Here is a link to one of the best sites I`ve found - Kaaren Jordan`s Saddle Savvy

Saddle fitting should not only be focused on the horse as it stands square in your barn. You don’t just sit on your horse and call it a day. You get on and ride. That may be dressage work, jumping, trail or a number of things that you and your partner do together. The underlying theme of all these activities is that your horse is MOVING.

If a discussion doesn’t focus on how those points of saddle fit relate to the moving horse, you’ve gone little further than fitting a saddle stand.

So as we discuss saddle fit, we are going to focus on how each point relates to the moving horse and how you can test each item.

You may ask why others have not really focused on this before. Well, probably for two reasons. First it is more difficult! Second, most saddle fitters out there represent a saddle for sale to some extent or another. Since in the past most saddles were designed from a rigid tree and many horses change shape as soon as they move, the saddle may no longer fit if investigated any further. So the fitter might lose a sale if they demonstrated that the saddle only fit while the horse was standing square.

Now I am not excluded from those that have a relationship with a saddle. I don’t come armed to a fitting with a saddle, determined to sell it to my audience. If someone is interested in learning about the benefits of an adjustable saddle, great. I do have a very limited agreement with the current owner of my previous business to allow me introduce people to the Free`n`Easy saddles that she sells. Beyond that, people would have to work through that company separately. I have also had training in fitting Reactor Panel Saddles. Both Reactor Panel and Free`n`Easy share my strong beliefs in not pushing a saddle on someone, only selling a saddle when it truly works and insisting upon a substantial demo so the rider can make sure it really works for them and their horse.

My real goal is to look at how your current saddle fits you and your horse. Sometimes we can make a very quick fix. Sometimes your amount of riding doesn’t warrant you running out and spending $1-3000 on a new saddle if we can find a sufficient solution. There are pads that can help. Sometimes I’ll know of another brand that will work sufficiently or we can look at used saddles available in your area. We’ll look at all the options and test the end result considering the horse in motion.

I want to share a quick story of my introduction to the concerns of a fitting saddle. I never learned a thing about saddle fit in my youth. It was never discussed, we just threw whatever saddle was available on any horse that would stand still and rode off. In my “second life” of owning horses I had discovered the sport of endurance. I found a gorgeous horse (absurdly thinking that important!) and bought her with a saddle that was supposed to fit. Ranch selling the horse also sold saddles!

Well, it took me some time to teach the horse to walk (I was timid, she was an experienced competitive mare) and I then decided I was ready to start conditioning. I put in a half mile track on our hilly property and started working up the distance. I had already realized my mare was girthy and I learned to girth her slowly and as comfortably as possible. One day as I lifted the saddle in place, she bit me under the armpit! Wow, that woke me up. I tried a different saddle and she was much better – for a couple days, then back to her grouchy self.

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