A Proper Fit Leads to Better Comfort
It's crucial that we give your horse the best opportunity to move as freely under his saddle as possible. I will take into consideration your shape, weight, injuries, needs and wants. I will watch your horse move under his saddle to assess if anything is hindering his movement. When looking at a new saddle, I will watch you ride and assess what it does to your position and most importantly what the horse does under it.
I will assess your horses symmetry through his feet, shoulders, back and haunches. All the findings will be recorded on your fitting sheet. I will also do drawings of your horse's back so we can assess gullet angles and have something to compare their changes to later on.
It is important to discuss any injuries you or your horse have that may affect your saddle's fit or horse's going, as well as your experience level, discipline, riding curriculum, and future goals.
I will then carefully look over your existing saddle for any faults or problems that may affect its use. If all is fine, I will check the saddle’s fit on your horse's back, when the horse is stationary, then when girthed up and led.
I will then discuss my finding with you and the options available to make the saddle fit your horse better. Most alterations can be done onsite. When the changes needed have been done, it is usually best to get you up in the saddle to check that the work done has fixed the problems and that you are happy with the changes. That is the best way to confirm the job was done successfully.
