Vetbills
New User
Saddlefitting.us, just wondered if anyone has seen this person on IG and their thoughts on the approach and fitting. Cheers
Saddle pros, enthusiastic amateurs etc
- Thread starter Vetbills
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sbloom
Well-Known Member
I like Amanda, the lady who writes it, a lot. However I fundamentally disagree with her on at least one point, which makes me a little dubious about some of the rest of it, and having had too many debates with her I am blocked from her pages!
She advocates that the correct rider position is with the leg RIGHT at the girth, meaning specifically a vertical calf. This prevents the rider from being aligned over their feet which is the very best way to work with gravity. Having a vertical calf ignores fundamental physical forces. If you can have the rider sitting more over the centre of gravity from the go-get then the leg can more easily be at the girth without putting the rider behind the foot, equally the leg may be further back, and that is perfectly fine. Aiding at the girth isn't a be all and end all, it depends on the horse and the training.
Another thing she says is that the rider's knee should always be ahead of the girth straps that you're using, which is unbelievable arbitrary - a girth on 2 and 4 sits in a very different place under the leg than a girth on 1 and 3, in the case of cob saddles with 4 straps.
She only fits for Stubben - she is a very good and experienced fitter for them and I believe trains other Stubben fitters, but it's an approach that may (or may not, see above!) work for her brand, and riders in her brand, but there is no one universal saddle fitting method; there are many roads to Rome, AS LONG as we don't try and ignore physical forces.
Ultimately it's just like Saddle Fit 4 Life - it's brand based, and should not be used universally for other brands, though some points may be transferable.
She advocates that the correct rider position is with the leg RIGHT at the girth, meaning specifically a vertical calf. This prevents the rider from being aligned over their feet which is the very best way to work with gravity. Having a vertical calf ignores fundamental physical forces. If you can have the rider sitting more over the centre of gravity from the go-get then the leg can more easily be at the girth without putting the rider behind the foot, equally the leg may be further back, and that is perfectly fine. Aiding at the girth isn't a be all and end all, it depends on the horse and the training.
Another thing she says is that the rider's knee should always be ahead of the girth straps that you're using, which is unbelievable arbitrary - a girth on 2 and 4 sits in a very different place under the leg than a girth on 1 and 3, in the case of cob saddles with 4 straps.
She only fits for Stubben - she is a very good and experienced fitter for them and I believe trains other Stubben fitters, but it's an approach that may (or may not, see above!) work for her brand, and riders in her brand, but there is no one universal saddle fitting method; there are many roads to Rome, AS LONG as we don't try and ignore physical forces.
Ultimately it's just like Saddle Fit 4 Life - it's brand based, and should not be used universally for other brands, though some points may be transferable.
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
I don't agree with that leg position either it's too far forward if I just looked at all my pictures I have of me riding and the ones of the pro riding my horses and neither of us have our leg in line with the girth.
I absolutely detest Stuben saddles they are like sitting on a brick and the leather is rubbish.
I absolutely detest Stuben saddles they are like sitting on a brick and the leather is rubbish.
Vetbills
New User
SBloom you are exactly the fish I was hoping to attract ?, thanks for the reply! Leg at the girth is quite a big hill to die on isn’t it and I haven’t had chance to read it yet but I’m sure I saw another of her articles about GP riders struggling to keep feet in their stirrups, related? What I like about the approach so far is she’s very visual in explaining her approach and problems etc which I find much easier to learn from rather than reading text. However I would class myself as knowing decent basics but with so much to learn and didn’t want to become blinkered on one persons theory unless they have. Wry positive peer reviews.
Vetbills
New User
I think you are being hasty I think the ones that were manufactured in the 1980’s will just now be about broken in and comfy to ride in ?.
sbloom
Well-Known Member
And bear in mind that Stubben saddles are all (or nearly all) made on the same tree. I have no idea what shape it is but I would put money on it not having a rail shape I'd like, so webbing and straining it differently depending on the fit they're going for wouldn't help at all. I fit a brand which has 90% horses fitted into one tree but that's based around the back shape being healthy, and the fitters offer help to achieve that, a great rail shape and the fact that it's ALL about fitting the rider with a very simplified fit for the horse. I don't get that impression from Stubben.
I DO like her emphasis on open seats and smaller blocks and yes her diagrams are great.
I would not recommend sticking with ANY single philosophy on saddle fitting, it's why the industry gets in so much trouble. Customers don't understand what we do, and fitters swear there's one true road to Damascus and damn every one else's. I know she has very happy customers in the US so she must be doing something right!
I DO like her emphasis on open seats and smaller blocks and yes her diagrams are great.
I would not recommend sticking with ANY single philosophy on saddle fitting, it's why the industry gets in so much trouble. Customers don't understand what we do, and fitters swear there's one true road to Damascus and damn every one else's. I know she has very happy customers in the US so she must be doing something right!
PinkvSantaboots
Well-Known Member
I must admit I haven't ridden in one since the 90's and haven't seen the modern ones but they were so uncomfortable, so yeah your probably right although the 2 I remember had very faded bits on them as well so they are probably white in places now ?
sbloom
Well-Known Member
They have the biomex seat which is a compensation for them being uncomfy and causing seatbone and coccyx pressure. This is addressing a symptom (cushion and lift the seatbones) instead of looking at fundamental fit for the rider's pelvis, either generally (addressed by some other brands) or individually (much less common). So they're not the boards they once were, or not as much, but....
Vetbills
New User
As a customer we really don’t understand what saddlers do but we’re desperate to learn but the resources just aren’t there. I feel the same way about my horses feet though as again lots of differing opinions but when you talk to an expert it’s comes so easy and it is so multi faceted again as saddle fitting that it’s so tricky to follow everything and maintain that knowledge and build on it every 6 weeks per visit. I think with saddle fitters it’s even more important to have a better grasp as the really good ones are so Illusive. I know you’re a good egg SB which is why I wanted your opinion. As a horse owners I think we’ve got to be a little bit like a GP Dr, know a little about a lot of things but know the really good people to go to for the big important stuff.
sbloom
Well-Known Member
100%. We MUST know the basics of saddle fit, including a bit of understanding about different approaches, just the same as we should know a good hoof, to hold our hoofcare professionals to account. We can't just throw our hands up and despair of professionals. Saddle fitting especially is massively multifaceted and we are learning new things all the time. We need to develop our critical thinking skills, and if it's all too much then we're not really putting our horses first, not being a true advocate for them. We have to keep moving forwards, keep learning.
And as Lockie Phillips has said recently in his social media, find really good people to work with, and then trust them to do their job, ask questions with enthusiasm, facilitate your team to work together and if something seems to have gone wrong be prepared to work across the team to get to the bottom of it. Usually it's the saddle fitter gets the kicking but so often the horse or rider is the issue - for instance a well fitting new saddle can reveal issues that were already there, but it can look like the saddle caused them. Very tricky!
We're all busy, we don't earn a fortune, and producing "educational" materials can so often fall on those with the biggest drum to bang, and that would include me with rider fit. We do our best but even those diagrams take a ton of time to do, and to make a post that makes sense. It would be good to look to the accreditation bodies but they are not strong on anything other than little, basic soundbites it seems.