Choosing a Saddle Fitter Part 4- Approach and Experience

Knowing more about how the fitter works is likely to be something that will help you narrow your choice down from a short list, and help you know what to expect in advance of the appointment and on the day, once you do book in.

General Approach and Experience

If a saddle fitter has a FB page or other social media, that is active, you may well be able to get a feel for how they work, and perhaps that's how they appealed to you.  The more tricky you are as a combo to fit (ie horse or rider or both) and the more problems you've already experienced with saddle fitting the more important it is to have a solid understanding of whether their approach might help, how much relevant experience they have.

Some fitters will want to see the horse trotted up, some will prefer to assess statically, with the evidence of movement showing up in the musculature. We all have slightly different skill sets, different abilities to see/feel, so there is no definitive one way to "do" a saddle fitting.  Some may have already seen photos of your horse and got a full history, others may not and will want all the information on the day.

As an absolute minimum every fitting should, unless there are extenuating circumstances, include seeing you ride.  Sometimes that has to be almost a full schooling session, in order to be sure the saddle, or the changes in the fit of the saddle, will be correct.  That's a fair bit of time you need to be prepared to pay for.  Those fitters that are in and out in half an hour will always make more money than those, like me, who allow 75-90 minutes for a saddle check, for example, no matter how cheap their prices.  You get what you pay for!  How long a fitter allows for a fitting may tell you a lot.

I would emphasise checking out how much they are likely to consider the whole horse-saddle-rider equation.  If you're reading my blog I suspect you already know a little about this, and know that issues of straightness and dysfunction of horse and rider have a HUGE effect on saddle fit.  The fitter needs the knowledge and experience to understand these interactions, and the confidence to suggest when changes in management may be needed.  Please do not think they are overstepping – a good fitter may be the one to see things through a particular "lens" that may reveal underlying problems that are niggling away and causing you the issues you're experiencing.

Some saddle fitters will be able to do all adjustments on site, some will not.  And some of those that don't may believe that certain jobs are bench saddler jobs, not to be done on site, including adjusting trees, some may believe that trees should never be adjusted (these are wooden trees specifically), or that certain brands should never be adjusted as per manufacturer's recommendations.  I think being able to adjust all aspects on site is very helpful and it's what I mostly do, but it cannot be at the risk of damaging the product and, in the end, the horse.

Location

This is sort of shoehorned into this section but it's important, especially with remedial fits or other cases where the horse's shape will change really quickly.  I cover huge distances as a specialist but do offer remote consultations, and try to work with shimming where the owner can change the shims, where appropriate.  It's not as ideal as having the fitter within an hour, and them being in your area as often as once a week, but it's a compromise that many people like, not finding solutions with their local saddle fitters before they came to me.

Will they come to you, where your horse will be relaxed?  The downside for the fitter is the draining travel, the fact they need to recover the cost of most of that travel and actually, for some, trying to do a really complicated job where facilities may not be the best, or conducive.  For instance a long muddy walk between where their vehicle is and the arena poses all sorts of challenges for a fitter to do their best work.

Another downside is cancellation for the weather, and most of us can't do a fitting without at least covered standing for the horse.  Wet fields, or even frozen arenas, may make it impossible to do a fitting, so, especially for long distance fittings, it just may not be practical, as cancellations can seldom be filled.

Going to an arena, especially an indoor, solves the weather issue and many others, but your horse may be less relaxed.  If you can, hire the arena before the fitting so your horse has been there before.  The cost is likely to be slightly lower but you'll be spending your time and wear and tear on your vehicle.  Check how often they visit the venue, are they fixed dates or dependent on there being enough people?

Brands

Do they carry brands that might fit your horse?

I am 100% against the "more is better" belief.  The number of times I went out to people with wider, flat backed horses where local fitters had come with vans full of saddles, whether new (ie brands) or used (random brands usually) and had literally nothing that would or could fit.  I would arrive with about 2-3 saddles for each fitting and nearly always get a good result.  The more issues your horse has, the harder you both are to fit, the more likely you might need a specialist with a particular brand.

Yes you can ask around about brands, about people's experiences with them, for sure.  It may help, it may be more confusing.  I think often searching online can be more useful, people making comments about a brand in the past sometimes are better than a flurry of answers to a post you make.  But ultimately everyone is different – horses are different shapes for sure, but riders are also very different so what is comfortable for an apparent majority of riders may still be torture for you.

Don't go for a brand because a top rider rides in one.  Again, my readers probably wouldn't, but many do.  The very worst reason for going for a brand.  You might be surprised to know that some sponsorship deals leave the rider either riding in something else that's been rebranded (I've not seen it but stories abound!) or they train in something entirely different.  That I have heard on much greater authority.

I fit brands I'm passionate about, and you always want a fitter who really understands the brands they fit, and often that is easier with a fitter who only has a handful of brands, perhaps even an agent for one brand.  Be aware that many agents really are not trained fitters in any way, shape or form, but are reps.  Ask about their training and experience if you have any doubts and see my last post on choosing a saddle fitter where I discuss qualifications - https://stephaniebloomsaddlefitter.co.uk/blog-and-resources/choosing-a-saddle-fitter-part-3-1.

Admin and Finance

If it's important to you, ask if they stock the saddles themselves or if they're paid on commission.  Many are wary of the latter but be aware that, because less of the risk is taken by the fitter, they actually make LESS money on commission.  I once had someone who appeared to not want me to make any money from a sale, neither margin nor commission so I did wonder how much she might have been prepared to pay for a consultation!

How do they want paying and when? Do not be late! You'd not pay your farrier late, so don't pay your saddle fitter late.  If you need credit then look at the costs of any payment plans, even if the fitter offers one it may well be cheaper to find a cheap credit card or loan somewhere like moneysupermarket.com which may open up your options for other fitters/brands.

What reputation do they have for refunding when things go wrong?  If it's absolutely clear that they have made mistakes then you want them to own it and refund in a straightforward manner, of course.

I will, in the near future, be covering how to prepare, and follow up from, your saddle fitting appointment.

If there is anything else you'd like me to cover, drop me a message!