Ravenwood Saddle Fitting

Please note: I am not booking any travel outside of Saskatoon area until spring. It's just too unpredictable with weather. I am currently working on a bit of a back log of current clients and my other jobs. At this point do message me for an appointment if your in the saskatoon area- but be prepared it may be a 2-3 week wait minimum.

CANCELLED. Tentatively looking at a saddle fit day in Moose Jaw and Regina area September 26th. ... Need to have 4 horses/full fits in the area to make the day a go. Please comment or message me if you're interested. Services available: Saddle fit sessions Tracings Flocking adjustments Tree adjustments (for some brands english saddles) with the press I work on Western and English saddles :)

100% it is most often the horse pushing the saddle due to asymmetries in the gait, although this is often also coupled with muscle changes which some flocking (or my preferance- shims) can help keep the saddle centred. I only adjust for slippage- if it is consistent through the ride. Most often as soon as you change direction the horse stops pushing you over. One reason why a proper saddle fit includes watching a rider go in circle and straight- in each gait- one direction then changing direction. Does the saddle centre itself- does the saddle move to one side in one direction but not the other? All of these are answers to if it should be addressed or not.

I was asked to give some advice on the fit of this saddle. This was not a full photo fit session but just a quick overview of what you’re looking for when placing a saddle on a horse. First set of photos the saddle was too far forward and up on the shoulder blade. So the owner placed the saddle further back at my request and sent me these photos. The mark ups are my marks. I'll post on each image my comments for the photos. The mark ups are my finger on the phone- so not str...aight and not super accurate, but meant to provide a guide for what I'm looking at visually at the saddle and help translate my comments and direct the viewer to the area I’m discussing. Things this does not show ups- I can't tell from just these photos: how the saddle with interacts with the horses back in movement, panel contact, bridging, rocking etc. A full photo/video session involves images of it under saddle, videos, and then examining the panel contact via dust/sweat patterns after its ridden in. This is just the first part of evaluating a saddle.

Planning a Melville area trip for saddle fits on July 4th. Contact me if you'd like to be on the list. Services offered: 1- saddle fit evaluations 2- Tree adjustments (for saddles that use the press) 3- flocking services (flocking adjustments and reflocks- but do not offer full reflecting (where all is removed and replaced) ... 4- western or english saddles See more

Tentatively booking a saddle fit day in Regina area June 14th - will be wearing a mask I’d appreciate if you wore one too. - must be approved by facility owner for me to be on property ... - my normal willingness to have people watch and learn will not happen. - will physical distance from rider as much as possible - will be using lots of hand sanitizer. See more

After some hard thinking I am postponing any planned travel for saddle fits until we are no longer social distancing saddle fitting is very hands on and I would rather be safe than sorry. However, I am still offering saddle fit via photos and video. While this is never as good as in person this is something I have offered for several years and has many times it’s a good option. If your concerned about your current saddle, or are looking at shopping for a new one we can get a good head start on things with this option. Cost for photo/video fits is $60 per horse/saddle. Message me for details.

FOAM TO WOOL CONVERSIONS Should you have it done? It depends on the saddle’s design. To answer that, we need to understand two major design differences between ...a typical foam close contact saddle and a typical wool flocked saddle, which are PANEL VOLUME and TREE BROADNESS/DESIGN. PANEL VOLUME DIFFERENCES: - Foam saddles are typically built with thinner panels because foam is denser, harder, and does not flatten with weight. - Wool saddles are built with thicker panels because wool is lighter, softer, and compacts with weight. Therefore, it takes approximately 3-4 TIMES the amount of wool to equal the same density of foam. As a general rule, wool panels must be bigger than foam panels. TREE BROADNESS/DESIGN DIFFERENCES: - Foam saddles are generally built narrower through the twist and gullet channel, because the dense foam panels do not take up much space. - Wool saddles are generally built wider through the twist and gullet channel in order to provide adequate room for their larger panels. There are two ways a foam to wool conversion can be done: 1. USE THE EXISTING PANEL LEATHER - A professional will simply remove the foam and stuff wool into the existing panels. This can present a significant problem because without a bigger panel, you can almost never stuff enough wool into a thin panel to keep the saddle from collapsing onto the horse’s spine. 2. MAKE NEW, LARGER PANELS - A professional can, at great expense, manufacture new, larger panels that are designed to hold wool. The problem arises when the foam saddle is close contact AKA narrow through the twist and seat. When you stitch larger wool panels onto a narrower framed foam saddle, the panels will push into the gullet channel and sit on the spine. WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING CONVERSION (or any major revisions): ALWAYS CALL THE MANUFACTURER FIRST. They will tell you if the design of the saddle can support the conversion. If the saddle can be converted safely, the manufacturer should be the one to do it, if possible. If the manufacturer will not perform the work, ask them who they recommend to do it, and if your warranty will be voided. All structural work to a saddle should be done by the manufacturer. I don’t know a single company that will honor their warranty when major revisions (like tree adjustments and foam/wool conversions) have been done by an outside party. Some high end brands, like Stubben and Butet, make saddles that can be built with both wool and foam panels. However, because wool panels have more volume than foam, it is always better to order new wool panels from the manufacturer instead of reusing the original foam panels. If you are considering a conversion because the foam panels are in poor condition, it is better to have the manufacturer make new panels. It costs more initially, but this will protect your warranty and the saddle’s resale value. THINGS TO CONSIDER IF YOU USE THE ORIGINAL THIN FOAM PANELS: - The Type of Wool Used: We obviously want to use as dense a wool as possible to prevent the panel from flattening prematurely. - The Volume of the Panels: The thinner the panel, the more maintenance it will need. - Education of the Rider: It is the Fitter’s responsibility to ensure the rider knows how to check the panels for collapse, and that they should check them frequently. - Maintenance Costs: The rider should expect a significant increase in maintenance costs (reflocking and fittings) over the lifetime of the saddle after it has been converted to wool. - If the saddle doesn’t fit, changing it to wool is not going to make it fit better. #saddlefitting #foamtowool

