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What information do we need before your saddle fitting?

My First Post is what Information do we need before your fitting.

Here at Saddle Exchange we take choosing the right saddle for you very seriously. When you first make contact we will discuss your requirements, we are very experienced, fitting riders at every level in most disaplines , including National Team members in 8 Countries, we pride our selves in being able to translate what you are feeling into a saddle that works for you and your horse.

The following things are what we need to know.

• As the photo in the middle demonstrates a seat size which is too small will put more weight in the back of the saddle. This customer would be better accomodated in the Tamar rather than the Seeker due to the shape of the seat .

  We take into account your physical attributes, tall riders or those with a fuller figure on short coupled horses can be accomodated by choosing the right seat and panel options and sometimes with a custom saddle. Sitting on the cantle is bad for your horses back and your own ! It distributes your weight unevenly and is uncomfortable for you and your horse .

• Age, experience and riding style. please tell us also if you have any physical injuries or weaknesses as we will need to take this into account.

• Also what colour saddle, what seat size you are most comfortable in and also which leather finishes will be most suitable as they all have different properties.

Once we know what you need we turn to your horse,

if you can send us these photos we will have a good idea what will fit your horse

• What will your horses primary job be?

• Breed, Height and Physical Characteristics, the photos really help!

• A bit about their history, do they have any physical problems, special needs?

Horses & Ponies come in all shapes and sizes, all with unique needs.

Once we have all this information we can call and see you with a selection of saddles which will fit your horse or pony, you can then ride in a selection and make your choice. As we charge a call out to visit you based on your locality and our traveling time you are under no pressure to buy a saddle and neither are we under pressure to sell one. Take all the time you need and if you wish to buy one of the saddles you pay for it in full, together with the callout and any accessories you choose, we take cash, cheques and also have a card machine for card payments. We do however make a handling charge for refunds based on how you pay for more information please see our terms and conditions.

Choosing The Right Saddle, Trials & Customisation

Your 14 day trial starts here. We feel that a saddle fit does not give you enough time to make such an important decision, we therefore offer you 14 days to go and ride in the saddle to make sure you have made the right choice. Go to a show, Do an Endurance ride, have a lesson with your instructor and go for lots of hacks. We ask that you keep the stirrup leathers under the flap ( our saddles are specially constructed to allow this ) do not ride in extreme weather, ride in wellies or use girths which are Rusty or without roller buckles, that way if the saddle is returned it will not be damaged in any way . For more information on guarantees and trial periods please click on the link.

During your trial please keep your stirrups under the flap, this will avoid wear on the saddle flaps.

During your trial think about the saddle, is it suitable for what you wish to do, can it be improved in any way?

• Is the seat comfortable for you?

• Do you find the flap accomodates you correctly and your knees stay in the correct position behind the knee block in all gaits ?

• Can you jump easily in the saddle and stay in balance at the height you choose to jump?

• Aesthetically do you need longer/shorter flaps to flatter your horse, particularly if the saddle is for showing?

• Did you make the correct choice of leather options? Suede or doeskin can feel very secure and Calf and Memel very soft and easily molds to the rider .

• Do you need anything special, for example a thigh roll on a dressage saddle, smaller or velcro knee blocks?

Let us know your thoughts. Again we are very experienced and if you need a custom saddle we will make one for you and exchange it for the saddle you had on trial, there is no charge for the return visit at this time, any changes to the standard saddle that are chargeable will be discussed in advance and are paid for at the time of delivery

What to Expect at one of Our Saddle Fittings

Once we have an idea of what you are looking for, details of yourself and your horse we can decide between us which saddles we will bring for you to try at your saddle fitting.

We have found over the years that horses and ponies are quite straight forward for us to fit once we have the information we need and can choose the correct tree and panel .

We are highly experienced, fitting on average of 5 to 7 horses and ponies a day, quite often 7 days a week, all over the world . Because of this volume of fits, we find we have seen most fitting challenges and fitted most breeds, however like everything horsey we are occasionally surprised but can draw on our experience to enable us to fit both horse and rider.

The riders we have found vary hugely, as riders we all have aches and pains and often previous injuries, we are all different shapes and sizes and ride in different ways.

Because of this we like everyone to have a trial period on their new saddle, at the saddle fit you will have the opportunity to try the saddles you asked us to bring, limited only by the patience of your horse.

On the day of your fitting we will fill in paperwork for our records and will have the selection of the saddles you have chosen with us, you can try them and should you decide to buy one we would take payment for the saddle plus call out fee. All our saddles have a trial period, 4 weeks for ReactorPanel and 14 days for Comfort and Native Pony so you will have plenty of time to make sure you have made the right choice .

Should you wish to return or exchange your saddle during this time you would be given a refund less the charge of £25 per week to cover wear and tear on the saddle ( ReactorPanel only) and a handling charge related to bank charges depending on the form of payment . All our saddles also come with a 1 year guarantee on both the tree and leatherwork, please see our terms and conditions for more information.

We recommend a saddle check within the first 3 months especially in cases of remedial fits as we have found that horses and ponies will regenerate muscle very quickly when fitted correctly and given the right exercise, because of this we give a free adjustment/re-flock during this time subject to the agents call out fee.

Please feel free to contact us for your annual saddle check, Check our diaries for when we are going to be in your area, we cover most parts of the UK at least once a month and Europe at least every 3 months but may have an agent in your area who can see you sooner, please only use agents who’s details are shown on our websites as that will ensure you get the best possible fitting and value for money .

We are of course always available for advice via telephone or e-mail as quite often I can make suggestions which may make a call out un-necessary.

Here’s a video with Mathew Lawrence showing us a saddle fit…..