Don't Be Tempted!

During lockdown most horses and ponies will be changing shape for one reason or another, with saddle fit and your horse’s comfort and wellbeing compromised as a result. So how best to manage saddle fit and other tack issues? Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow has put together this checklist of do’s and don’ts to help you get it right.

Do:- go over your tack carefully looking for repairs that may be necessary – most bench (craftsmen) saddlers are working.

Do:- give your tack a good clean. Get all of the dirt, grease and grime off first then allow it to dry (preferably overnight) before adding a good leather dressing. I use Oakwood leather dressing but there are many good ones out there.

Don’t :- expect your saddle to fit when you start to ride again. For sure your horse will have changed shape if he hasn’t been ridden for a few weeks.

Don’t:- expect your saddle fitter to be able to come out to you straight away once lockdown eases. Contact them now so that your name is on the list when they can start work again. Most are keeping lists of visits wanted as soon as they can come out again safely. 

Don’t:- expect your SMS qualified saddle fitter to come out to you at the moment. Whilst a couple are doing so, our advice is that it is not safe to do so and we should not be doing this. It is impossible to do a satisfactory fit working to the SMS system and abide by the Government’s rules. We do not wish to risk your health, nor our own! 

Don’t:- be tempted to buy a saddle on line. Even a saddle that looks to be a second hand bargain, if you want to have it fitted it will be some time before a good fitter can come out to you. If it is faulty it will then be too late to return it.

Don’t:- buy a saddle on line. Just that! It’s never a good idea and often leads to tears.

Don’t:- try to re-fit your saddle yourself without guidance. If you are concerned, contact your saddle fitter. They will ask for photos – not head shots of your much loved neddy! They will need close up side on (so full horse but filling the frame, not with a lot of background). Do this from both sides. Girth fastened but no saddle cloth. Also, from front / side at the wither both sides. You may need to stand on a mounting block for this. Finally, take one from behind the horse along his back, also stand on a block to take this. If it is safe to do so, they might like a video of you riding (with your saddle cloth back on) to show balance and movement in work, but ONLY do this if it is safe to do so. Video up quite close please. It’s not much help when you are away in the distance. Your saddle fitter can then advise you of how to improve things for the short term. This isn’t a saddle fit as this can NOT be done remotely. The fitter does need to be there in person, but this is a short-term fix to keep you going.

Learn what your saddle fitter will ask for from  

Kay's two videos - to get copies see the section below

Saddle Fitting Know How - For Riders and Trainers

Don’t:- try to re-fit your friend’s horse using similar fixes to those advised for your horse. What is right for him might not be right for your friend’s horse. There is much more to correct saddle fitting than meets the eye, which is why a good qualification like the Society of Master saddlers qualified saddle fitter takes a minimum of 3 years to achieve. You could, with the best of intentions damage your friend’s horse.

Don’t:- ride your horse at the moment if he is anything other than bomb proof and keep any riding that you do to a minimum and within a safe area if possible. Some horses just have to be ridden regularly or there will be a huge spike in visits to A & E once we are given the go ahead to start again! The general rule is to be sensible and avoid risk as much as possible.

Stay safe and let’s all look forward to 2021. 

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Improve your knowledge to help your saddle fitter help you

To support you during lockdown and more effectively discuss any concerns you have about saddle fit with your usual saddle fitter, learn more about the information they’ll need to help you from Kay’s expert videos.

Saddle Fitting Know How - For Riders and Trainers is available as two videos for unlimited download or streaming from Kay’s own Vimeo On Demand page for a one-off charge of just £35 per video – less than the cost of a good quality saddlecloth or a lesson from a trainer! 

The first video looks at Conformation and Movement of the Horse, Types of Tree and their Influence, Different Panels and the Position of Girth Straps.

The second video explains How to Assess a Saddle for Soundness, Straightness and Safety, Recognising a Good Fit, the Balance of a Saddle, When Saddles Move and finally, Rider Influences.

These two new videos contain a huge amount of information and together they provide over an hour of expert Saddle Fitting Know How. Certain to become a ‘go-to’ resource, one that you’ll view again and again, Saddle Fitting Know How – For Riders and Trainers uses clever graphics alongside clear explanations and insight into many different aspects of achieving and maintaining a correctly fitting saddle.

Find out more and get access to this unique video resource that will enhance your understanding of saddles and why it’s vital to achieve and then maintain correct saddle fit.

Click to learn more and buy videos for streaming or download

Why Rider Balance Affects Comfort and Performance

Kay Hastilow assessing a horse's conformation and back
during a saddle fitting appointment.

I am constantly amazed that riders (and often trainers) are oblivious it seems, to the importance of the balance of the saddle. If they are aware of this, there are some rather weird ideas as to how to see if the balance is correct. Apparently, you can ‘put a cotton reel on the seat and it should stay in the centre’. Oh yeah! This takes no account of how the horse reacts when the rider gets on.

He may drop his back, in which case the saddle, previously thought to be ‘level’ will be tipping back.  When he is actually working, he may well ‘lift his back’ into the saddle, and it would then be tipping forward. Funnily enough, both faults will make the rider tip forward as the rider attempts to prevent themselves from getting left behind, often bracing their lower back in an effort to stay upright. Sore backs (with the rider) commonly result from this. 

I find that the best way for a rider or trainer to see if the balance is correct is to ride the horse so that he is warmed up and going as you expect and then have someone take a film of this. You can freeze frame it on side views to see, does the saddle look level? Is it tipping back , so that the rider is tipping forward in an effort to stay upright? Is the saddle tipping ‘downhill’, with the rider probably sticking their legs out forward and bracing themselves to stay ‘in position’?

