Food For Thought

I know a lot of people are going to disagre with this but here goes - -

I have read the article by Theresa Sandin , I found it mostly well written and informative ( liked the pretty pictures ) ,BUT before I start to use it as my bible I would just like to say

In the section on bits and bitting she makes reference to AN ENGLISH GAG .

As an English Saddler, from England, making English saddlery ( whatever will we think of next ) I would say ---

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ENGLISH GAG.

If you were to walk into a Gibsons saddlery in newmarket ( now 100 years old ) England and ask for an english gag they wouldn't have a clue what you were talking about

The gag that she is talking about is a CHELTENHAM GAG.

SO ---- If she cannot get this simple piece of information correct - what else has she not got correst ?

Just think about it .

So does that mean that my "English" saddle isn't really English because it wasn't made in England?

I think she was just taught a different term for the same bit. It happens. Most of my horse books refer to rain rot as "rain scald", which is apparently what they call it in England, and most of my books were first published in England. And some people call half chaps "gators". It's the same concept with bits. She's not necessarily wrong or incorrect.