I’m a bit of a fan of the Wintec saddle, I must admit and have found getting one fitted to my rather wide, swayed backed gelding to be a particularly good move in relation to his comfort and mine (although I’m certain a fitted leather saddle would have the same result).
When I first got the saddle fitted to Pride, he was rather… obese and a couple of years later dropped down to a better weight and therefore changed shape. It was very easy to have someone out to reassess the saddle and how it sits on him and make the appropriate changes. Some more padding was required in the panels and the gullet was able to be adjusted to a wider one as Pride’s shape over his wither had also changed.
I have on another occasion had someone out to again assess the fit of the saddle when my gelding again changed shape/weight and they had to reflock the panels. It’s been suggested that the saddle be assessed on an annual basis and let’s face it, your horse can change shape quite a bit over this duration.
This was all done as part of a service offered through Horseland in Australia. Horseland actually have an Accredited Saddle Fitting Course which can be found out about at https://www.horseland.com.au/Saddlefitting/Saddle%20Fitting.asp. Again, this is a course I’d be interested in just for personal learning but two levels are offered and people have made a business out of providing this service.
http://www.eurosaddleimports.com.au/service.asp – saddle fitting for NSW and Queensland, Australia.
http://rbe.co.uk/html/saddle_fitting.html – saddle fitting service located at Milton Keynes, Bucks, UK.
http://www.sansomsaddlery.co.uk/saddle_fitting.htm – saddle fitting, Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
“A horse already knows how to be a horse; the rider has to learn how to become a rider. A horse without a rider is still a horse; a rider without a horse is no longer a rider.”
tag: saddle fitting service, course, australia, united kingdom, saddlery
Fancy yourself handy with an industrial sewing machine? Creative? Think you could design a better saddle – more comfortable, a better fit to the horse or with something that would make it a cut above the rest? Perhaps you need to get into saddlery. If you’re situated in UK, it seems that you’re in the right place to chase up the advice of those already experienced in the field. If you’re in Oz, you might wanna consider traveling!
With so many disciplines, you may be interested in focusing on one type of saddle in particular or covering a range. Dressage, show jumping, general purpose, side saddle, western, endurance or perhaps stock saddles. While in South Africa we rode in a type of trail saddle with a rather high pommel, deep seat and high cantle. They were extremely comfortable for long rides with lots of trotting or cantering but definitely not something I’d seen on trail in Australia. Generally on a trail ride we’re in a stock saddle. I am very much a fan of the saddle pictured, however.
I gained a lot of experience, had a fabulous time and made numerous contacts while working for Michael, however making a living on the back stretch is really unrealistic – moving every couple of months, earning peanuts, etc. During college I had volunteered at a hospital and thoroughly enjoyed it. Upon departing the track I enrolled in nursing school, and having seen how other partnerships operate, I wanted to make boutique partnerships that allowed partners a true sense of belonging in the sport of kings, rather than mere guests of the managing partner.
This role is quite unique – I look at my main responsibility as customer service, and my second putting all the pieces of the puzzle together; choosing trainers, bloodstock agents. Working on the track I have been able to surround myself with great people, who have many great champions listed on their resume.