The more prepared you are, the more you will get out of a consultation.  Before you call or email, have the following information ready:

A)  Detailed directions to, and contact information for you and your stable.

B)  Prepare a list of your concerns and/or needs.

C)  Book an appointment time that causes the least amount of stress to you and you horse.  Avoid feeding and turn-out times.

D)  Be courteous to the stable's needs - if they run a riding school, avoid busy lesson times.

E)  If your coach/trainer’s opinion is important, book the consultation time with them as well.  Coaches often play a crucial role in making decisions regarding your horse's comfort and performance.  Maximum benefit will be obtained if all the key players are involved in the decision-making process. 

On the day of your consultation, show up at least a half-hour early to get ready. Your horse should be in from the paddock and clean. 

Allow up to two hours for the consult, be prepared to ride if the saddle fitter feels it is necessary.

Most importantly, bring an open mind! Saddle fitting can be tedious at times but the pay-offs can be huge.

Ridgemount Saddlery strives to be professional and respectful to you and your horse at all times.

Our goal is to be on-time (or inform you of any delays) and provide, in an unbiased manner, the best possible saddle-fitting solutions available. If you are looking at new saddles, we will recommend brands and models most suitable for you and your horse - though we take great pride in Ridgemount saddles, we are aware that they will not be the best solution for every horse. Basic re-stuffs and some repair work may be done on site, however your saddle fitting agent will decide if it is in the best interests of you and your horse to have the saddle booked into the shop. In the case of adjustments and/or repairs, all proposed work will be explained in detail, as well as the cost, estimated time of completion and the expected out-come of the work. If you feel we have not fulfilled this commitment, please let us know.  We will do everything within reason to satisfy you.

A wool-stuffed saddle should be checked by a saddler at least once a year. This does not necessarily mean it will need to be re-flocked every time, but the fit should be assessed and a general check of the condition of the saddle, billets, etc. should be done at the same time.

In some instances, the saddle should be looked at more frequently - for example, a young, growing horse will be changing shape, and it is extremely important to ensure the saddle is not hurting him in any way to allow the training to progress. Similarly, a horse entering a training program in very poor or very fat condition should be checked more often, and a horse who is changing careers, i.e., going from pleasure riding to dressage work, may develop muscles and a shape quite different from what he began with. Older horses may start to lose muscle tone and the protective layer of fat over the back and spine; they too may benefit from more frequent examinations.

The following is a basic check list to help you determine whether your saddle may need attention:

Is the Saddle Balanced? 

By this I mean, 'is the saddle sitting balanced front to back and side to side?'.  If yes, the spine of the horse should be sitting in the middle of the two panels and the middle of the seat should be the lowest part after you have finished riding.
If the balance is off your position will also be suffering.  In a jumping saddle you should be able to easily two point with out using the reins to steady yourself.  In a dressage saddle you should be able to maintain a relaxed shoulder-hip-heel alignment.

Clearance:

The saddle must clear the spine.  An old belief was that you should have two to three fingers clearance between the pommel of the saddle and the horse's wither while a rider was standing in the stirrups. All this without the use of a saddle pad. (The reason being the pad will often hide exactly what you are trying to see). This is not a bad rule of thumb, but if you have slightly more or less than this it should not rule a saddle out if the other saddle-fitting criteria are met. If you have significantly less or more clearance you should definitely have the saddle looked at as soon as possible.
The withers and spine must also have clearance on either side. There are no real hard rules but the distance between the panels should be at least 3-4 fingers wide. Certain breeds or conformation traits can require more space.

Panels:

You do not need to be an experienced saddler to determine whether or not the panels of your saddle have, over time, settled unevenly or have become lumpy.  This happens to all types of saddles regardless of panel type (i.e. wool or foam) or cost of the saddle.
Once a month simply flip the saddle over and run your hands from front to back over the surface of the panels.  It is quite possible you will feel small irregularities; it is really the big stuff you need to be concerned about.  If you feel a large lump or hollow it just may coincide with a tight spot on your horse's back.
Panels can be uneven and still be acceptable once you consider the shape of the horse. But any unevenness that was not done intentionally should be investigated.

