Anna Choma SMS Qualified Saddle Fitter

Always a pleasure to work alongside other professionals, especially given the opportunity to catch up about shared clients ☺️

Saddle check for Joey yesterday, with the amazing Anna Choma. Anna is not only a qualified saddle fitter, but also a vet physio. So she totally understands the fit of the saddle & the bio mechanics & confirmation of the horse & how it all needs to work together.
She’s super professional & can’t recommend her enough.
Joeys saddle fitted, but did need some re balancing with the flocking where his muscle isn’t quite even.
Anna Choma SMS Qualified Saddle Fitter
Acey Veterinary Physiotherapy

𝗙𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗖𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗨𝗥 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗦

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗔 𝗗𝗬𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗜𝗖 𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚

What do you do when you buy a pair of shoes? You select the shoes of choice, try them on and then have a little walk around in them to see how they feel and fit. You wouldn’t purchase a pair of shoes without trying them on and walking in them first. We should afford the same level of detail to our horse’s saddle fit when purchasing a new saddle, or having an existing saddle refitted.

“One of my concerns is that there is a belief that you can fit a saddle statically (without riding), and from an evidence-based perspective, that doesn’t make any sense,” says Russell MacKechnie-Guire. “A saddle that looks in balance statically can behave very differently when it is girthed up, has the weight of a rider and the movement of the horse underneath it. Riders need to ensure that they are present/able to ride for a saddle fitting assessment as riders can’t expect their saddle fitter to make an informed, reliable decision based on the horse stood in the stable.

“We know that lateral saddle slip occurs during motion, particularly in walk and canter and only on one rein and there is no way you can get that level of information from just looking at the saddle on the horse in the stable.”

Russell advises that if you’re having a saddle fit done and the saddle fitter doesn’t request that you are seen ridden in the saddle, you should go as far as terminating that assessment; “it is not acceptable to be able to determine the fit of a saddle without seeing it being ridden in and tested under the conditions in which it is going to be used,” he adds. “So, that should be walk, trot and canter on both reins including circles in a dressage saddle and similarly in a jump saddle but with the added bit of actually jumping in the saddle too. The saddle fitter should stand in the middle of the arena to see the side, front-to-back balance and then in the corner on the long side to see the left-to-right balance. I would advise saddle fitters to use smart phone technology to reinforce what they are seeing providing they conform to GDPR with videos.”

There are rare occasions when you can’t ride the horse during a saddle fitting such as if a horse is recovering from injury that prevents it from being ridden, and if the horse is young and unbacked, but otherwise, every saddle-fitting should include a ridden assessment. Owners need to be mindful of this and challenge the saddle fitter if they say they don’t need to see you ride in it.

“Good saddle fitters should automatically ask you to ride in your saddle, and if they don’t it should be a red flag,” says Russell. “You are paying a reasonable amount of money for a saddle and for the fitting, so you want to know that you are getting a thorough assessment to ensure optimal back health. Given what we know with the affect that saddle fit, design and balance can have on the horse, we are incumbent to ensure that we employ the most detailed possible assessment to ensure the best chances of optimal back health with saddle fit.

“We really must work with our qualified saddle fitters in fitting saddles and avoid the temptation of buying online and fitting by a video or pictures or not at all because the hands-on skills that a qualified saddle fitter have are invaluable to ensuring and safeguarding the horse.”

We all have a duty to safeguard our horses and part of that duty comes discussions. Horse owners need to feel empowered that they can have that relationship with their team to ask that question.

“If your saddle fitter says they don’t need to see you ride in it and you feel uncomfortable demanding that they do, you could say that you want to check that the saddle is comfortable for you as a way out of a confrontational discussion,” advises Russell.

Historically, saddles have been fitted to a horse without a pad or numnah underneath, but thoughts on this have changed.

“It’s fine to see a saddle on the horse without a numnah as a baseline visual, but it’s also important to see it with the equipment that the rider will be using with the saddle because your numnah might have an extra layer of wool which may make the saddle fit differently,” says Russell. “A saddle should be fitted with the girth, pad and any other equipment that will be used. It’s a fit to perform test.”

If you’re having a brand-new saddle fitted, you will go through the same fitting procedure (as a refit) of a static and dynamic assessment, but after an eight to twelve week window to allow the flocking to ‘bed-down’, your saddle fitter should come back to reassess the fit and make any necessary adjustments.

One of the British brands who we have the pleasure of working with. These saddles are handcrafted in Walsall UK, sourced from British materials, resulting in a beautiful made to measure addition to our stock. Our customers often love the comfort of a Black Country seat Debbie Richardson Saddle Fitter

First saddle check of the year ✔️

We are looking forward to the year ahead, welcoming back old customers and new. It is always satisfying performing a check on an existing saddle and bringing it back into balance for the comfort of the horse and rider 🏇

Fantastic day earlier this week on the Bliss of London repair course. New skills learned for undertaking repair work on customers saddles. Many thanks to Nikki and Dave from Bliss, and also to Christer from Walsall Leather Skills Centre for your knowledge and time.

Why regular saddle checks are so important, there is so much anatomy under the surface...

Your saddle is sitting on the longissimus muscle, right?
Well, not exactly...there are many layers of soft tissue that you are actually sitting on. They are muscles that connect the front and hind limbs and neck...and fascia that wraps the whole body and ligaments that protect the integrity of the spinal column....and nerves...and vessels ......pretty big deal when you think about it......

Here’s part two of our Saddle Parts Jargon Buster - how many of these ’trade’ terms do you know? Being able to correctly identify the different parts of your saddle will really make a difference in any conversations you have with your saddle fitter.

Having a knowledge of the terms your saddle fitter might use when discussing your saddle fit will help you understand and appreciate the process of saddle fitting. It will also avoid any confusion if you have to chat on the phone if you’re both talking about the same parts!
Use our handy jargon buster - this is part 1 - part 2 will follow tomorrow.

Welcome to our page, we closely work alongside Debbie Richardson Master Saddler and Qualified Saddle Fitter to provide a friendly, professional service catering for saddle checks and saddle fitting across South Lincolnshire and surrounding areas. We are a member of the Society of Master Saddlers in our own right as a Qualified Fitter; Members of The Society of Master Saddlers' Qualified Saddle Fitters are dedicated, highly qualified equine professionals and whose sole aim is to provide a personal and professional saddle fitting service which will ensure outstanding comfort and performance for both the horse and rider as a combination in whatever discipline they are working in.

We are fortunate to have access to a huge range of stock and different brands through Debbie, including Albion, Black Country, Bliss of London, Cavalletti, Fairfax, Kent and Masters, Thorowgood, GFS, Passier, Bates, Arena and Wintec among others. Please see Debbie’s website for further information on saddles available https://www.djrichardson.net/.

We cater to all horses of all shapes and sizes from the happy hackers to performance horses of all disciplines. We always strive to achieve the perfect fit, and provide an honest and reliable service.
Please keep posted on our page for further information and updates 🐎