Equestrian

Elastic was first invented and used for clothing in 1820, and it can be assumed that using elastic in the production of saddles and tack wasn’t far behind. Our heavy elastic is commonly used on the saddle girth straps, with elastic on one or both sides attaching the girth buckles to the girth strap. This prevents the saddle slipping and ensures a snugger fit around the horse’s middle.

In our penultimate saddlery series, we focus our attention on flocking. Flocking as we know is essential to the welfare of the horse and rider. A properly flocked saddle will be stuffed evenly, preventing pressure points and therefore musculoskeletal damage to the horse. The well flocked saddle also prevents a sore back for the rider, adding balance to the seat and distributing the rider’s weight more evenly across the saddle, by providing consistent contact with the horse. With all this is mind, the need for high quality flocking and the correct application is amplified.

This month Lucy reminds us how many great FREE business programs there are through local councils.   Hi all, This month I’ve been doing lots of practice, practice, practice in the workshop! Its no-good learning something if you don’t work to perfect it a little bit every day. However, when it comes to doing things like

  It’s coming up 2 years since Rachel Lok won our 2018 Scholarship and since then, it’s been marvellous to see her develop her skills, expand her knowledge and become the competent saddler and saddle fitter she is today. However, it seems this is just the beginning for Rachel. We caught up with Lok to discuss the achievements she’s

  Hi all, This month has been a big step forward for me. Thanks to my QEST funding I went on my first two courses; a week harness making with Frances Roche (including a day in the Royal Mews for some fitting) and a week with John McDonald who showed me how to make my first ever collar. It always shocks me how even spending a single day

Biothane is becoming a phenomenon across multiple industries but what actually is it? Manufactured in the USA, Biothane is a trademark name used to describe a polyester webbing coated in either TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) or PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride). The plastic coating brings with it many favourable attributes such as durability, water resistance,

With summer officially drawing to a close on Monday 23rd September, autumn will be upon us, then Christmas will be here and before we know it we will all be back at BETA International. With all this in mind, we thought now would be the best time to share some exciting news with you. BETA have announced their new scheme 'Pets at BETA International'

Last month our 2019 scholarship winner shared some food for thought and argues why bespoke is best.   Hi all, Would It amuse you to know that my best friend is a trainee saddle fitter? Doing as friends do, we speak on the phone (a lot) and being the workaholics we are, we tend to talk about saddlery/saddle fitting almost daily. The

This month Lucy had a trip to see our friends and fellow Sedgwick investors, Crawford Hide Company in Northern Ireland. She was given the ultimate behind the scenes tour which gave her a great insight to just how much work goes into producing hides which later end up at Sedgwick HQ to be finished off...   Hi all, This month I’ve