Saddle fitting is a process, not an event.
Horses change: aging horses’ backs drop, young horses fill out or sprout withers, between youth and old age their weight and fitness increase and decrease, their training progresses and their posture changes as they learn to use different muscles, occasional injuries result in time off. Even in a horse that stays entirely the same, the flocking in their saddle settles and needs to be topped off. These are some of the reasons that the Society of Master Saddlers recommends having your saddle fit checked by a professional every 6 months. (Are you overdue?)
When I fit a saddle, I do so with an eye to the future. I sometimes have to tell people “this saddle will work for now, but you need to start thinking of replacing it.” When working with someone interested in buying a saddle, whether or not they intend to buy from me, I have an eye to the future as well. I want my clients to be happy with their purchase for years to come. Sometimes I tell people, “Yes, this saddle fits great right now, but it won’t in 4 months.” I’d rather have them spend money on something that will work long-term. It’s a challenge to predict the future, but having spent a few decades working with horses and observing how their shapes change, I’m familiar with patterns and commonalities.
Let’s look at some examples.
When I first met this horse a few years ago, I advised his owner that a Black Country Freedom tree would be a good choice, even though he didn’t look like it at the time! His topline was undeveloped and he had significant wither hollows. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that she was ready to act on my advice and she found a great used jumping saddle that she had me fit to him. At first, he needed a shimmed half pad. Over the course of the year, as his new saddle allowed him to move more freely and correctly, he developed new back muscles and now, as of his most recent fitting, he no longer needs the half pad! During that year I saw him to modify the fit about every 4 months. Now I don’t expect to need to see him for 6 to 12 months.
I love this picture! I put this horse into a Harry Dabbs saddle and he also needed extra pads and shims to fill it in at first but after only 8 months he didn’t need them anymore.
Horses that need to lose weight are trickier. You can’t shim a saddle for that, so most of the time you have to fit the horse as it is and then shim when it’s down to its correct weight, which may mean shimming for the long-term. I’d prefer to have the horse lose weight first and then fit it to a saddle but sometimes it’s hard to get the weight off without the ability to ride, and in that case, compromise is inevitable. There’s nothing wrong with long-term use of shims, it’s simply not ideal to have an additional component to tacking up. Of course some saddles can be narrowed to fit, too.
These are extreme examples but many, possibly most, horses will change in their backs after getting a new saddle or having substantial changes made to their old one. If you are not following up with your saddle fitter within 6 months you should not be surprised if your saddle fit and/or your horse’s performance suffer as a result. We’ve all experienced how small changes can sneak up on you over time until things are quite different all of a sudden (Covid weight gain, anyone?). Having a trained, experienced eye look things over periodically will help keep your horse’s training and health on the right track.
It’s always fun to do that scheduled maintenance and have the rider say, “Wow! This is so much better! I didn’t even realize how off balance I was until it was corrected!” or “Wow! My horse moves so much more freely! I didn’t even realize the saddle had started blocking her shoulders until it was corrected!” Give your saddle fitter a chance to correct your problems, too, even if you aren’t yet aware you have them.
So please, don’t think of your saddle fitter as someone you call when you have a problem, like an exterminator. Have a relationship with your saddle fitter, much like you do with your vet, farrier, and body workers. Planning to have your saddle fit checked regularly also makes it easier to schedule appointments – you can get all the people at your barn together and have one day to get it all done, much like how most people schedule the farrier or spring shots – it’s convenient, saves money on the farm call, and avoids problems developing down the road.
