# Felsbach Ag "Husar" 84342 - Help ?!



## katehoo (Apr 11, 2014)

Hi there,

I have been chasing my tail looking for information on an old saddle I am trialling (I live in New Zealand and found through the site Trademe).

On the metal plate it says:

Made in Switzerland
FELSBACH AG 
7431 SUMMAPRADA – GR

Under the saddle flap:

84342
Husar

The owner of the saddle told me it was a Lemetex jumping saddle but there is nothing on the saddle indicating this?

From some online forums I see that this Felsbach Ag was bought by Courbette and then bought by Stubben – correct me if I am wrong.

Just wondering if anyone could please help me or direct me to someone with any information regarding the make/quality/purpose of this particular saddle? 

It is in great condition but I would just like some more information before i commit to this relationship and part with my money  

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Kate Hoogerbrug
New Zealand

Please see attached photos of the actual saddle.


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## Tack Collector (Nov 10, 2009)

sold for US$325 in USA in 1982. Those were the days! hahahahaha!

I think that progression of ownership is correct. I thought those Swiss made saddles had a cm tree size stamped on them like the Stubbens did. 31cm or 31.5 or maybe 32 were what most Americans had in Stubbens. Narrow trees like 29-30cm, I see mostly for sale in Europe. Is there a 31 or 32 or anything 29 - 32 stamped anyplace? that would be tree size.

The Courbette Lemetex flex trees came much later, like 1990s or early 2000s. They don't have cm sizes.

I don't know what year the Felsbach AG name debuted, or what year it disappeared. I think it existed in the late '70s and maybe earlier. Old catalogs are my only clue.


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## unclearthur (Feb 25, 2012)

Nice pic, Tack Collector!

Dear me, they all look so 'seventies'. Did horses really have back shapes like that back then, before warmbloods began to dominate? And hardly a rear gusset to be seen!
Makes me feel old


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## Tack Collector (Nov 10, 2009)

English Saddle | eBay
is a Pandur AP, and 31 tree size is stamped on it.


Yes, I guess a lot of them were, even some Appies and QH tended toward TB build because it was before the bulldog type became hawt.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

The saddles of those days were wool flocked. If ridden without a cloth (numnah) for the first 20 rides, the sweat would cause the flocking to conform to the horse's back. The Husar is remiss of the older Zaldis


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## HunterEq95 (Jun 26, 2015)

I know that this is very old, and I apologize for bringing it back, but I thought I would add my contribution for possible future readers, as I find myself reading old threads to find out things about tack I'm inquiring about.

I have a Felsbach AG/Courbette Husar and it is my favorite saddle that I've owned. Courbette told me that mine is foam stuffed rather than wool flocked and built on a synthetic spring tree, but I'm not sure if all of them are the same in those regards. Yours looks very similar to mine, but my cantle is a bit higher. I've also found that the first two digits of the serial number on many of the Swiss saddles indicates the year of manufacture, so your saddle was built in 1984.

Courbette did buy out and/or merge with Felsbach AG and Sattlerei beim Kloster Schoenthal. Courbette was founded in 1976, so I'm guessing it happened around that time. My saddle was made in 1980 according to Courbette and the serial number on it, and has both the Courbette and Felsbach AG names on it, so I think they used both names on their saddles for awhile. Their German saddles from around that time also have both the Sattlerei beim Kloster Schoenthal and Courbette names on them as well. Stubben bought Courbette around 2011, I think, and I'm not sure if the Courbette name is still in use. I am in the US, so the American market may have been a bit different than in other countries.

The Felsbach AG saddles were made in Switzerland and the Sattlerei beim Kloster Schoenthal saddles were made in Germany. As far as Lemetex goes, I know they had a Lemetex tree at some point, but they also put the name on other goods. The irons that came with my saddle are marked Lemetex AG.

I have used my Husar for everything from trail riding to jumping, and it's been a great saddle for everything. I've let a lot of friends and family ride in it as well and they have all complimented it. I have found the quality of mine to be identical to that of any Stubben I've ever ridden in, but I prefer the feel of my Husar to the Siegfrieds, personally. Of all of my saddles and many that I've ridden in or tried out, I prefer the quality and feel of my Husar. I like the leather on it better than my Crosby of around the same age, and I even prefer it to the new French saddles, although many would probably disagree with me on that. It has also held up better than both my Crosby and my ~20 year old Collegiate (both also great saddles that have worn well for their ages and amount of use). The only thing that's ever gone wrong with it is that a stitch on one of my stirrup leather keepers came undone, but I've found that to be very common in older saddles and a very easy fix. The stitching everywhere else is in great shape. 

Of all of my saddles, this one and my Collegiate are the two that I've been able to use on several horses without any problems (albeit, I don't ride Warmbloods, but I've used it on various other breeds). I'm not a saddle fit expert, but there were no obvious issues and the horses were never sore. My two seem to move better with this saddle than with a lot of other saddles I've tried in the past. It's also been a great saddle for me and is very comfortable, enough to ride in for long periods of time, despite having a hard, unpadded seat. 

Anyway, I am in love with my Husar and can't say enough good things about it! I would personally recommend them to anyone.


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