Saddles in Motion

09/20/2024

Updates for spooky season.

Need help with your dragon?

Days are getting shorter and cooler. Haul ins will be available for the comfort and safety of both horse and rider.

I will still be traveling but will be restricting my travel area to a two hour radius within Rice Lake, WI unless a group is scheduled. I will also travel to you if you are a previous client.

Will be doing haul ins for saddle fitting and bodywork. Many locations available around Wisconsin.

Can also haul in to my “office” in Ladysmith, WI where I’ll also be offering training through winter.

I will try to respond to messages and inquiries within 48 hours but may take longer. Tuesdays and Fridays will be my office day where I will catch up and return all messages so you will hear from me by then.

Thank you for trusting me with your horses and look forward to working with you.

Haul in Locations

Ladysmith, WI

Webster, WI

River Falls, WI

Wausau, WI as needed

Merrill, WI as needed

Mondovi, WI

Osceola, WI

Picture credit Charis Colson Photography

09/18/2024

Weather looks like it’s changing for the better this weekend. I’ll be in Chetek at NBHA Barrel Blast with some saddles for consignment as well as trees and saddles to check out from

Usher Brand Silver & Saddlery
WhinneyWear
Big G Saddles
Travis Teskey Teskey’s Elite

09/10/2024

09/09/2024

Setting up travel routes for October/Nov

North Dakota possibly South Dakota area
St Louis area (November)
Dubuque area (Oct 12)
Houston TX (last week of Oct)

Possibly Dallas/Fort Worth area (last week of Oct)

Let me know if you’re interested along any of these routes.

All trees will be with me from
Usher Brand Silver & Saddlery
WhinneyWear
Big G Saddles
Travis Teskey Teskey’s elite

I’ll also be in chetek, wi sept 21-22 at the nbha barrel blast with trees on hand.

09/07/2024

I absolutely love learning from and working with different saddle companies.

Thank you for every company that works with me so I can learn more. Companies that trust me to fit saddles for them.

I am not brand exclusive so If you are interested in trying any one of these companies trees let me know and we can set up a fitting to best fit you and your horse.

WhinneyWear
Usher Brand Silver & Saddlery
Big G Saddles
Travis Teskey - Teskey’s Elite
Hidalgo Leather Tree Saddles-US

09/04/2024

People often wonder why their horses aren’t building muscle- they’ve tried all the feeds and supplements, they blame it on the breed, genetics or discipline of the horse.

The reality is.. the relationship between tension and muscle wastage is interrelated.

Damage or trauma to tissue has an effect on nerves. The neuromuscular system requires healthy functioning nerves and motor neurons to help grow muscle. So there is a neurological component that prevents muscle from building in the body.

So how does damage to the nerves occur?

Some common reasons:
👉TENSION- tension in the body can cause fascia to compress down onto these nerves- which can prevent muscle growth.
👉TRAUMA- blunt force, harsh movements, lacerations etc. damaging the nerves themselves.
👉STRESS- studies have shown that stress affects neuron health.

——

Additionally, muscle wastage and atrophy is not the same as an unfit horse. An unfit horse is from lack of conditioning or exercise.

Muscle wastage and atrophy is from neuromuscular dysfunction that prevents the horse from building muscle.

To sum up- if the horse is experiencing or has experienced neuromuscular trauma from:
👉Saddle fit
👉Training techniques
👉Chronic tension throughout the body
Etc.

They will continue to struggle in developing muscle. You need to get rid of the catalyst (whatever is causing the stress, tension or trauma) and then address/release the tension throughout the tissue BEFORE you can expect the horse to build muscle.

Abequinetherapy.com

09/03/2024

I’ll be in AZ in late Feb early March. If anyone is interested in saddle fitting let me know and we can set something up.

09/01/2024

I will be out of the office until the 9th. I will get back to people as service allows. Thank you for your understanding.

08/26/2024

A client the other day described what I do in a great way. I had picked up one of her saddles for consignment and matched it to a horse and rider the same day. She said, “you are a saddle matchmaker and a break up specialist”.

Now it doesn’t always happen that fast but From here on out no longer a saddle fitter only a saddle matchmaker 🤣

08/21/2024

I am here to be a voice for the horse. The ones that whisper and the ones that scream.

For those who say they wish a horse could speak, they do. Behavior is an expression whether good or bad. Behavior is communication.

We need to learn to listen to that behavior, not shut it down. You cannot force change upon an animal that has its own mind, opinions and sense of safety without consequences.

Every horse has something to teach an individual and sometimes that’s why they have found their way to you. It’s up to us to listen, learn and heal with them.

You cannot beat yourself up for what you have done or might do. Give yourself grace in all you do and when you know better, do better.

I will always plant the seeds of change and be an advocate for the horse in every interaction whether training, saddle fitting or massage.

I will be their voice.

08/16/2024

08/09/2024

Been working with this horse a little over a month and I’m loving the changes I’m seeing. Working on releasing tension, improving posture and changing hoof angles (takes up to a full year to grow a new hoof)

I know she’s not in the exact same headset and stance but you can still see the improvements even with how comfortable she is in her own skin.

07/23/2024

Slim and I will be heading back to Texas in early Nov. Let me know if you are interested and I’ll see if I can make a day in your area.

Right now Houston, west and north side and Dallas Fort Worth area.

Will be able to bring saddles and trees for fitting with me.

