# Ebay Heritage saddlery



## haywards1 (21 November 2008)

Been looking at their comfort bridles, just wondering if anyone has bought one, and what the quality of the leather is iike? Is it similar to another make i may have seen in saddleries?

Thanks


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## unicornleather (21 November 2008)

English leather used to make bridles in India with indian buckles and fittings. Massed produced. That's why they can make them so cheaply.
Oz


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## Darkly_Dreaming_Dex (21 November 2008)

Yes there are the Indian Heritage bridles eg
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BNWT-Heritage-comf...1QQcmdZViewItem
BUT they are ripoffs of the real Heritage,which i can assure you, are 100% English
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EXTRA-FULL-SIZE-CO...1QQcmdZViewItem
Quoted from his Ebay page:
Why do you think you see bridles for sale at such low prices on ebay?They say "English leather" so they are English made right? Wrong! The little trick is to put "English leather" so you think they are.Tack that says that is imported.Made from poor quality leather.Stitched poorly and made by people who are paid a pitance to make it.

Have you ever wondered why the saddlery trade amongst others in this country is dying out and Walsall has a fraction of the saddlery shops it did when I was young? It's because of the tide of imported C*** that floods our shores day in day out.Support our Saddlery industry and buy English.Look for "Made in England" not "English Leather".

We only sell 100% English products.Keep it English!

- If you are buying from Mat Marlow (you are getting a premium product- if its anyone else then be careful)
He made a stunning show saddle and bridle at very very short notice  
	
	
		
		
	


	




(my tack was stolen 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) for a regional championship (Cob won- judge raving about how lovely his tack was) followed by HOYS 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 so i am a delighted customer who wouldnt hesitate to recommend to anyone.


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## haywards1 (21 November 2008)

Yes it's Matt Marlow, not the Indian stuff i was looking at, thanks for the info and the beware!


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## Amelia (21 November 2008)

If you are looking to buy one of the Heritage bridles - why not buy direct rather than off ebay


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## unicornleather (21 November 2008)

The ebay heritage bridles are made using samual sharp leather which is english, it's exported out to india, made into bridles etc and imported back, same con as the  James Stirling range sold by shires
One of the ones you have shown us on ebay to look at have the yellow samual sharpe label on, do you honestly think that Samual Sharpe would allow this if it was not their leather?
It IS english leather fact, not fiction you can see it is english leather, the grain pattern is very different on indian leather


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## Theresa_F (21 November 2008)

You won't go wrong with Matt - excellent quality and reasonably priced.

Once I have saved up, I will be ordering a made to measure double bridle for showing from him.


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## flyingfeet (21 November 2008)

Worth noting that "made in England" is overused too!

If the bridle is assembled in England, you can put 'made in England' on the product. 

Ours were finished by a local saddler, but yes made up in india with english leather. However quality is very comparable to Walsall, and technically was finished in England! However I do see the point as the saddler we used is now moving to Ireland - a sad loss for Gloucestershire  
	
	
		
		
	


	





However due to the recent decline of the GBP, any imported product is going to increase by 20-30% in 2009.


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## jnb (21 November 2008)

Soo.....if I wanted a padded, comfort bridle made to measure as horse is between sizes, can anyone recommend Heritage?has anyone else had a similar item made by him, and was it worth the money?
Have been quoted £192 by a local saddler, and £165 by an internet seller that does MTM.
I don't mind paying this IF it fits and is exactly what I want. So can anyone on here vouch for the quality of Matt Marlow's work? I want at least as good quality as Stubben.


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## Tharg (23 November 2008)

So what would be the general signs that tack has been made in places like India.  What are the difference between different leathers?, is it a grade system.

   Thank you


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## Hollycat (23 November 2008)

If horse is between sizes you can order an Albion KB comfort bridle. It is great quality and should be within your budget. English leather made in England! My horse was full but needed an extra full noseband.  I think TDS will do this mix and match service for you.


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## unicornleather (23 November 2008)

Tharg, yes there is alot of difference, Indian leather will have a characteristic larger grain, will be hard to the  touch and always has a certain sweeter smell, once you have seen and smelt it you won't forget it!
Indian leather has a tendency to break, it tends to be like hardboard almost brittle to try and stitch and is quite dry inside, even when they have oiled it to death it won't be as good or as supple as English or German leather.
Indian made saddlery has weaker buckles and fittings, the stitching isn't too good either. They have got better over the years but still have a long way to go.
The dye notoriously leeches out of Indian saddlery too, ask any rider who has ridden on a black indian saddle with white or beige jods in the rain!


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## jen1 (23 November 2008)

I can vouch for the English Comfort Heritage bridle!

I got one a couple of years ago and everyone says what a lovely bridle it is. It was a little stiff when I got it but after a bit of cleaning it has become very soft and supple. I bought mine from someone at the yard. It was brand new and had all the tags on and Made in England! 

They do come up big though,  my horse has a big head and I have trouble getting nose bands to fit, the Heritage bridle has a very generous nose band and to be honest although it's a full he could do with cob size cheek pieces as they are a little long. I have been very happy with the bridle and it always comes up like new when cleaned! Hope that is of some help!
X


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## speedbird (24 November 2008)

I don't know about the bridles but I ll never buy another saddle off them again. You get what you pay for !


