Our Saddle Adjustability
What makes our saddles different? The attention to detail and quality, as well as our craftsmanship, is only one part of the equation. Our saddles are also lightweight, durable and very adjustable to horse and rider – this makes them truly unique.
Saddle Tree
The saddle tree is the foundation of our custom fit. Every Cloete Saddle tree is individually handcrafted in-house and constructed to be lightweight for performance and comfort, according to every individual equine’s 3-D back profile/simulator. We construct our trees with poly-urethane-isocyanate (a chemical specially engineered by a South African chemical engineering company as per Franco’s particular requirements). The substance quality of the urethane tree enables ideal rotational flexibility as it yields to the dynamics of a riding pair’s body motion.
Cable Rigging
Cloete Saddle trees are equipped with a continuous, insulated aircraft cable that serves as rigging attachments, allowing rigging position to be self-adjusting according to every equine’s unique movements.
Our cable rigging system reduces saddle weight and minimizes bulk, which in turn promotes closer contact between a riding pair.
The Seat
Cloete Saddles offers a first ever shim-able and adjustable, posture-enhancing seat, which facilitates correct spinal and pelvic alignment. Our seat inner is contoured from a combination of hi-tech foams and has a three piece seat construction (rather than a one piece draw-down seat). This construction steps the comfort-levels up a notch, especially for the ladies. We make sure to address the perineal triangle when crafting our seats. An extra bonus feature which makes our Cloete Saddle seat even more comfy, is the pressure relief groove that accommodates the soft tissue of the perineum.
All of our saddle seats are standard black, but we can happily throw in a funky colour if you’re up for it!
Saddle Bar Pads
Our saddles come with repositionable bar pads which can influence saddle fit. The bar pads can be shimmed to adapt to your equine’s fluctuating condition and make it possible for one saddle to be used on various horses within a certain conformation range.
It is also possible to address asymmetrical shoulders, injuries, and correctional issues with our customizable bar pads.
Stirrups & Stirrup Straps
A single-strap stirrup system reduces the bulk and weight of our saddles because it buckles up on itself.
The shock-absorbing foot bed of our stirrups and pre-twisted fenders provide optimal leg comfort.
A T-bar buckle on our English Crossover – and Gaiter saddles, enables effortless adjustment of stirrup length.
All our other saddle models use tried and tested Blevins buckles.
Stirrup position can be adjusted forward or backwards by moving a single stirrup strap over the saddle tree – by doing this, a rider can achieve proper balance and posture in the saddle.
Although the single stirrup strap is securely attached for riding, it can be easily repositioned – out of the saddle – to meet a rider’s individual requirements.