# Bob Marshall Saddle Question



## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

I love my new (barely used) Bob Marshall saddle. But it squeaks. Since the rigging is made out of nylon I'm wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of the squeak. I know about using baby powder on regular, treed saddles but this has me stumped.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

I don't know how to get rid of your squeak, but I was going to mention that the only Bob Marshall saddle I've ever ridden in had quite a squeak also.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I have taken every squeak out of every saddle I've ever owned with Hydrophane Leather Dressing. NOT the Hydrophane _cleaner_, not the Hydrophane _darkening oil_, nothing but the Hydrophane Leather Dressing.

I WARM 3-4oz of it in a coffee mug in the microwave for about 50 seconds and then use a small paint brush to brush it into all the nooks and crannies around the rigging (or for english saddles, where the flaps join under the top flap and where the stirrup bars are).

No Squeaks!


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

Thanks! I'll have to get me some of that.  My older BM has no squeak at all. This saddle is at least 5 years old but hardly used at all. I think it's been just sitting and needs oil bad.


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## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

I have never ridden in a Bob Marshall saddle, but have talked to several people who have. It seems that people either love them or hate them. I haven't talked to anyone who had tried one that had a neutral opinion on them. What are your thoughts?


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

saanengirl said:


> I have never ridden in a Bob Marshall saddle, but have talked to several people who have. It seems that people either love them or hate them. I haven't talked to anyone who had tried one that had a neutral opinion on them. What are your thoughts?


I love it! :clap: SO glad I went out on a limb and bought one to try. Nobody around here had one for me to try out first. It's so comfortable and you can actually feel the horse move under you. My horse loves it and has become a much calmer horse since using it. I always had problems with knee pain and butt pain and that is completely gone. I was always finding dry spots and/or white hairs on my horses back with other saddles. Couldn't seem to find the perfect fit. They are very well made and nice and light. I'm sold on them and will never go back to a treed saddle again. I ran across one on Ebay that was really nice with no horn and square skirt. Just what I wanted and I got a great deal on it. It's hardly been used! (hence the squeak). So I do have my 1st one for sale now. Hate to sell it but can't afford to keep it. 
One thing to keep in mind from the research I have done...get an Original Bob Marshall. Not the Circle Y Bop Marshall. From what I read the Circle Y are not as nice. That's why they go for less.


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## chewie (Jun 9, 2008)

so why did you buy a diff. one if you had one already? just askin  

i have always ridden western so not having a tree seems way weird to me. how does the riders weight get distributed?? and i have a very tall horse, does it stay put long enough for a person to scrape their way up on top? i would love to find something lighter, my custom made western one is super but dang, its heavy. and odd thing, when i snug it up, my horse 'short steps' for a few minutes, every time. makes me wonder if something's wrong. i think it fits him very well, but ??? i wanna hear more about that saddle you have!


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

I rode in a Bob Marshall when I was in Sweden - my friend there is really into bitless and treeless riding. I didn't really like the saddle. It felt like a bareback pad with a pommel and cantle glued onto it. There really isn't much to the seat part of the saddle, you just sit on the padding directly on the horse's back. The pommel seemed really high - maybe the makers were trying for a "deep" seat? I don't know, but it really got into the way of where I wanted to hold my hands. I had to hold them much higher than I normally do to clear the pommel. I've seen photos of other Bob Marshalls and they seem to be made about the same.

I've also ridden several times in an Ansur treeless Dressage saddle, and as far as treeless saddles, I like that one a little better. It worked great for a large Belgian mare that I was working with at the time, but I didn't like it as well for the Warmblood cross that I was also working.


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## Minelson (Oct 16, 2007)

chewie said:


> so why did you buy a diff. one if you had one already? just askin


Because the new one I purchased has a square skirt and no horn. That is hard to find since most horn less are on endurance models with round skirt. It also has turquoise inlay and pretty tooling, so it's very unique. It's a beautiful saddle and I got it for an awesome price. I wanted one without a horn...my jacket kept getting hung up on the horn going up hills and it irritated me. I don't do any roping so I don't need a horn. 
I use a Skito Pad underneath which is supposed to evenly distribute the weight of the rider. As far as mounting, it's not any different than getting on a treed saddle to me. 
Here is the listing of the saddle I got with pictures. It is way more beautiful live than in the pics 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170533615922&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Port Lewis impression pad will tell you what is going on with any Treeless or Treed saddle. (It doesn't work for flex panel saddles)
The _good quality_ treeless will spread the rider's weight out. It also depends on how you ride and the conformation of your horse.

When I tried the 35+ saddles out on Dyfra both Treed and Treeless... two of the best impressions on the PLIP, was two Treeless saddles.
And one of them she favored above all others, the one I ride in now.
Didn't need to see the PLIP, to tell when she hated the treed saddles.

Treed or Treeless saddles, do need to be fitted, they need to fit your horse properly and most important, the horse needs to be comfortable with the saddle and if you listen to them, they will tell you.


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

chewie said:


> and odd thing, when i snug it up, my horse 'short steps' for a few minutes, every time. makes me wonder if something's wrong. i think it fits him very well, but ???


That sounds more like a girthing issue. Could be that where the rigging is placed on that particular saddle, puts the girth in a spot that binds him up when you snug it. Have you tried stretching your horse's front legs out after girthing semi-snug, then tightening it up the rest of the way?


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

I had a Bob Marshall. It was comfortable and fit the horse, but - like Malinda - I didn't like the claustrophobic feeling of the comparatively high pommel and cantle. It hindered my dismount, as well.

ETA: I sold it.


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