Over the years I have inherently found ill fitting saddles to be the cause of many mental, emotional, physical and performance impacting issues. 

Saddles are invariably fitted to the profile of the horse when he is standing still - this is known as fitting to the static shape of the horse.  The problem with this is that the moving horse needs to lift his back and expand through the rib cage and chest in order to be able to work effectively and without injury, whilst also supporting the weight of the rider.  So a saddle that is fitted to the 'static' shape affords no room for the horse to achieve this.  As a result we start to see the horse lose muscle in certain areas over the back and will often find that he struggles to come through properly from behind, regardless of all the suppling exercises, poles and transitions that we might be doing to try to help him.  This can then lead to the risk of injury (most commonly tendon injuries, spinal and joint problems) as the horse becomes what we call a 'leg mover' instead of a 'back mover'.  

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Through many years of studying, undertaking workshops with world renowned vets, specialists and therapists, training and working with many different horses, I have an excellent understanding of equine biomechanics and how an healthy equine body should look and move when muscles are correctly developed.  Whilst I no longer offer a saddle fitting service, my goal is to assist in educating and empowering you and your horse to recognise when a saddle affords comfort and freedom of movement and when you need to seek further advice or make a change / adjustment.

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My aim is to help you and your equine partner by sharing the information and experience I have gained over many years.  Since the rider has such an enormous influence on the way a horse moves, I will then work with the rider to show them how they can ride without brace in order to maintain, and even enhance, the flow of movement and energy, thereby enabling the horse to move with softness and freedom.  

It should be borne in mind that horses change shape relative to the time of year, exercise and feeding regime, not to mention as they lift muscle that they may well have been lacking ... so a saddle should ideally be checked every three months.