L.A. Saddle Fitters

Well!! My little fledgling has grown her saddle fitting wings! Super proud of my “Trainee” who has passed ALL her saddle fitting exams on her first try - Lauren has worked with me closely and clearly has listened, even though I was convinced she zoned out with all my blabbering 🤣 I am truly proud of her dedication to the job, and professionalism! Although I am sad to see her move on, I now feel like an empty nester 🫣, I am so excited for her promising new career ahead of her.

Well done Lauren, and welcome to the as a fully qualified Saddle Fitter 👏

Something to tell your friends about!

I am super excited to make the move next week, with my March diary looking super busy.

I have availability in the following areas. Make the most of reduced travel fee’s. Book 3 or more horses on the same yard throughout March and enjoy £10 off per session.

📍 Lothian - Tuesday 3rd March
📍 Crieff - Wednesday 4th March
📍 Stirling / Dunblane / Falkirk - Friday 6th March
📍 Angus - Monday 23rd March

If you’d like an appointment, but don’t see your area listed, pop me a message to get booked in.

⭐ Equine Physiotherapy
⭐ Canine Physiotherapy
⭐ Laser Therapy
⭐ Ridden Assessments
⭐ Rehabilitation Planning

📧 [email protected]
📱
🖥️ www.caledoniavetphysio.com

Due to a sudden family bereavement, I will be taking a few days off. Please be patient for replies at this time, as I choose to have some quiet whilst I navigate through such a huge loss.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding

With thanks
Leona. X

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family & clients! 🥂😆 Donald got into the Christmas spirit - AI style 🤣🎄

Should your saddle move around on your horse’s back?

This saddle in the pic? It moved a lot. It was too wide, sat low at the front, pinged up at the back and loaded pressure through the points. Basically a seesaw on legs = 🚫 not ok. It’s going to make that horse sore, and the rider feel like they’re being slapped on the bottom on every rise (not to mention crunching their more delicate area on the pommel).

But… saddles can’t be expected to be completely still. Cos, horses’ backs move. Whilst the part of the back the saddle is on (the thoracic part) has less movement than the rest of the spine, there is still some movement there. They’re not planks of wood.

The saddle? It’s a fixed entity, it can’t mirror every rise and fall, every squiggle and wiggle. So some movement between horse and saddle is perfectly normal.
What I look for when I watch a rider:
➡️ From behind: a soft swing left–centre–right–centre as the ribs move.
➡️ From the side: a correct amount of stillness but will accept a bit of movement at the back, especially in trot. Depending on the horse/rider.

When does it tip into “too much”? That’s where it gets spicy. Nervous/novice riders gripping with their knees can yoink the saddle up, some horses fling their back legs in a way that flicks the saddle up at the back… whilst others are so still you’d think they were carved out of wood.
And then there’s jumping – if a saddle glued itself to the horse in the bascule, it’d bridge for all the other work.

So yeah, it’s not black and white. It’s why Saddle Fitters train for years to develop that “eye” for what’s acceptable and what’s not.

But if I had to give you the short version?

A little bit of movement can be normal. Slapping and clip-clapping is not.

Concerned about your saddle? Get your fitter out and let them talk you through it.

✌🏽
# # #