It is easy to put a temporary pad under the front or back of the saddle to try and balance it and ride with it like this to see if there is an improvement in the rider’s position. If the results are good, then contact your qualified saddle fitter to correct this for you. It might be necessary to use adjusting pads to get the result that you want, and I would suggest that trainers should have a multi adjustable pad, such as the Prolite thin multi adjuster pad with them when teaching, as correctly balancing the saddle will greatly improve their pupil’s position.

Visit Kay Hastilow's website to find out more - www.khsaddlery.co.uk - where you will find links to her expert series of educational films about all aspects of saddle fitting.

Get The CORRECT Answers To Saddle Fitting Questions

Throughout her many years of experience as a Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter, Kay Hastilow has been asked innumerable different questions by horseowners and here she gives brief answers to just some of the most commonly heard enquiries....

Q.  What is the difference between a saddler and a saddle fitter?

A.  A Qualified saddler is a skilled craftsman who can sit at a bench and make saddles, bridles or other items of leatherwork. A saddler (referred to in the trade as a bench saddler) might have absolutely no knowledge of how a saddle should fit, nor recognise good or bad fit.

A saddle fitter understands how the saddle should fit, will understand which tree, panel design and girth strap arrangement is needed for each individual horse and why, and how well the saddle fits for the rider. However, they might have no bench skills and so not be able to make, nor to adjust an existing saddle to fit the horse.

The finest saddle fitters have both the skills of a saddler and a saddle fitter. Ideally, they will also be horsemen and be able to ride, but this is not always the case.

Q. Why is good saddle fit important?

A.  We need the saddle to give us security, balance and position and all of this will help the horse to perform to the best of his ability, be it in competition or out hacking. If his saddle is uncomfortable (or in some cases downright painful), we shouldn’t be surprised if our horse is less than enthusiastic or blatantly naughty when we ride him.

Q. What should we look for in a good saddle fitter?

A. The Society of Master Saddlers has been training and assessing saddle fitters to Qualified Saddle Fitter (QSF) qualification since 1995, so has more experience in this field than other qualification awarding bodies. If the fitter is good, you may well have to wait up to six weeks for a visit, but he or she will be worth waiting for.

Q. Where can you find out about good saddle fitters?

A. The Society of Master Saddlers website has all of the qualified fitters listed by county. There are symbols to show what qualifications each holds, so that you can see if the fitter is also a qualified saddler. Whilst there are other fitters, both with or without qualifications out there, the SMS QSF gives you an assurance that the fitter knows what is what, and you have the Society to turn to if you have any problems.

Q. How often should I get my saddle fitted?

A. It rather depends on the age and breed of your horse and the work that they are doing. Young horses especially, from being backed at three to being in a regular routine by the age of six to nine, can change a great deal in a very short space of time. I have seen horses change by more than a width fitting in a matter of weeks. For this age group, every three to four months is ideal. Older horses can change dramatically as well, so four to six months for them.

A middle-aged horse with a regular stable routine and in regular work will need checking once every six months, but if the horse has changes to his routine, such as eventers, hunters, or horses kept in during the winter but turned out to grass 24/7 in the summer, they will need more regular visits.

Of course, ANY horse showing discomfort or changes in their way of going should have the saddle checked as soon as possible.

Q. What should I look for in a good saddle fit?

Ask the horse! He should not go to the back of the stable when you walk in with the saddle. The saddle should just slide into place on the horse’s back and want to stay in the right position. When ridden in, the saddle should be level so that you do not need to lean forward to maintain your balance. It should be stable, not lifting or bouncing at the back. There should be sufficient clearance to the top and sides of the spine right through the length of the saddle so that there is no pressure from the saddle anywhere in this area. Note, we do not say 2/3/4 fingers, as this can be very misleading. The tree of the saddle (shorter than the panel) should not go beyond T18 (the position of the last rib), although it is okay if the panel extends beyond here by an inch or so. The panel should be smooth and giving, not hard and lumpy. There should be an even contact between the saddle and the horse’s back.

Q. How can I tell if my saddle needs checked?

A. If your horse does not seem happy to be tacked up, or is not going as freely and as well as normal, this might indicate discomfort. If you are finding it difficult to sit still or in balance, or you feel as if you are going to be tipped forward or back, this will indicate that the saddle is out of balance. Get a friend to film you riding and look to see if you are riding in a good position, legs in the right place and that you are upright.

It is good practice to measure your horse’s girth each week, especially when the grass starts coming through, or in the middle of winter. Measure in centimetres (all weight tapes have this measurement, and it will be the same whichever tape you use, whereas the weights shown will differ) A gain or loss of 5 cm. is roughly equivalent to 40 kg. weight change, which can totally alter the way the saddle is fitting. A 3 cm. change will signify the need to get the saddle fitter in to check. 

Q. What affects saddle fit?

A. This could be a long list!

Putting the saddle too far forward. (My pet bug bear)

Using very thick numnahs or pads with a saddle fitted using something thinner.

Different girths.

Using different girth straps (say 1 & 2 rather than 1 & 3)

Uneven stirrup leathers.

Weight gain or loss. (time of year)

Change in the type or level of work.

A different rider.

Lameness.

Injury.

Crooked riders.

Riders carrying an injury.

I could go on…….

Find out more by visiting Kay Hastilow’s website at www.khsaddlery.co.uk  check out the Educational Films page and join in the conversation on Facebook