Caring for your Pandora Saddle
Wipe your saddle with a soft cloth and methylated spirits. Do not soak the cloth.
Be gentle when removing the memory foam pads. The velcro links are very very strong. If excessive force is used to bend the pads off, they might tear.
Put a saddle cover on your saddle when not in use or when travelling. A large T-shirt works well too. Treat your saddle as you would a brand new paint job on your car.
Tips on fitting your Pandora Saddle
Avoid saddle pads with inserts or shims as it might compromise the fit
Pull the saddle pad up into the gap between the memory foam pads to straighten out any possible wrinkles in the pad.
Take photos of the position of the foam pads before you move them. That way you can always be sure of what the previous positioning was before you adjusted them in case the fit was better before you moved them.
Riding in your Pandora Saddle
Try riding in skins. No need for heavy duty riding pants. You can buy these from any sport store or on ebay. Tip, have a look in the men’s sportswear section in your local clothing store.
If you have a bottle holder on your Marathon saddle, ensure there is a bottle in the holder at all times to avoid any injury or damage to yourself or the saddle.
If you rub at first, please be patient. As with most new saddles you will need to adjust and find your best riding seat.
How do I protect my saddle from wear and tear?
Ensure buckles of the stirrup leathers are positioned near your feet and not on the carbon. This will reduce the scratching of the paint as well as reduce pressure and injury from the buckle against your leg. We advise the stirrup leather buckles be at the bottom just above your stirrups.
Using reins without a metal buckle will also ensure protection of the saddle pommel from chipping.
Insulation tape on all buckles (and then heated with a hairdryer to make it work like “shrink wrap”) will make the buckles less “noisy” and reduce the chance of chipping the saddle if hit really hard.
Use Heat Shrink Tubing (designed to insulate and protect electrical wiring) to protect your clasps and clips from making a noise and chipping your saddle
Here is an instructional video if you’d like to see how to do it. No need for any expensive equipment, we use a HAIRDRIER to shrink ours!!
The girth does not have to be done up as tight as traditional saddles because of the shape of the saddle and the fit on the back. The biothane leathers will wear faster the tighter the girth straps are constantly done up. This does not mean we promote riding with a loose girth, just no need for extremely tight fit.
Avoid doing the girth up on the exact same holes every time.
Why does the saddle seem to lift at the back?
The following from a statement “according to custom saddle (Bob Trezona/Ty Heth) & (Sonny Felkins) tree makers that make handmade vaquero style wade tree saddles…people have been told by these purist (picky and detail orientated) type horseman that when a saddle fits a horse in the shoulder /wither correctly it’ll be up a bit in the rear, until you take a seat in it.”
If a girth is tightened (on any saddle), as soon as the rider sits on the saddle and the horse moves and starts relaxing, the pressure moves off the girth points and the saddle will sit without interference of girth points pulling it up or down.
1. Try to fasten the second girth strap first with the intention of being the main girth strap. This would be the one closest to the middle of the saddle and seems to make a huge difference to the lift up of the saddle at the that people are referring to. Also, don’t be concerned if you notice a slight lift up. This will be eliminated once you sit in the saddle.
2. The girth points are in this position on the saddle to ensure the position of the saddle behind the shoulder. If the girth points in the English Girth setup, are moved forward, then the saddle will automatically move and want to sit on the shoulder.
Don’t forget to:
Always ride with capped stirrups so if you come off, your foot cannot get hooked.
Always ride with an approved riding helmet.
FAQ about the order form:
* What happens if I cannot supply a color code for my saddle?
We will attempt to match as close to what was described in your order, but with so any shades and different products in the market, there is always a risk that it might not be exactly what you like. We can therefor not guarantee the color of the saddle if a code was not supplied.
Any automotive paint color code works.
* How much weight can be attached to the saddle?
Our saddle was designed to be minimalist and was not designed to carry additional weight other than the rider. If attachments are added to the saddle, this cannot be guaranteed
* Why are y-girth billets not punched?
English girth strap holes are always the same. Y-girth billet holes differ depending on what the setup will be like. We do not punch holes as we do not know the measurements. Most clients who request the y-girth rigging prefer to punch the holes themselves.
* Why do you not accept additional payment to speed up the manufacturing process?
We believe in a first come first served basis. We would like every customer to receive their saddle as soon as possible in the order in which it was placed.