An uneven or lumpy saddle panel can prevent your horse from giving of its best. After two or three years of regular use the flock, or stuffing, inside the panel can become hard and uncomfortable. Lumps can form without you noticing; however, your horse will notice!  Uneven saddle panels are one of the main causes of back trouble in horses.

Reflocking a saddle involves total replacement of the contents of the panels with new white flock. (This is a great improvement on brown flock found in 99% of saddles.)  The results may show immediately in your animal's movement and general behavior.

Things you need to know about Flock

The flocking used in saddles may be white, brown or gray in color. White flock is preferable because it is more likely to be natural wool than the other colors. It is more expensive but because it is a natural product, sweat will allow it to bed into the shape of the horse's back. 

Real wool flock is a first-use product of the woolen industry. It is made up of fleece from different breeds of sheep and blended together. A scouring process cleans and removes the grease. 

The wool is then carded through rollers containing small needles which tease out and comb it to produce a material that is soft yet resilient. The wool is then ready for use a flocking in the saddlery trade or alternatively it may go through more processes such as spinning for yarn.

Real 100% white flock contains long fibers. It has a superior springiness and resilience, which enables it to recover quickly from compression over many months. While in the panel it will soak up oils and moisture from the horse. This enables it to bed in, over a few months' use, to form a well-fitting panel which is firm, yet conforms to the horse's back. 

Brown, gray or colored flock is formed from carpet factory waste and contains a high percentage of acrylic fibers. This means that while it is in the panel it will not soak up moisture and may turn hard and lumpy. After two or three years in a new or re-flocked saddle this flock will emerge as it went in: in small, dry, individual pieces.

Continual use of a numnah (pad) can have a negative effect on what happens to the flocking.  Most riders use a numnah at all times in order to keep the bottom of the saddle clean.  This is a good intention, but it has a negative consequence...The rising sweat from the horse never gets a chance to do its work on the flock in the panel.  The well-known saddlers recommend that a new or newly re-flocked saddle should be used without a pad for at least the first 21 hours.

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Many professionals in the saddle industry feel that the best fitting English saddle is a saddle that is filled with real wool.

Wool, a natural fiber, breathes and disburses pressure.  Wool flocked panels conform to the horse's back and help eliminate pressure points.

Saddles with foam panels are very hard to maintain and usually when the foam in the panel breaks down, that is the end of the life of the saddle.