Wessex Saddles

02/04/2023

If any of you are curious as to why I gave up saddle fitting, head over to my new page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091265944989 😘

Travelling the UK in Homer the Hymer

15/03/2023

As part of my future plan, we are massively downsizing, so will be selling pretty much everything in our current 3 bed house!
There are a few odds and sods of horse stuff still to sell, but mainly household items.
All welcome x

15/03/2023

Thank you all ###

08/03/2023

Huge discounts on the website www.wessexsaddles.co.uk. Last few remaining items, grab a bargain quick! PLEASE SHARE! ❤️

31/01/2023

****CLOSING DOWN STOCK CLEARANCE****

FAIRFAX BRIDLE PARTS - ALL BROWN EXCEPT ONE HEADPIECE (see list)

PM me with which item you want, name, address and email address and I’ll email an invoice.

1 x large grackle nose band £120 (RRP £150)
1 x large grackle noseband, XL back strap £120 (RRP £ 150)
2 x standard grackle noseband £120 each (RRP £ 150)
1 x standard cavesson noseband £120 (RRP £ 150)
1 x large drop noseband £120 (RRP £150)
1 x standard drop noseband £120 (RRP £150)
1 x stallion headpiece large £110 (RRP £135)
1 x standard headpiece (black) £110 (RRP £135)
1 x 19" jowl strap £15 (RRP £20)
1 x 20" jowl strap £15 (RRP £20)
1 x 8" cheekpieces £35 (RRP £50)
1 x 10" cheekpieces £30 (ex demo)
1 x 11" cheekpieces £35 (RRP £50)
1 x 18" browband £15 (RRP £20)
1 x 17" browband £10 (black - 2 screws missing (2 included))
1 x 17" browband £10 (ex demo - screws missing)

Postage £5

11/01/2023

Have added some discounted saddles to the website as I need to clear some stock! BRAND NEW & secondhand, will add some more as and when I can, so check back often over the next few weeks!

Online saddle sales. Saddle trials available. Try before you buy.

11/01/2023

For anyone that still has saddles for sale with me, I will be contacting everyone over the next couple of weeks, but if you want to drop me a message to collect your saddle then please do. 😊

11/01/2023

For anybody still waiting to hear back about an appointment, please bear with me! I am sorting through everything but I am having to wait for replies from people before I can book others in!

03/01/2023

Happy New Year To all my lovely customers!

Please read this VERY important post regarding the future of Wessex Saddles.

I will be giving up saddle fitting and therefore closing the business early in 2023. Most likely sometime in February.

My exact finish date is dependant on a few personal factors and as such, I cannot exactly say when just yet. Because of this I will only be taking bookings a few weeks in advance.

Understandably, I will not be taking on new clients, I will only be doing checks for my existing clients as I need to offer to service them first. Unfortunately I may not get around to all of you due to the timescale and this will also be dependent on demand and your location, as well as your flexibility with appointment days and times. I apologise in advance to anyone that I don’t get to see but I will try and at least reply to all requests.

As of now, you will not be able to ‘book’ online, but this has now been replaced with a ‘request to book’ where you will need to fill out some information as well as YOUR availability. Here is the link https://www.wessexsaddles.co.uk/saddle-fitting

In order to make the best use of my time, I will ONLY be taking bookings through this form so it would be advisable to book early if you need me before I finish.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to all of my customers and I wish you all the best for the future, but it’s now time to move on to pastures new 😊❤️❤️ Lynda ###

30/12/2022

Our Neue Schule bits are already hugely discounted but now you can take another 20% off the listed price!

Wessex Saddles - Qualified Saddle Fitter & Fairfax Bridle Fitter covering Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset & Wiltshire.

14/08/2022

What a monkey! 🤣🤣

09/08/2022

Saw one of those rare, headless horses today! 🤣🤣🤣

19/06/2022

I’m always telling my customers that you can achieve a lot more, in terms of muscular rehabilitation, at a walk than at the faster paces. Think about how beneficial yoga is and all of those moves are done at a slooooow pace.
Fast paces are good for cardio work but if your trying to improve posture, for example, the walk is the pace you want! 😊

20/04/2022

How to care for your Prolite girth

08/02/2022

Very well said! 👏🏻

Take it all away.

If you were to strip away the tack accessories, leaving only the bare minimum (saddle, basic saddle pad, headstall with browband, throat latch and bit) what truths would you discover?

For every additional piece of tack, ask yourself not if you need it, but why, and with that answer, ask yourself if that reason is stemming from pain, anxiety or even physical weakness.

Head in the clouds? Perhaps your horse isn't strong enough to carry himself properly and uses his neck to rebalance.

Tongue over the bit? Perhaps the bit doesn't fit, or his teeth are bothering him, or just the placement of the bit in the mouth.

The best way to open up better communication with your horse is to first stop gagging and silencing their every attempt to get a point across. Understand that they don't have the ability to take the p**s or have some sort of agenda, they do what they do to relieve pain or discomfort, be it physical or psychological.
You cannot help your horse without first removing everything that would hide the symptoms.

