Saddle check - thoughts on this please!

[icestationzebra]

This evening 2 ladies at the yard had a saddler coming to check the fit of their saddles. Booked weeks in advance, brief of both horses given (never been seen by this saddler before) and the arena booked for an hour.

Horse#1 - was ready tied on the indoor yard with boots on ready
Horse#2 - was in his stable on the outdoor yard

2 people came and saw a horse each. Both saddles were checked, reflocked and fitted back on the horse. At no point were the riders asked to sit onboard, or the horses to move. Horse#2 didn't leave his stable (thick bed and not a very bright light). Neither saddle was girthed up at any point.

They must have been there 20 mins in total and both ladies paid over £50.

Interested to hear what your thoughts are.........

 

[LEC]

TBF I had an amazing saddler look at my horse and he was not asked to move. Straight away she nailed all my issues with the horse looking at his musculature and why I was having issues with his training. We reflocked the saddle.

I had to get her back again because it still was not right but we nailed it the 2nd time (he is very tricky with his skeletal issues) and I sat in it to check I was balanced but that was all. The horse has been 100% improved since.

 

[NicoleS_007]

My saddler never girths up or moves the horse from its stable either. Last time he was out with my mare he was there for about 15 mins.

 

[meardsall_millie]

I would be unhappy.

A saddle can sit well on a horse when it's standing still but that can change considerably when the horse moves or with a rider in position.

When fitting one of mine, we went through over 20 saddles, most of which appeared to fit perfectly in the stable. The horse soon showed her displeasure when I started to ride in them

 

[longdog]

I would not be impressed by this.

 

[Mavis007]

I need to know that a saddle is comfortable for me as well as the horse Even if it is just a reflock, surely the position of the saddle changes considerably when you sit in it - and you need to know if it moves or lifts at all while you ride. I am having my saddle checked on Thurs as I know it needs reflocking. I will now be even more interested to see what happens. TBH I know he wont need to see me sit in it to see it needs reflocking, but I would expect him to watch me ride in it afterwards to make sure it definitely fits ok.

 

[icestationzebra]

I think you have a relationship with your saddler and they know the following:

How you ride and at what level and in what sphere
What your preferences are
The horse and any previous or ongoing issues
The saddle - you got from them and it was fitted by them
You know them well enough to be able to mention any changes in the horses way of going and they 'get it'

Then perhaps they can tweak very quickly - if they are very good, but all saddles sit down a little different after girthing don't they......

Mmmm - interesting to hear your thoughts - thank you

 

[Nagling]

I wouldn't be happy. I think at the very least a saddle should be seen with a rider on even if its just standing in the yard

 

[maresmaid]

I wouldn't be happy with this at all. If the saddle is a good fit it should not interfere with the horses movement - how can this be checked if they don't move? My saddle fitter always wants to assess the rider in the saddle - if the rider is slightly onesided or something similar she adjusts the saddle to compensate.

 

[soloequestrian]

I do test rides for a particular saddling system, which involves an element of fitting the saddle to the horse. It is virtually all done with a moving horse - I have a fairly brief check at the start to see which of the saddles sits best on the horse, and then the horse gets to see what it thinks while being ridden. I'm constantly learning about horse preferences, and often the saddle I think suits the horse best when stationary is not the one the horse chooses for itself.
I charge £30 for what is always at least a 2 hour session. I would be seriously hacked off with what you describe!!

 

[sbloom]

Stability is just as important as pressure so how on earth can that be assessed without seeing the horse ridden. This is so important that if I fit a saddle to an unbacked horse a note is made that the saddle has not been seen ridden in - a very important part of the fit IMO. See also the posts where front to back saddle balance is discussed today.