Happy New Year!
Hope this enewsletter finds you and yours well. We are blessed to have good health and to be living in this beautiful state of TN. It does get a little chilly up here on the Plateau, but we still wouldn't trade it for anything. Bad weather gives me a chance to work on the enewsletter and catch up on the bookwork.
Larry is making progress on his garage. He would be further along but the cost of lumber stifled the progress a bit and it's cold out! He is moving forward now and it's starting to look like a garage finally.
Sadly the Expos have been cancelled this year but it's all good because I don't know how I would have had time for them anyway. Scheduling Saddle Fitting Classes and fittings in 3 states has the schedule pretty full. If you were thinking about getting on the schedule in March or April, please do it now. I will be in
Huntsville, AL area Feb. 13-14 for fittings
Oak Mt Park in Birmingham, AL end of Feb, begin of March for fittings
Our farm in TN BASIC SADDLE FIT CLASS March 13,
Lakeside Arena in Frankford, KY March 19-20 for fittings
Dover, PA on March 27 for a Saddle Fitting Class
Nashville, TN on April 6-7 for fittings
If you are out of the area and need help with fitting your Specialized or TW Saddle
Virtual Fittings are now available
There is still room in the Basic Saddle Fit Class here at our farm in TN. It is usually around 8-10 people so no big crowds. Pre-register at 
CLASSES. We are also doing a Basic Saddle Fit Class in PA this year. David Galentine is hosting it in Dover, PA. Pre-register at CLASSES
Horses also change shape with age. The picture of the thorastic sling is likely a 5 year old on the left and a 3 year old on the right. Also as horses get older we see them lose topline muscles causing the saddles to pinch the withers and shoulders because the muscles that used to support the saddle are no longer there.
As the seasons change and the workload increases or decreases the horse's shape can also change. Sometimes it is grass that cause the weight gain or in the winter weight loss. All of these things can affect the saddle fit.
The text book says have your saddle fit evaluated once a year (which is why saddle fitters are extremely busy in March & April) but I recommend having it rechecked every 6 months. I have seen saddle fit get really bad in a year to 16 months and we don't realize it because it happens gradually.
These classes are for all riders of any discipline, as well as trainers, instructors, body workers and everyone that puts a saddle on a horse. We don't know what we don't know. My goal for the class is that you:
- Gain a better understanding of equine anatomy relative to saddle fit
- Gain hands on experience evaluating saddle fit
- Find out when a saddle pad can help and when it hurts
- Understand what sweat patterns mean and don't mean
- Learn to recognize the signs of a poor saddle fit & the damage they cause
- Discover how the saddle affects the rider's position
Participants will bring their saddles but no horses. This is strictly an educational and interactive class to help riders recognize good and bad saddle fit. This class is not a sales presentation or a fitting clinic. The morning consists of 2 power point presentations, Is Your Saddle Helping or Hurting? and Equine Anatomy Relative to Saddle Fit. The afternoon session is hands on horses and saddles in the barn evaluating static saddle fit.
Sometimes I get caught up in all that I need to do and I forget to get pictures. If you want to share pictures of you, your horse & your saddle, please do so either through email or on FB at Fit Right Saddle Solutions. I think it helps others to see and hear from other riders. You can make a comment as long or short as you want or just share a picture. Here is what Ryan and Luna recently shared on FB. Thanks Ryan!
"Over the last 6 years that I've had Luna, we've struggled with saddle fit at times. She went from a gangly 5 year old to a stocky wide mare. Now at 11 years old, her shoulder angles have changed as she's gotten even more fit thanks to the awesome lessons we do with my friend, Linda Brackett. Her custom made Black Country Dressage Saddle we got in 2016 became too wide for her. We tried shimming, half pads, reflocking and anything we could come up with to try and keep her comfortable. Yet, the saddle kept soring her and was causing me knee, hip, and lower back pain when I would ride." READ MORE
To help explain what happened to Luna, I am borrowing this picture of the thoracic sling from Jec Ballou. The horse on the right is the before picture. This horse has a weaker core, a typical young horse or horse not yet in training.
The horse on the left is the after picture. After a horse has been in training or work he/she will develop stronger core muscles. The core muscles will push the withers up and the shoulder angle will get steeper. The horse actually gets taller. The saddle that fit the before horse will be too wide angle for the after horse. This is why I always recommend a first free fitting 3-6 muscles after you purchase a new saddle. If the shoulders were restricted before and the new saddle allows more freedom, the horse's posture will change and the saddle will no longer fit. It is actually a good thing (unless you don't have an adjustable saddle).
Horses also change shape with age. The picture of the thoracic sling is likely a 6-8 year old on the left and a 3 year old on the right. Also, as horses get older we see the topline drop causing the saddles to pinch the withers and shoulders because the muscles that used to support the saddle are no longer there.
As the seasons change and the workload increases or decreases the horse's shape can also change. Sometimes it is spring grass that causes the weight gain or in the winter weight loss. All of these things can affect the saddle fit.
The text book says have your saddle fit evaluated once a year (which is why saddle fitters are extremely busy in March & April) but I recommend having it rechecked every 6 months. I have seen saddle fit get really bad in a year to 16 months and we don't realize it because it happens gradually.
As always, thank you for reading my newsletter, your referrals, testimonials and for helping me help the horses. I sincerely appreciate each and everyone of you! If you are up north, have fun with all that snow, that is one of the reasons we live in TN.
Stay well and God bless,
TTYS
Terry Peiper, Fit Right Saddle Solutions
"Spreading the word about proper saddle fit and how it affects our horse's behavior, performance and ultimately the health of horse and rider."