I was every saddle fitter’s dream……..

I love gadgets…..

and I was ripe for the picking……

They promised it would fit……

and I bought it……hook…..line…….and………..oh – you know……….

I’ve had saddles with

wooden trees…..

metal trees…..

rubber trees…..

without trees…..

with flexible panels…..

with air panels…..

with foam panels…..

with adjustable panels….

I’ve had saddles made from molds of horse’s backs….

and custom saddles of every shape and variety.

I have an impression pad to test saddle fit, and I’ve had saddles tested with thermography and computer pressure monitoring…….

Oh yes, I’m high tech…..

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the saddle PADS that I’ve purchased.

Let’s talk horse backs for a moment.

They can vary in width and angle at every INCH, and then we add MOTION to the equation.

Moving shoulder blades, back muscles, swing front to back and side to side…….

Now let’s strap something that doesn’t move onto all that locomotion and expect it to fit…..

Unh huh.

But all those saddle dealers promised……”This saddle will fit every horse!”

Oh, your last super expensive custom saddle didn’t fit?? Ours will fit perfectly…..buy one of ours!!

Of course.

And those dry spots?? with the new CUSTOM saddle???

No no, that’s not a problem, that’s OLD damage because the saddle WE sold you fits perfectly…… The LAST saddle caused all that damage, your horse just CAN’T sweat there.

Um, really?? This is a 3 year old and his first saddle…… (yes yes, had that one happen)

Um, really?? The last saddle never caused dry spots I just wanted something with a more forward flap…… (this one too)

That excuse KILLS me every time…..being a vet and all…………

Years ago I attended a talk by one of the world’s top saddle makers.

This guy is the top of his game, and respected world wide.

I anxiously sat on the front row waiting to learn the secrets of the universe.

He brought some saddle trees and some gadgets…..

And then he opened with, “This isn’t the talk you’re expecting.”

Then he proceeded to explain very simply…… siting things like physics and gravity…..

…… why no saddler in the world could fit certain shaped horses.

His final take home message……..

“Buy a horse with a good back.”

Oh yeah.