Let’s talk trees- specifically why I recommend adjustable trees. There’s many reasons why to buy an adjustable saddle. There are very few reasons to buy a saddle that does not have an adjustable tree. 1- horses change shape. Some more than others 2- resale. It’s easier to sell the saddle ...Continue reading

Spring Saddle Fit Travel Date’s Postponed- Melville contact [email protected] to book Regina area- date TBA

Another good study done in combination with the SMS. Too wide isn’t better. Too wide brings pressure to the front just as too narrow brings pressure. The sms fitting standards allows the front arch to be within 10 degrees of the horse. This allows plenty of room for allowing minor changes in your horses shape through movement and through minor changes in weight and muscling.

https://www.horsetalk.co.nz//wider-saddle-fit-horse-study/ The SMS is partnering and continuing to produce good research to better our understanding of saddle fit. Vanessa Fairfax one of the authors and I did our fitting exams together.

Karl Cook did a good Instagram post about saddle fits today. The dude gets it. Watch it. Overall I agree with everything (anyone ever hear me go on about memory foam pads knows my opinions on how they aren’t good) A few points I think should be clarified ... -gullet channel width. Too wide Is also bad. He’s right it needs to be wide enough to be off the spine and the ligaments/fascia - but we want it ON those muscles. That’s what supports our weight. Also too wide narrows the wodth of the panel- which as he says- distributed your weight. -pads. His explanation is spot on. However not all of us can afford bench made saddles. So there are times a bit thicker pad can aid an otherwise well fitting saddle - the types of pad he describes -= thin line is a version of that. And reason why I use one and recommend them in some situations. - he’s right. Be educated and be smart. Don’t just blindly trust the sales guy. Using someone who works with multiple brands and/or is trained on multiple brands helps ensure they give you the best fit for your horse in your budget. SMS fitters are trained to fit ANY brand. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B397EQRgLVb/

Excited to read this paper. The SMS aids in the best research in the world. Vanessa is a co founder of thoroughgood saddles and we did our fitters exams together!

Thanks to the great crew in Melville. Tentatively aiming for another saddle fit day in early spring. Will post date when it’s booked.Thanks to the great crew in Melville. Tentatively aiming for another saddle fit day in early spring. Will post date when it’s booked.

I often talk about this at my saddle fit clinics. As a SMS fitter we aren’t allowed to work on unbranded saddles. They are often not safe!

Melville saddle fit day September 14. Contact Amanda [email protected] to book in. ... Full fit sessions, quick checks, on site flock adjustments and tree adjustments available. Limited space.

I was going to write a post about interpreting saddle dust patterns. But why reinvent the wheel when great posts like this already exist. When saddle fitting there are reasons why no saddle pad is ideal to check fit- but that's not always an option. we can see these with a pad in use- looking at the pad AND at the horse's back- but it's not as easy. I most often use saddle pad dust patterns when distance fitting with clients. https://www.saddlerysolutions.com/saddle-pads-part-3-dust-/

