Foundation Saddle Fitting Course

An ill-fitting saddle on a horse is like wearing the wrong size shoes for a full day's shopping! The discomfort gets worse with time and eventually causes the wearer (be it the horse with the ill-fitting saddle, or the human with the wrong size shoes,) to want to stop moving completely! To get the best from our horses, we need to make sure the saddle fits correctly from the start.

In response to the number of enquiries from riders dissatisfied with their saddle, we developed a course to provide the education necessary to check the fit of any conventional saddle. This course combines basic saddlefitting, a skill everyone can learn, and physical assessment of factors such as movement and symmetry of muscle development which can affect saddle fit. Many horses change shape often enough to require their saddle to be checked on a twice-yearly basis if not more often, incurring additional cost to you as the owner. Horse owners who have studied saddle fit can reduce those costs by monitoring their saddle fit on their own horses.

The course is co-written and produced by Nikki Routledge MSc PGD BSc (Hons) EBW BHSAI (Int SM) McTimoney Animal Therapist, and Dean Woodward and Andrea Hicks of Saddle Exchange Ltd, based in Weston Super Mare.

Suitable for horse-owners, yard owners and managers, professional riders and instructors wanting to know more about saddle-fitting, this course contains lots of photographic and easy to follow explanations of how to assess saddle fit, factors which affect saddle fit and includes a troubleshooting section. The course can be studied at your own pace and there is email and telephone support available throughout.

Course cost £99

For more details, Contact us or to download a course brochure click here, and to download an application form click here.

Saddle Exchange Ltd

Saddle Exchange Ltd are specialist saddle fitters and suppliers of Reactorpanel saddles, Comfort saddles and The Native Pony Saddles. The Reactorpanel saddles have very large weight bearing panels and adjustable fittings that have proven extremely effective on horses with severe back problems, including broken withers and severe muscle wastage. These saddles have been very successfully used in endurance and dressage, as well as other disciplines. The Native Pony Saddles are designed for fitting to wide ponies, cobs and horses and the latest range also includes an SE Comfort range with gel filled panels for extra comfort for both horse and rider.

For more information on Saddle Exchange Ltd and their products go to www.saddleexchange.com

Saddlery Making Courses at Hunter Saddlery, Cumbria

David May is a Master Saddler and an excellent teacher of courses in making various items of bridlework and repairs. Based in Cumbria, David also teaches students as far away as America.

For more information on the courses David offers, go to www.saddlerycourses.com