Freedom of movement:

Since saddles tend to settle and change so gradually, you tend not to notice that your horse's movement has slowly become restricted.  Take some time to consider if this is happening to you - some key things to look for include:

Lead changes becoming more difficult.

Picking up the wrong lead, or swapping leads.

Tripping during transitions.

Warm up times becoming longer.

The list goes on, but if your are experiencing even one or two of these symptoms it would be prudent to schedule a consult.

Soreness:

Part of your regime should be to routinely check your horse over for signs of injury. Ask your vet, acupuncturist, physiotherapist or saddle-fitter to show you how to examine your horse's saddle-area and top-line for tenderness. Any soreness that cannot be explained needs to be investigated - these are early warning signs and you need to act before something becomes a serious health or safety issue.
Sometimes a poorly-fitting saddle can cause a horse to show discomfort in an area not directly located beneath the saddle. If this is the case, typically one or more of the previously-mentioned symptoms would be present as well.

Audible:

If you hear any type of clicking or squeaking noise coming from your saddle, get it investigated immediately.  It is not uncommon for saddles to have broken trees, which is extremely dangerous - at anytime you could send a splinter of wood or jagged metal into your horse's back.

An on-site re-stuffing is actually a 4-part process:

1) Evaluation A - Preliminary evaluation comprises a visual and manual examination of your horse and the saddle, plus discussion with you about your horse's performance, any problems you are aware of, and any concerns or questions you may have. Occasionally, it is helpful for the horse to be ridden to determine what corrections are necessary.

2) Dismantling and Inspection - The saddle is then taken apart and a thorough inspection of it's components for structural integrity and safety is done.

3) Re-stuffing - Old wool may be removed, fluffed-up, or re-distributed, and new wool may be added. The saddler will ensure the panels are smooth and even unless a specific correction is indicated. The saddle is then re-assembled and sew the saddle back together.

4) Evaluation B - The saddle is put back on the horse and the re-stuffing is checked to ensure the desired outcome has been achieved. Again, occasionally it will be necessary to ride the horse.

Guarantee - In general, the re-stuffing will be guaranteed for a period of thirty days. If the rider feels there is a problem, they must advise the saddler of their concerns immediately so remedial steps can be taken. You must be aware that a horse can change a significant amount in a month, depending on his work, condition, age, and so forth; so while it is not usual, it is conceivable that a saddle would need to be re-worked after that.

Ideally, every horse would have its own saddle fitted to him often for maximum comfort.  Should you choose to use your saddle on a variety of horses, careful consideration should be given to each horse's needs. Sometimes the use of different pads or girths can make a saddle 'work' for different horses, though in general you want to fit the saddle to the widest horse you normally ride - a wide saddle can often be made to 'fit' narrower horses by using extra padding, but a saddle that is too narrow should never be used.

SOME, but not all foam-filled panels can be adjusted to fit your horse better.  Foam, like wool, will break down over time. In order to find out if your saddle would benefit from an adjustment and to determine what is possible, it is necessary to start with a consultation.

The first changes can be made by removing, adding, or adjusting the wool flocking in the panels. The other, more fundamental change is made by narrowing or widening the actual tree of the saddle.

Some saddles, such as Passier and Courbette have a tree that can be adjusted by a skilled saddler a limited number of times up to about 3 cm. This is a result of the tree construction and the type of steel used to reinforce the head of the saddle. This steel can break, but it is extremely rare; in this case a new head plate would need to be installed.

Ridgemount, Amerigo, and Paramount, and some other classic British-made saddles can be adjusted up to a maximum of 1.5 cm a few times, and sometimes the head plate will need to be reinforced. Often rivets will need to be replaced when doing this. It should be noted that though the success rate of these tree adjustments is high, having this work done may void the manufacturer's warranty.

Saddles with a full plastic tree can be adjusted and remain under warranty if using a machine specifically designed to do this by an authorized agent. Your dealer should be able to direct you to where this can be done. Christian can also perform the work, and though his success rate is high, his method is not accepted by the manufacturers.

Argentinian and Indian saddles do not adjust well, are more likely to break, and are not typically worth the cost and effort.