FACT FILLED FRIDAY COB SADDLES PART ONE - COB TREES Very wide horses/cobs have quite distinctive needs when it comes to their saddles. ... Firstly, as with all saddles/horses... the TREE needs to fit. What tree does a cob need, I hear you ask? Well, obviously the width of the tree is important, but did you know the actual shape of the tree is equally important? It's not simply a case of popping an XW gullet bar into a standard GP saddle. That simply widens the front. It doesn't change anything else about the saddle. On a saddle tree, the part of the saddle that runs from front to back (rails) needs to be angled flat. Think of the shape of a cob back. It's flat. If you look from behind, it's not an 'A frame' shape. The tree needs to mirror that. The front of the tree (the head, the shape that makes up the pommel) needs to mirror the shape of the cob. A cob saddle will usually have an 'open head'. This means it looks more like an upside-down U shape, not V shape. Cobs also tend to have straight backs, like a picnic table. So the tree needs to mirror that too. Again, if you squeeze an XW bar into a 'normal' saddle, you'll often find it rocks around like a see-saw (not good!). As cobs have lovely broad ribs, there is plenty of width there to carry a lovely wide seated saddle... meaning the rider's weight is distributed nicely - without having to have a great deal of length, as lots of cobs are close coupled and can't take a long saddle. Personally, for a proper 'cob' shaped cob/native type, I don't think you can beat The Ideal Saddle Company H&C tree. We make a lovely cob saddle (PeeWee Grando) based on this tree, and for the very wide types, the FWB tree. These saddles sit beautifully on the cob types... and, as with all of our saddles, we can build them to your specification. *for the purpose of generalisation, by 'cob' we mean a typical 'cob' shape, obviously not all cobs are the same, your saddle fitter can advise* PART TWO NEXT FRIDAY - COB GIRTHING PART THREE THE FOLLOWING FRIDAY- COB SADDLE PANELS

I had the good fortune to work with Kay Hastilow for several days before my SMS exam. Quite the heated dinner discussions occurred whether it’s better to Shim or adjust flocking. (Answer- it depends!) Here she writes about many of the reasons why saddles shift. https://kayhastilowmastersaddler.blogspot.com//saddle-slip

Discussion: Dry Spots In this picture, we have a 1200 pound horse who was ridden in a brand new custom-fit saddle, without a saddle pad, for 20 minutes in 80 de...gree weather, with a rider who weighs 135 pounds. I want to challenge what you think you know or read about dry spots, because this picture completely disproves the 2 most common absolute causes of dry spots under the saddle, which are: 1. Dry spots are caused by TOO MUCH PRESSURE in a concentrated area, and it has led to the systematic destruction of all the sweat glands in that area. 2. Dry spots are caused by NO PRESSURE in a particular area, so the horse does not sweat there because there is no pressure. So, we have 2 completely different and opposing views. If we argue the opinion that the dry spots are caused by TOO MUCH pressure, then how can the entire saddle area be considered concentrated? Shouldn’t the spots be confined to smaller areas? How can the sweat glands be destroyed in 20 minutes by a light rider? Any vet will tell you that this type of damage is chronic and takes months to years - it is not an immediate thing. It also stands to reason that after the glands have been harmed to that extent, the horse should NEVER sweat in that area again, but you often see horses with dry spots sweating over the saddle area when they are happily grazing in the sun. Clearly dry spots in this case are definitely NOT from too much concentrated pressure that have damaged the sweat glands. So what about TOO LITTLE PRESSURE? If this claim is true, then it means that the entire panel - the entire saddle from pommel to cantle - made NO contact with the horse’s back. While we all like to get off the horse’s back occasionally, I can guarantee that the rider and the saddle did NOT float above the horse’s back for their 20 minute ride. So how can we just blindly assume that dry spots are caused by too little pressure? The reality is: Leather and skin adhere to each other when heat and pressure are applied - if you’ve ever gotten out of a leather car seat in shorts on a hot summer day and have had to peel your legs off the seat, you understand what I’m talking about. Sweat is pushed out to areas of FRICTION, which is why you see a line of sweat in the front of the panels (shoulder movement) and another line behind the panels (lumbar movement). These panels made close to textbook-perfect EVEN CONTACT with the horse’s back - so much so - that there was absolutely zero shifting or rocking of the saddle during the ride that would cause friction - and sweat - to form under the panels. As you can see, dry spots are not a diagnostic tool for improperly fitted tack - they are just one piece of information we use, and always on a case-by-case basis. Finding a qualified saddle fitter with lots of experience and a good track record is the best person to talk to about your concerns.

Saddle Panels The panel of your saddle has several roles. 1st- It takes the weight which is distributed through the tree to a wider surface area. This makes it easier for the horse to carry your weight. 2- it provides shock absorption, between the horse's movement to the rider, and the rider's movement to the horse. ...Continue reading

Thank you to Cassie at Ace equestrian for having me down today for saddle fits.Thank you to Cassie at Ace equestrian for having me down today for saddle fits.