04/02/2022

Useful tip! ❤️

01/02/2022

It’s easy to miss subtle signs in our own horses sometimes. It’s worth taking note of, it could be the saddle, but not all back-related issues are caused by the saddle.
This is definitely worth a read x

https://thehorse.com/1108245/grumpy-horse-while-tacking-and-mounting-thats-not-normal/?fbclid=IwAR2RB8RjVMzj8N8KnbWl80LSB7Fk-wJWnb8qIIOG1LQfWBEjOh2Ol5g91uY

Researcher: Don’t ignore subtle signs of equine discomfort before riding. Often the cause is a veterinary issue.

24/01/2022

THIS! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

So many of the ‘behavioural issues’ we see today would be avoided if people just gave their horses a little more time 😢

23/12/2021

We are now closed until 4th January 2022.

You can still book online and gets lots of information on our website www.wessexsaddles.co.uk

Once again, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year ###

22/12/2021

I would like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 🍾🍾🍾

Thank you so much for all of your support for the past year, I am very lucky to have such amazing customers! ❤️❤️

We are now closed until 4th January so see you in the New Year!

12/12/2021

Very well said Poppy! It’s a long read but explains the current saddle shortage very well x

03/12/2021

Worth a read. This is what I try and get across to people having issues with saddle slip.

**CENTAUR BIOMECHANICS BLOG SERIES**

IT IS MORE THAN JUST THE RIDER….!

If we just focus on the rider, are we in danger of burying our head in the sand and overlooking the root cause. Here I am referring to saddle slip, there appears to be a belief by some, that the rider is solely responsible for inducing saddle slip with little consideration for the global interaction between the horse, saddle and rider. It is fully appreciated that it may be “easier” to place responsibility on the rider, and in some cases, it maybe preferred by the rider, if they felt that they were the cause (self-concluding that there is nothing wrong with the horse and or saddle) however, this approach can often be misleading and in danger of overlooking the primary cause(s) of the saddle slip. (Primary defined here as the start - which component (horse, saddle, rider) initiates saddle slip.

To date there is no objective evidence to support the idea that the rider is the primary cause of saddle slip even when considering the rider’s hand/leg preferences. This blog is not suggesting that the rider is not a contributing factor, riders need to optimise their own biomechanics on and off horse, in order to ride effectively, however the purpose of this blog is to discuss which component initiates saddle slip.

There is a growing body of evidence that the horse is the primary factor. Grieve and Dyson have shown that in horse’s with hind limb lameness, the saddle slips towards the lame or lamer hind limb, and after diagnostic analgesia, the saddle slip was abolished (1, 2). Previously we have shown, in non-lame horses that saddle slip occurs and can be corrected with saddlery interventions (3) and others have shown that the saddle can have a lateral displacement when trotting on a treadmill (4) all highlighting the importance of evaluating the horse, saddle and rider interaction as opposed to just focusing on the rider. In addition, we have data from riders who ride multiple horses, some of which have saddle slip to the left and some to the right… We and others continue to research this area and will continue to explore the rider effect but the overarching findings to date is that we need to quantify the horse, saddle rider interaction and that the horse is the primary factor for inducing saddle slip.

The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness of saddle slip. Whilst I appreciate the sensitivities around lameness, in horses who have saddle slip does not necessarily mean that the horse is lame. However, what it does mean is the interaction between the three components (horse, saddle and rider)is aysmmetric and generally that the horse is moving asymmetrically, which is causing the saddle to slip to one side. The reason that the horse is moving asymmetrically should be the focus of discussion. If we pursue the idea that the rider is the only cause, and thinking that a few rider specific exercises, and or shortening one stirrup will resolve saddle slip is a fallacy and sadly, is wasting time on addressing the primary causes.

Furthermore, saddle slip could be used as a sensitive indicator on movement asymmetry. If the saddle is generally straight when ridden on both the left and right rein across all gaits, and then starts to slip to one side, then this could be an indication of asymmetry and must not be ignored. Let’s not bury our head in the sand or be misled that saddle slip is primarily a rider factor, lets discuss saddle slip with the home team; saddle fitter, vet, farrier, coach, equine and human physio and collectively make a plan evaluating and managing horse, saddle and rider interaction. Early detection of movement asymmetry can help reduce the risk of injury….the longer we pursue the rider being the only cause, the longer the movement asymmetry will develop…of course, the rider also needs to address there own asymmetries as this too may compound the global asymmetry, but the question remains - what is the primary cause…

Hope the above is of interst please share to raise awareness.

Dr. Russell MacKechnie-Guire
Centaur Biomechanics

www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk


1. Greve L, Dyson SJ. An investigation of the relationship between hindlimb lameness and saddle slip. Equine Vet J. 2013;45(5):570-7.
2. Greve L, Dyson SJ. The interrelationship of lameness, saddle slip and back shape in the general sports horse population. Equine Vet J. 2014;46(6):687-94.
3. Mackechnie-Guire R, Mackechnie-Guire, E., Fisher, M., Mathie, H., Bush, R., Pfau, T., Weller, R. Relationship between saddle and rider kinematics, horse locomotion and thoracolumbar pressures in sound horses. JEVS. 2018;69:43.52.
4. Bystrom A, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Serra Braganca F, Engell MT, Hernlund E, et al. Lateral movement of the saddle relative to the equine spine in rising and sitting trot on a treadmill. PLoS One. 2018;13(7):e0200534.