The success of tree adjustments vary widely and are not necessarily covered by manufacturer's or retailer's warranties. Christian is fully authorized for Amerigo, Ridgemount and Forestier saddles; however, Schleese saddles can only be worked on by a Schleese representative or your warranty will not be valid. Adjustments will only be done in conjunction with a consult. If done in at the same time as a re-stuff, a tree adjustment may cost as little as $ 125.00. If done on its own, adjustments start at $ 200.00; an estimate will be given after the saddle is examined.

How to Make a Wither Tracing

This problem occurs for numerous reasons.  Listed below are some seemingly obvious, yet often difficult to correct reasons; 

a)  Poorly fitted or balanced saddle.

b)  Crooked and/or uncomfortable horse.

c)  Crooked and/or uncomfortable rider. 

To effectively correct this problem you should be prepared to consult a variety of equine specialists - for example a physiotherapist or acupuncturist, as well as your veterinarian and your coach - and be prepared to get second opinions.  Often a saddle sitting crooked is a symptom of a greater problem that may take quite a bit of time and patience to resolve - the easy answer is not necessarily the correct one.

After riding, wipe off any dirt or sweat with a slightly damp sponge and a small amount of Glycerine saddle soap, or a quality soap such as Ridgemount or Fiebing's paste. Rinse off the soap and dirt, again, with a slightly wet sponge. Periodically, you can condition the leather with a product such as Ko-Cho-Line (recommended by the manufacturer), or a leather cream such a Passier, Jeffries, etc.

When cleaning black tack the first couple of times, you may notice some black coming off on the sponge. This is simply an extra polish put on for display purposes -  you can safely ignore it and clean the tack as outlined above.

A- Crownpiece and Cheekpieces -
Measure from the corner of the mouth on one side, around the poll and down to the corner of the mouth on the other side. For cheekpieces alone, measure from the corner of the mouth to just past the eye.

B - Noseband -
Measure around the nose where the noseband should lie - about an inch-and-a-half below the cheekbone. When ordering a noseband alone, also measure for the headpiece; where lines (A) and (B) intesect, around the poll the the same place on the other side.

C - Throatlatch -
Measure from where the end of the browband would be (intersection of (A) and (D)) on one side, under the throat to the other side.

D - Browband -
Measure from where the end of the browband would be (intersection of (A) and (D)) on one side, across the forehead to the same point on the other side.

First you need to find a box about 18" x 18" x 24" – about the size of a computer monitor box. A box that is just large enough is preferable to one that is too generous - in one that is too big, the saddle may move around, the box is more likely to be damaged, and the cost of shipping it will be higher. You can find boxes at moving places (i.e., U-Haul), stationary stores (i.e., Staples) or home improvement centers (i.e., Home Depot). If you are going to ship in a used box, make sure it is structurally sound and that all previous shipping labels are removed or blacked-out. Wide shipping tape should be used to seal all edges.

Put a layer of crumpled up newspaper, shredded paper, foam, or an old blanket in the bottom of the box to act as a cushion. These materials can be re-used and work very well - please do not pack the saddle in styrofoam peanuts or chunks or plastic-wrapped fiberglass.

Packing:

Remove the stirrups and leathers, girth, saddle pad, billet guards and bucking strap or handhold from the saddle, put your saddle cover on it (make sure your name is marked somewhere on it) and put it in a plastic bag. Also in the bag should go an envelope with the instructions as to what is to be done, any wither tracings or photographs, and your contact information.

Information required:

1. Your name & return shipping address.

2. Day time phone number (home, work and/or cell number) where you can usually be reached and the best time for us to call. We will need to have you approve a quote before work can begin - delays in reaching you can delay the return of your saddle. An email address can also be helpful.

3. A list of the repairs or alterations that need to be done, and any observations and questions you may have.

Shipping:

The saddle can be sent to us via the courier of your choice - UPS, Purolater, Fed-Ex, etc., but will be returned via Purolater unless otherwise specified. The address should be on the box as well as on the courier's forms that are attached to the box:

Christian Lowe

1168 Allen's Sdr
Sault Ste. Marie, 
Ontario
P6A 5K8

Highly recommended for anyone interested in the correct fit of saddles, the use of pads, and the comfort of the horse's back is an excellent book by
Dr. Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS,

The Horse's Pain-Free Back and Saddle-Fit Book