Billet Replacement

Well-loved saddles and worn billets...

Two items you probably have in your tack room. Let's address the billets...

Billets do more than anchor the girth to the saddle. They have a big influence on how your saddle fits your horse.

Similar to our leather belts, when we have used them hard, the belt holes get larger, they may not cinch any tighter if the belt size no longer work with our waist size, and, we could even have buckles slipping (or rips in the leather itself) due to significant wear.

Nothing sees more wear and frequent adjustment than your saddle's billets -- taking 2nd place to compacted wool. Which, if that's an issue too, you're best off scheduling a saddle fitting, and if a touch-up flocking is needed, I can do that on-site.

The very first question to ask when you're needing to replace your billets should be, "Is my billet configuration correct for my horse and saddle?" If in doubt, or it's been a while since your last fitting (more than 6 months) let's schedule a fitting.

My saddle is being pulled forward.
My saddle is sliding backwards.
My saddle lifts up in the back.
I have to angle my billets forward.
I have to keep adjusting my billets during a riding session.
My horse has large/long withers and my billets are not straight up and down.
My girth keeps shifting even though it's not supposed to do that.

If any of these are happening, worn billets and/or improper billet configuration with your saddle could be to blame.

Schedule saddle fittings twice a year to accommodate seasonal changes within your riding team. During the evaluation, I can see wear and tear on all aspects of your equipment.

Are your billets contributing to a poor saddle fit?

Billets on Vintage Saddles. For those of you who love the old saddles, I appreciate vintage also, but safety is a concern. Not only do the billets and wool need replacing, but the material that billets attach to disintegrates over time. That material is attached to the tree. If that material starts to fall apart, I will refuse to do the billet repair. Sorry. But your safety is more important than any saddle that you may love. Such a saddle is really only good for one thing... display. It has reached its end of life. On to the next chapter!

All billet leathers must be replaced at the same time. The logic is simple: use the same leathers for all of your saddle's billets. Same age, leather type, style. Otherwise, they'll wear differently from each other (and you'll introduce more issues to your equipment).

Dressage saddle billets. One of the two common forms of billets I replace. If all is well with the saddle and its fit, a replacement of dressage billets is $40 per billet.

Jump/GP saddle billets. The other common form of billets I replace. Again, if all is well with the saddle and its fit, a replacement of jump/GP billets is $60 per billet.