I am drawn to saddle fitting because I love horses and want them to be comfortable, and also because I have had my own personal saddle fit issues from a surgery in 2008 where Ive been riding in a treeless saddle for personal comfort and to avoid pelvic injury ... but my newest horse Jimmy has a high wither and it very very hard to fit a treeless saddle comfortably to a high withered horse, so I went saddle shopping and found a treed saddle I could ride comfortably in - a Schleese saddle - they are pricey though ($4000) - however, Im dedicated to doing what is right by the horse and right by me, so I invested ... my new saddle was custom fit to Jimmy in September 2014 and that same time I had done my own saddle fitting and wither and spine tracings ... well, 4 months later the saddle seems tight on Jimmy and just today I did another set of wither and spine tracings ... Jimmy now has a winter hair coat and about an additional 100# and he IS wider ... he went from a 6 gullet measurement (solid line) to a 6 and 3/4 gullet measurement (dotted line). I wasnt just imaging things ... the good news is that Schleese saddles are adjustable so I dont have to go out and buy a new saddle, the bad news is that they arent adjustable by the owner and have to go to the company at roughly $350 or so ... it just makes me sick inside ... I know horses change shape each season and I have no desire to keep going for these time and money consuming re-fittings .... Jimmys spine hasnt changed, so the gusset doesnt need adjustment, just the gullet ... so Im planning on getting the saddle fit for him as hes wider (narrow is pinching him and hes getting grumpy ears and stumbly sometimes) and then Ill keep tabs on him and use a saddle fitting padding for future adjustments ... I am an advocate of getting the best value for your money but it was actually my own personal issue that couldnt be solved by a Wintec type saddle ... and I preach that this can happen (horses changing shape) - so I thought I would share my own situation, so you can learn from it! BTW - when I teach you saddle fitting, I teach you the basics of how to do it yourself - so you can monitor these things with confidence too!
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 20:42:13 +0000
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