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How safe is your Tack?
Recently, J & E Sedgwick have been contacted by companies to validate that their suppliers are providing products using our leather as they had requested, and that the tack is made from our leather. In most cases the tack sent to Sedgwick’s for analysis has been inferior in terms of poor quality and manufacturing flaws, and also variations in colour compared to our standard colour range. After investigation the leather has in fact been proven not to be made from Sedgwick.
 The picture to the left shows the cross section of a pair of Black Stirrups. Investigation showed that the Stirrups were at a thickness of 4.0 / 4.25mm. Sedgwick’s Stirrup leather ranges from 4.8 / 5.2mm. More worryingly, the Stirrups were not only from different pieces of leather, they were from different tannages.
This is particularly dangerous as the end user may find that one stirrup could stretch more than the other. Also there is a danger of the leather breaking under load. The use of the same tannage is vital in order to maintain the integrity and safety of the Rider, Horse and Leather.
For over 100 years Sedgwick’s have built their business on providing leather of a consistent quality, where safety is paramount. This type of miss-representation may undermine our reputation. With this in mind we feel that we have a duty of care to our customers, new and existing, the public and the riding community worldwide.
Sedgwick’s know that it is impossible to police every incident that arises, but we are able to offer a service whereby customers can contact our dedicated sales and technical team who will be able to advise them if the leather is from Sedgwick’s. We also have the services of a test house facility such as the British Leather Confederation (BLC) that are only too willing to aid us in our investigations.
Our leather can be purchased directly, or more commonly through our distributors. This set up provides a tight network to ensure that either Sedgwick’s or the distributor will be able to pinpoint their leather sales to a particular manufacturer. This will provide the customer and the end user with the knowledge of the history of the leather if they require this information.
 The picture to the left shows leather that has been used for the production of Stirrups. The leather is at a thickness of 4.2mm. Upon testing for the tensile strength the leather it was found to be weak and subsequently the fibres pulled apart too easily.
This leather was claimed to be ours and this has been proven not to be the case. Manufacturers of these products have a duty to ensure the leather used is the correct type. This will reduce potential safety risks.
J & E Sedgwick have a sound reputation worldwide where products made of our leather is proven to be successful, however there are companies who aim to sell cheap imitation products claiming to be made from our leather when in actual fact this is not the case. This type of practise will only serve to harm all parties involved.
We are dedicated to protecting our history, reputation and excellent quality and hope that our customers, whether they are new or existing, small volume or large volume users, be a part of this campaign. Do not hesitate to contact us for any information regarding the above.
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