About Us

Alice Nuttgens Saddlery comprises a Saddlery business situated in the village of Turville near Henley-on-Thames.  The business is run my myself and my daughter Jessie. 

I have worked with horses from the age of 12 in many areas of Equestrianism from racehorse yards to running large livery yards.  I have bred and brought on many successful horses and ponies including Kodack, five times World champion mounted games pony, Grittar, another top mounted games pony, Ayres Rock, Junior Event horse and Tyrpentyre Conjurer Welsh Section D Stallion, successful dressage horse.

I trained as a saddle maker with Mike Huline Dickens at Cordwainers College, East London, graduating in 1990.  I immediately started my own saddlery business, shortly afterwards became a member of the Society of Master Saddlers.  I was then one of the first to pass the Saddle Fitters course and became a Master Saddler and Saddle Fitter.

Jessie completed the Millenium Apprenticeship Scheme and is fully qualified Saddler in her own right.  Jessie has been invited on more than one occasion to demonstrate bridle making skills at the BETA (British Equestrian Trade Association) fair at the NEC and has competed in bridle making competitions alongside the best in the country.  Jessie makes bespoke bridles and other leather work and also belts, and other remedial saddle repairs.  Jessie has been saddle fitting alongside me for 8 years and will soon become a Saddle Fitter in her own right.

What we do

The majority of the work that we do is remedial saddle fitting through saddle fitting consultations, much of the work being referrals from vets and Chartered Physiotherapists.  Behavioural issues and lameness in horses often requires the knowledge of all 3 professionals in order to maximise the horse’s performance and maintain their welfare.

I have worked closely with top vets and Chartered Physiotherapists for many years now and have many success stories, see some of them in my testimonials below. If you feel your horse’s performance is being compromised by saddle issues, I will come to your yard and assess your horse, saddle and ridden and give an appraisal, often fixing problems on site, see our Saddle Fitting section for more on our work.

I keep a good stock of saddles for sale, but over time I have narrowed down the saddle stock to those makes of saddle that I feel best works with the horse.  Any size, shape or problem can be assessed and in majority of cases remedied, often requiring just small adjustments avoiding the cost of buying a new saddle.