High Plains Saddle Fitting, JH-C LLC

10/12/2026

If you find yourself in a program with a trainer or barn owner who says that they are a saddle fitter, who sells a specific brand of saddle, I want you to look at the horses in their program. What do their backs look like? How hollow are they behind the wither? How defined are their scapulas? Though muscle loss in that area can be caused by multiple factors, poor saddle fit is one of the top reasons. That should tell you all you need to know. Now, maybe it’s that the trainer/owner doesn’t actually know how to fit a saddle. And maybe it’s that the particular brand they sell doesn’t actually fit many horses. Or both. But I’m telling you, it’s something.

10/10/2026

The reason saddle fitters exist is becasue we can do a lot of damage to our horses with ill fitting tack. It turns out that choosing the correct saddle for your horse is a little more complicated than we once thought! There are different schools of thought out there when it comes to fitting. Different methodology to reach the same goal. AND disagreements about what constitutes a good fit. And it takes time to develop your eye as a fitter, even after whichever school they attended. Saddle brands trust the fitters who represent them to do well by them. To fit according to their guidelines. And every early fitter makes mistakes. But, how do they deal with it? How do they handle the client’s call that the horse is sore? Do they have the tools to fix it?

You hear stories about fitters who fit every saddle too narrow…or too wide. Or who will sell someone a saddle they want and love, regardless of whether it fits their horse. Fitters who are nowhere to be found when issues with the fit are present. Who don’t return their texts/calls. Not only is this detrimental to the horse, and their relationship with the client, but also to the brand they represent.

I wish this world was not so hard to navigate. For everyone involved.

10/09/2026

Sometimes, when a saddle trial is the first time a horse has ever been ridden in a saddle that fits and doesn’t cause discomfort, the horse says “no thank you” when the trial is over and it’s time to go back to their old one while they wait for a new one. When I am able, I will rent one of my demo saddles to them in the interim. The price of that depends on the value of the saddle.

10/08/2026

I’ve run into quite a few of these lately. And I’m sorry to say, they DO belong in the bin. They create uneven pressure. They pull your saddle down more on one side than the others, which will compress your panels unevenly. How can we help our horses be more symmetrical in their bodies while using asymmetrical tack?

One-sided elastic girths. Why do they belong in the bin? 🗑️

Because your horse’s physio spends their life trying to make your horse straight.

Your saddle fitter spends their life making your saddle symmetrical.

Your farrier spends their life balancing your horse’s feet.

Your EDT spends their life making your horse’s teeth even.

Your vet spends their life investigating why your horse isn’t moving evenly.

Your instructor spends every lesson telling you to sit in the middle and stop collapsing to one side.

You get the picture…

So why would you then put a girth on that stretches on one side but not the other?

It doesn’t make sense.

If you’re trying to create straightness, symmetry and even pressure, a one-sided elastic girth is working against everything everyone else is trying to achieve.

My preference? A girth with strong, thick, short elastic on BOTH ends. Even better if the elastic crosses over, as it tends to distribute the pressure/force/load more evenly. That said, every horse is an individual and, very occasionally, I come across one that genuinely goes better in a girth with no elastic at all.

But one-sided elastic?

That’s a hard no from me.

Feel free to disagree in the comments… but bring snacks if you’re going to argue. 🍿 And buckle up!

10/07/2026

A follower asked a great question the other day about the seams on her half pad, and if the pad not extending down as far as the panels do would create a pressure point. I think there is some grey area here. The part of the saddle that has the most structure is the tree, and underneath where that structure is has the most potential to cause pressure points. I think paying attention to these details is always important though. And of course, I had to bring it back to placement if the saddle on the rolls. It is so important to make sure that your pad is the correct size for your saddle, and that your saddle doesn’t sit on those rolls. This can be tricky, because sizing varies between panels, saddles, etc. Tell me, does any of this resonate with you?

10/03/2026

I wish a well fitting saddle could solve all of a horse’s issues. There are times that the whispers have been ignored until they become yells. And we get called in. And the saddle that they’ve been ridden in has absolutely caused them discomfort. So we get them into something better fitting. And there is progress. But whatever has been underlying eventually pops up, and the saddle becomes the easiest thing to blame.

09/28/2026

Just another . We have two custom jump saddles and a dressage demo. I thought I’d share with you what type of builds these tree shapes fit well on, and they why’s behind the details that we changed on them from the standard models.

09/27/2026

How are my other small business owners surviving these ? Are you charging your clients for them? So far I have mostly been absorbing them. And truly, if we end up getting refunded, I don’t want to have to deal with paying them back. But man, they hurt. The exchange rates aren’t helping either. Thanks for hearing my vent.

09/26/2026

I love it so much when a trainer is involved with their student’s saddle fitting! Though I see a lot as far as rider balance and position, they have eyes on their clients for far more time than I do. They have more to compare the current setup to. So conversations on what has improved, and what still needs improving, are so helpful to me.

09/24/2026

I love to see this kind of progress! The owner of this horse wanted her fit for a saddle, and I knew that if we fit her in the shape she was, that it would inhibit her topline from filling back in. It’s common for horses to lose some topline from the stress of moving. So I gave them some homework. Exercises to do from the ground, which is also a lovely way to build a relationship! And in one months time, this is the progress they made! Gold star! I love to see it!