Saddlery

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.

Welting is used in a similar way to piping in upholstery. It eliminates rough edges and creates clean lines, for a smart look to the saddle. Welting is a strip of hardwearing fabric, usually leather but other materials are becoming popular, which is sewn onto the edging of a saddle to add a smooth finish. It is used to seamlessly join parts of the saddle which meet and attach, such as where the seat, twist and pommel meets the skirt on a saddle, defining the shape.

When it comes to artisan crafts, there are many longstanding skills and working methods that are steeped in tradition. Crafts that involve working manually in the manufacture of an end product have remained popular for centuries. Today these traditional crafting methods can take the form of companies manufacturing items using traditional methods, or hobbyists who enjoy recreating the past, using materials and approaches from past eras.

Since January 2019, our scholarship winner Lucy Cushley has kept inundated with all her saddlery career.  In her final blog of 2019, Lucy discusses her recent encounter with her local primary school and why it’s so important to love what we do.

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,

This month Lucy writes about self-development, motivations speeches and the benefits of being part of a community both online and offline.   Hi All, It’s been another crazy month for me! I’m a great believer in continual professional development, or good old CPD as it’s known. Every day you should be working to improve

For the third year running, Abbey England are ecstatic to announce the launch of our 2020 Saddlery Scholarship which will see the winner receive £500 worth of workshop tools and materials. Our 2019 winner Lucy Cushley, has kept everyone updated with her progress of her career through her monthly blog ‘Letters from Lucy’. “It’s been great to