwards or to the offside- the bar would open under her weight and the entire safety fitting leather and iron would be released from the saddle. She wouldn’t get hung up in the iron and potentially drug. It’s why these safety mechanisms were invented and used. Some work better than others but they all are for safety purposes.
With this pointing the opposite way than was intended it would not necessarily open thus creating a potential drag situation if the rider’s foot were to get trapped in the iron.
I hope these examples are educational – sometimes we need to pay particular attention to the small details to be sure we are as safe as we think we are.
