Below is an article I’ve written on the all-too-common saddle fitting issues using a few of my own clients as case studies. Firstly, however, a bit of background information on how, as well as being a classical trainer, I also become a qualified saddle fitter. 

The instructor/trainer aspect of my work came first. I started my teaching career in 1993, but over the years I saw so many clients with rehabilitation horses with saddles that didn't fit that I felt that in order to fully help them I needed to train in remedial and general saddle fitting as well. I feel blessed to be able to offer clients both options, training in classical work and qualified saddle fitting, be that remedial, general or maintenance check-ups.

So, onto the mythical world of saddle fitting! If I had a penny for every owner who wasn’t bewildered by the lack of accurate, honest, saddle fitting advice available to them. Almost without fail, owners will have been through a huge number of saddles and saddle fitters and still have a horse with a saddle that is suboptimal and a compromised back. This is very often not the fault of the horse’s owners, I also don’t think many saddle fitters intentionally mislead people, the problem lies in a lack of accurate education for both parties. However, saddle choice and fit is only as good as the knowledge of the saddle fitter doing the fitting, after all that’s what owners are paying for. Undoubtedly, my knowledge of training horses has helped shape my view of what a healthy back and healthy movement should look like and this is what drives me to offer my clients the best service – horse first!

Sadly though, on my travels I frequently see…

Too many horses suffering from muscle atrophy due to saddles being fitted that are: too narrow, too long, the wrong tree shape, incorrectly balanced, designed for rider comfort only, fitted by fitters who don't understand what a healthy back should look like. 

Too many horses labelled as 'naughty' when showing discomfort with saddle placement, girthing, mounting, riding... No horse is ever 'naughty', they are only responding to how they feel presented with that situation/stimulus. If, when saddling or girthing, your horse moves away from you, bites, kicks, won't stand still and/or won't stand at the mounting block or shows signs of discomfort when riding, then question WHY? what are they trying to tell you? They have no voice; their behaviour is their only way of communicating their feelings to you.

Too many clients are told that ONLY expensive, nonadjustable saddles will help their horses. They are told that adjustable, treed, cheap saddles damage horses’ backs. Whilst this is true is some cases, with some fitters, this is not the whole truth... Marketing expensive saddles often involves criticising cheaper brands and exploits a perceived notion that paying top dollar buys you the best saddle. Remember, saddle choice and fit is only as good as the fitter’s knowledge and fixed tree saddles should only be fitted onto healthy backs. Horse owners are often insecure in their knowledge of saddle fit and in desperation to get it right for their horse they may be led to believe it has to be a certain type of costly saddle. There's nothing wrong with purchasing an expensive saddle, some expensive saddles have undergone years of research and development and fitted correctly can be a great option. If the top dollar saddle fits your horse and you can afford it and you want it then buy it, just don’t be duped into thinking it's the ONLY option. I regularly improve horses backs significantly with adjustable, treed saddles that cost under £1000.

The case studies I've included in this article are a small snippet of client’s horses who needed saddle fitting help. Some were new training client’s; some were new saddle fitting clients. The saddles used to improve all of these backs were all adjustable, treed saddles that cost under £1000.

The case studies show BEFORE and AFTER photos taken over a period of months. Zoom in and really look at the horses’ backs. Train your eyes to recognise good back health and poor back health.

The before photos show horses with terrible back atrophy, often including saddle panel imprints on their backs from saddles fitted incorrectly (some of these very expensive saddles), some of these horses had just passed vetting’s, some of these horses had irreparable pathologies from past saddle fitting and bad training techniques, all of these horses had been checked by previous saddle fitters and told their backs were fine and saddles were ok, all of these horses showed signs of tension everywhere in their bodies before I started helping them. All of these horses had owners who cared deeply about their horses and knew something wasn't right but were being told by other professionals that they were fine

The after-photos show ALL of these horses with vastly improved back health and vastly improved overall body tension, posture and weight. There is no miracle cure for pathologies, some of these horses continued to be irreparably damaged, sadly some ultimately ended up being pts but ALL had been given an opportunity to be as comfortable as they could be regarding saddle fit.

If your horses back and body looks like any of the before photo's change your ideas about what your horses back should look like. If your horse’s behaviour changes question WHY? Finally, I always say to my clients “trust your instincts” if something 'feels' wrong or unsettling, it probably is.

Case study 1 - BEFORE SADDLE FITTING WITH KAT

This sweet mare had muscle atrophy through the whole of her thoracic and lumbar region. Her spine and ribcage shelf were pronounced. She had a saddle panel imprint. Her body had tension lines everywhere. She had a downhill, on the forehand stance. She was very sore and uncomfortable on palpation. She was very reactive to saddle placement and girthing and would bite and kick when these were put on her.

Case study 1 - BEFORE