Robin Hosler, Saddler

Robin Hosler, Saddler Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Robin Hosler, Saddler, Flushing, MI.

09/19/2024

I had my three months evaluation with my heart surgeon yesterday. My breastbone has healed, which is good. The muscles are still a ways out. It hurts to sneeze or cough. But overall the Doctor says I'm doing great. He removed my restrictions, which was really just lifting no more than eight pounds. So now if I do something and it hurts, I'll stop. Well that's what I'm supposed to do. Lol. So looks like I'll be climbing ice this winter. If not by December, certainly by the Ice Festival in February. Thanks to all for the prayers, encouragement and the support through this journey.

I found a few photos of me in my first saddle shop. Approximately 1996, I think.
01/01/2021

I found a few photos of me in my first saddle shop. Approximately 1996, I think.

I received this nice text message from a customer.
06/05/2019

I received this nice text message from a customer.

Over the past twenty years, saddles with airbags have become more and more popular. After a while, many owners of these ...
04/04/2019

Over the past twenty years, saddles with airbags have become more and more popular. After a while, many owners of these saddles have found that their ability to maintain the air inside the saddle has increasingly dwindled. The only real solution to this is to remove the airbags, and replace with flocking.

Here I have a series of photos showing an airbag being removed, a short video of flocking with wool, and some photos, with commentary, about airbags.

Hope this is informative.

04/03/2019

Bought 16lbs of wool roving yesterday, to flock saddles with. It's by far the best flocking available. I buy roughly this amount every year.

Colorful flocking, from an old Passier. I suspect it's from the late 70's. It appears to be a synthetic blend, which is ...
02/12/2018

Colorful flocking, from an old Passier. I suspect it's from the late 70's. It appears to be a synthetic blend, which is not uncommon, and a byproduct of the garment industry. Very cool.

11/01/2017

There is a Saddler, in the Michigan area, who uses animal hair, hog bristle/horse hair mix is what I think it is, to flock saddles. The Saddler claims it's a traditional method of flocking. While technically right, as back in the day it was used in Calvary saddles, and may have even been used in early versions of English saddles, no modern day production saddles are flocked with it. It's nasty stuff, and when it's added to a saddle that is already wool flocked, it's a mess.

Part of the issue is the technique the Saddler uses to put it in the panel, which I call it "jam and pack", which results in hard, lumpy spots in the panel. Panels should be flocked by layering the wool. If more is needed in an area, you layer it in, not disturbing the flocking that is closest to the horse.

Anyways, here is a video of me removing this material from a panel, so I can flock it with wool. Note the nasty dust from it.

I've been working on saddles for nearly 20 years. I thought I'd seen it all, but today was a first. Someone flocked a sa...
11/01/2017

I've been working on saddles for nearly 20 years. I thought I'd seen it all, but today was a first. Someone flocked a saddle, I suspect a non Saddler did this, hopefully, using steel wool. Unreal.

This is why the panel needs to be removed from the saddle, when a tree adjustment is made. If your saddle has been adjus...
10/21/2016

This is why the panel needs to be removed from the saddle, when a tree adjustment is made. If your saddle has been adjusted with a portable hydraulic machine, your tree may be as messed up as this one was. Over the years, I've seen several of these.
The first photo shows the broken gullet bar, the second shows both tree points, the third shows how mangled the left tree point is. The forth shows the shape of the gullet bar, after removal. ( that's a clip holding it together, for the picture )
This had to be a major issue with the horses movement.
But I can fix it all.

Working on a Wintec Dressage saddle, that needed the rear to be lower. Most of the Wintecs I work on have the air bag sy...
07/29/2016

Working on a Wintec Dressage saddle, that needed the rear to be lower.

Most of the Wintecs I work on have the air bag system in them. Thats the first picture, and it's common for them to crack, as seen in the second picture. Then they no longer hold air.

Now understand that these "airbags" are really only two pieces of vinyl, with a piece of open cell foam, heat sealed between them. That's all they are, and many times the rider, because of the instability they create, has me remove the bags and flock with wool.

This saddle I have today doesn't have the airbags, but rather they've made a panel liner, of sorts, the third picture, that they filled with their synthetic wool. Not a bad idea, but why not just skip that and fill the panel with their wool?

Any way, I thought I'd share how they make this aspect of their saddles, as I had to take this all apart to remove wool from the back, to lower the rear a bit.

12/02/2015

This is a video of me flocking a saddles panel, when removed frim the tree.

07/21/2014

NOTE: This is an old post from 2014, and the offer has long expired. Thanks

-------------------------$50 SADDLE FITTING------------------------------
Show season is well underway. That means a slow time for me, as riders need their saddles for both training during the week, and for shows on weekends. But this is the time of the year that I can have a saddle back to the rider in just a few days, six or seven at most.
So from now, until the end of August, I'm offering $50 Saddle Fittings. I can do this for any customer within a 50 mile radius from Flushing. Up to a 100 mile radius, I'll do it for two or more customers. Just mention you heard about it on Facebook.
--------------------- THAT'S A 50% SAVINGS---------------------------
Please pass this offer on to all your equestrian friends, and have then "Like" my Saddle Fitting Page. Thanks, Robin

Address

Flushing, MI
48433

Telephone

(810) 610-8232

Website

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