02/11/2021

Always a pleasure to do the horses and ponies at Pevlings 😊

Several of our ponies had a routine saddle fitting check today. Got to look after our horses and ponies, they mean so much to us.

15/10/2021

Great news! Well done girls 🥳🥳

11/10/2021

“Back, saddle, teeth all okay”.

As I was about to fall asleep last night, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a post about someone asking for advice when their horse quite dramatically stops and drops their head after jumping and cantering, also refusing fences.

Maybe I’m in a bubble, floating around and surrounded by passionate followers and clients who are intuitive and open minded about learning more to improve the happiness and comfort of their horses.

But I was so heartbroken to read the “advice”.
Short grass reins. Keep her forward. Hold her up. More leg. Draw reins. Ride defensively. Ride through it. The horse has learnt to get you off, you have to win the battle. Give her a good pony club kick and smack, she won’t do it again. Put a man or good tough rider on her.

If this is the “advice” we are dishing out, how on earth are we meant to get anywhere with our horses!? This is by no means discrediting anyone, but it does raise questions as to our traditional, standardised approaches.

And the standard “all clear back, saddle teeth”. Okay… but have you considered the horses neck, ligaments, muscles… parts of the anatomy that are not the back? Is your therapist adequately qualified and regulated by a governing body? The saddle - have you had a second opinion? Is your girth correct? How recently was this saddle checked? Is your saddler adequately qualified? And teeth - the same thing, is your EDT qualified? Does your horse need to be seen more regularly?

And what about mares and hormones? Digestive discomfort? Farriery? Previous bad experiences? Any other factors to attribute the behaviour to.

There is a difference between a horse being cleared from back, saddle and teeth… and a horse being comprehensively assessed by a team.

So if you are finding yourself at a cross roads with your horse, please please please exhaust all medical avenues before attempting to “ride through it”. I see far too many horses on the brink of breaking mentally and physically, particularly horses that have been sold and the new owner is left to pick up the pieces.

There were some really important comments on the post, with some people picking up on this. However, lines are blurred. Let’s not belittle behaviour and overlook it’s importance - let’s listen to our horses and respond ✨

Photo by Daydream Equine Art ♥️

07/10/2021

Worth a read!

15/09/2021

Wessex Saddles is very proud to have Ellie as one of our new Ambassadors. Ellie is incredibly talented rider and achieved so much already. We are looking forward to following ‘Team Roe’ as her dreams become closer to reality ♥️♥️♥️

Her is an introduction to Ellie and her amazing recent achievements:

My name is Ellie Roe, I am 13 years old and I love Dressage.
I have been riding since I was 3 but about 3 years ago I had an awful fall where my pony fell on top of me! It took all my confidence, I had to start again all over again. Slowly, my confidence started to improve and in April 2020 I met my pony Taran. He is a 14.2hh, 17yo Welsh D, ex-showjumper. In June I decided to give Dressage a go and loved it! I now compete on-line, BD Affiliated, BD Quest & in Unaffiliated competitions. Amazingly, since July 2020 we have been highly placed numerous times. been highly placed numerous times. I’m now moving up to novice/Elementary and Taran is finding the movements difficult I have now taken on another pony called Pennyfarthing Zeus. We have started out very strongly and I have listed some of our results below,

🏵Won the E-Riders Summer Champs 2020 for Intro Junior with Taran
🏵Won the E-Riders BD League 2020 for Intro Juniors with Taran
🏵Won the BD South West U21 My Quest Regional Finals 2020 for Intro with Taran
🏵Won the E-Riders BD League 2021 for Prelim Junior with Taran
🏵3rd place in the E-Riders Summer Pet Plan Champs 2021 for Prelim Junior with Taran
🏵Won the Summer Pet Plan Equine Area Festivals for U21 Prelim after affiliating 2 months before and gaining 31 BD points with Taran
🏵Won the Pony Club International Alliance UK Dressage Team and winning my class out of 36 competitors from around the world with Taran
🏵Won my first two BD Quest U21’s Prelim classes with 74.14% and 68.46% with Zeus
🏵Won my class with 75% in the Area 12 Riding Club Dressage and Qualified for the Nationals with Zeus.
🏵 Qualified for the South & West My Quest & Team Quest Regionals with Zeus

I wasn’t born into money and my family and my trainer Louise work so hard to help me on my journey. I certainly wouldn’t be able to do this if it wasn’t for their support & I want to show that anything is possible with Love, hard work and understanding of your pony.
It is incredibly important to me to support businesses and products that I believe in and I understand that in these uncertain times it is a must that you spend your hard earned cash on quality items & services. My page is Team Roe Dressage and my Insta is teamroe_dressage.

Ellie X

06/09/2021

Was great to see Ellie & Zeus last week, a fabulous team, superstars in the making! 😊

23/08/2021

Lots of secondhand recently saddles added to the website. All with a 5 day trial available!
See website for full details www.wessexsaddles.co.uk