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## jnb (24 November 2008)

Speedbird,do you mean you bought a saddle off Matt Marlow and it wasn't good? Or the "Indian" Heritage copy people?


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## speedbird (25 November 2008)

I bought a saddle off matt but to be honest it was only about £500 but didn't like the fit feel or quality. If you paid more, Im sure you would get a better saddle. My own fault as as I said before, you get what you pay for


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## Cluny (26 November 2008)

If you are looking for an interchangeable comfort bridle can recommend Kate Negus or Elevator (Horse sense).  I have both and they are beautifully made bridles, plus you can have say a cob cheek piece with a full size brow band.  Have a look at:

http://www.katenegus.com/

or 

http://www.elevatorbridles.co.uk/


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## Persephone (26 November 2008)

I have an Elevator from Horse sense and also The Heritage English Leather Comfort bridle. 

I prefer the Elevator, it's nice leather and well made. I keep the Heritage one for lungeing now, but it is a perfectly acceptable well made bridle. The only thing I didn't like was the buckle billet cheekpieces so I changed those. That's just one of my little pet hates though. 

I saw no difference in my horse between the two bridles though, so I think the Heritage is a good buy.

Jo x


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## mattymarlow (5 December 2008)

Hi all,
Thought I would join in and clear up a few points about my company Heritage Bespoke Saddles &amp; The Custom Made English Saddle Co'.
Firstly ALL, and I do mean ALL, of my saddles and tack are 100% English in every way.
Leather,thread,buckles,D Rings,stain,flocking,the trees and the men and women who make them are all English.In fact they are all Walsall born and bred as am I.
All items are made in Walsall.
My company is a high quality,mainly custom service.I fit saddles and take horses/riders measurements for custom saddles all over the country and Europe when requested.
We also supply the trade and also make saddles for other retailers all over the world and attach there branding at point of manufacture.
Speedbird made a comment about being unhappy with a saddle from me and I would be more than interested in hearing from her and trying to get to the bottom of the problem.It has not been brought to my attention before and find it hard to believe it was a saddle we made if she is unhappy with quality.
My custom made tack service as mentioned before is just that,you can supply ideas and suggestions and ALL relevant sizes of all parts.A true custom service and the quality is stunning.
I assume you all use ebay? my username is mattymarlow on there.Please visit my shop and go through my feedback.It speaks for itself.
You cannot can send 100s of saddles and 100s of items of tack all over the world and get 1000+ 100% positive feedback comments unless your quality,service and ability to make saddles/tack to fit is spot on.
Feedback is there for a reason and I don't think you will ever find anyone who has better.
I have a website about to go live www.heritagesaddlery.co.uk so please feel free to visit this.
Good luck,
Matt Marlow.


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## annaellie (5 December 2008)

It does not seem to work on my comp, I would like to look at your website as am looking for a dressage saddle.


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## unicornleather (5 December 2008)

Welcome to the forum Matt, yes your saddlery is fine, your standards are the same as mine, very high,no problems with that, it's the ebay "other" heritage I have a problem with and I want to clarify that, anything on ebay that has the samuel sharp(yellow) label on is a bridle made in india using english leather!
Oz


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## onemoretime (19 May 2014)

Have got a Matt Marlow bridle and it is brilliant, lovely padded headpiece and really good quality leather work and stitching.  Would recommend.


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## anabil (7 June 2014)

Darkly_Dreaming_Dex said:



			Yes there are the Indian Heritage bridles eg
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BNWT-Heritage-comf...1QQcmdZViewItem
BUT they are ripoffs of the real Heritage,which i can assure you, are 100% English
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EXTRA-FULL-SIZE-CO...1QQcmdZViewItem
Quoted from his Ebay page:
Why do you think you see bridles for sale at such low prices on ebay?They say "English leather" so they are English made right? Wrong! The little trick is to put "English leather" so you think they are.Tack that says that is imported.Made from poor quality leather.Stitched poorly and made by people who are paid a pitance to make it.

Have you ever wondered why the saddlery trade amongst others in this country is dying out and Walsall has a fraction of the saddlery shops it did when I was young? It's because of the tide of imported C*** that floods our shores day in day out.Support our Saddlery industry and buy English.Look for "Made in England" not "English Leather".

We only sell 100% English products.Keep it English!

- If you are buying from Mat Marlow (you are getting a premium product- if its anyone else then be careful)
He made a stunning show saddle and bridle at very very short notice  
	
	
		
		
	


	




(my tack was stolen 
	
	
		
		
	


	




) for a regional championship (Cob won- judge raving about how lovely his tack was) followed by HOYS 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 so i am a delighted customer who wouldnt hesitate to recommend to anyone. 
	
	
		
		
	


	




Click to expand...

thanks for explanation


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## enchantedunicorn (12 June 2014)

I had a heritage comfort bridle but because the nose band was so chunky it pressed against my horses bit and pushed it away from the side of his face - this made the bit very tight and seem to cause him alot of discomfort lovely looking bridle and good quality leather too - no cracking or breaking. This problem probably wouldn't occur if the noseband could have been put up higher on his face but it couldn't


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