07/12/2024

I love a good pad and 3S has a lot of great options. That being said I’m going to start to carry some with me in case people want or need one during a fitting.

I’m going to carry mostly 30” but will have 28s for smaller barrel saddles and 32”s

No I am not getting any benefits from this besides being able to supply quality pads with a fitting. Pads can absolutely affect saddle fit.

07/09/2024

I'm going to say it....

You cannot develop a healthy riding horse that will stay comfortable and sound long term without doing groundwork.

Saddles and riders cause restriction, no matter how good they are. The reality is that we are dealing with a horizontal spine. It has hundreds of pounds of guts hanging from it, fighting gravity as a downward force, and then we sit on the top of it.

In addition to that, horses don't know how to carry weight, or go in circles. They were not made to do either.

The good news is that I believe we can do minimal damage to the horse IF we do some things to counter this and educate the horse to carry himself in a way that benefits his body for riding. These include, but are not limited to:

🔵Groundwork
🔵Turn out with friends, and variable terrain and feeding positions
🔵Bodywork
🔵Appropriately fitting saddles

What do you add to the list?

07/08/2024

THE D Y N A M I C ASSESSMENT - Saddle fitting is a puzzle

Comments I often hear from clients are "I have never been to a saddle fitting where I was asked to ride" and "the saddle fitter took a few measurements and fit the saddle while my horse was in the cross-ties".

It startles me that so many saddle fitting "professionals" neglect the dynamic assessment when working with a horse and rider pair.

I think of saddle fitting like a puzzle, the final picture being a horse and human riding together in harmony, free of pain and discomfort, their respective musculoskeletal system supported by the interface between them, the saddle.

The dynamic assessment is an indispensable piece of this puzzle. After all, we want our saddle to fit well while riding, right?

Don't get me wrong, the puzzle begins with the static assessment, gathering horse- and rider measurements and assessing the fit of the saddle statically.

Aside from taking measurements and assessing the fit of your saddle, during the static assessment, your saddle fitting professional should take a look at all of your riding equipment, your saddle pad, any half pads, gel pads or risers you may be using. They should assess the condition of your equipment, ensuring your stirrup leathers are in safe condition, your girth is the appropriate length for your horse, not to place pressure and damaging the edge of muscles.

Following the static assessment, our puzzle is about half complete. It's time to move to the dynamic assessment, to evaluate the effect of the saddle on you and your horse in motion. The following are just a fraction of the questions your saddle fitting professional should be able to answer watching you and your horse together under saddle:

❓Does your horse exhibit any signs of discomfort during tacking up, at the mounting block or during warm up?

❓How does the saddle affect your position on your horse?

❓Are the stirrup bars in the correct position for your physique?

❓Are you sitting in a chair seat?

❓Does it allow you to align your balance point with your horse's to allow you to stay with the motion?

❓How does the saddle affect your horse’s ability to move and engage the hind-end and back?

❓Is your horse tracking up and able to lift his/her back?

❓Is your horse's neck carriage relaxed? Can he/she stretch?

❓Does your horse have freedom through the shoulders?

❓How does the your horse's form look over jumps?

❓Does your horse move in a relaxed manner?

❓How does the saddle behave while your horse is in motion?

❓Does it shift to one side?

❓Does it move forward onto the shoulder or is it pushed back during movement?

Once the dynamic assessment is completed, your saddle fitting professional should be able to answer any questions you may have regarding the fit of your saddle to you and your horse.
Now they move on to adjusting your saddle.

After the adjustments, they should ask you to ride again to verify their alterations made to your saddle were correct and sufficient to provide you and your horse with a comfortable riding experience, sustainable for your respective musculoskeletal systems.

If you work with a saddle fitting "professional" neglecting any of these imperative pieces of the puzzle, ask them how they can possibly optimize the fit of your saddle to you and your horse without seeing you ride. Then.. fire them 🔥

Your horse deserves better!

As your horse's guardian it is YOUR responsibility to vet your equine professionals.

Sadly, the equine industry (saddle fitting industry included) is largely unregulated. There is no governing body mandating the level or type of education a saddle fitting "professional" must receive prior to offering their services. This makes selecting a well versed equine industry professional (and saddle fitter) incredibly difficult and frustrating.

I found a very easy way to differentiate between well educated professionals and those who do not possess the level of education and skill to be trusted with the health and welfare of my dearest partner and companion, my horse.

I decided to follow science and evidence-based approaches in all aspects of my horse's care, including housing, feeding, social interactions, training, handling and saddle fitting.
Equine anatomy, physiology and biomechanics are based on scientific evidence and facts!

When selecting my equine industry professional, whether that is my barn manager, trainer, equine dietician or body worker, I identify those who follow science and stay up to date on new scientific findings.

You should do the same, ask questions and demand better education of your equine industry professionals, for your horse!

Making the world a better place for horses starts with the decisions you make for your own horse every single day.

07/06/2024

I’m excited to announce I will be adding Usher Saddle trees to my fittings.

If anyone is interested let me know. Still working on a few others I know people will love but currently I have on hand,

Usher
Robert Teskey Elite
Big G
Hidalgo

Thank you to the above companies for trusting and working with me to get horses and their owners into the best fit possible.

06/29/2024

I cannot express enough how much proper posture and body work can help our horses. This is after we did one session together.

06/27/2024

You might be paying me, but my contract is with your horse.

He starts talking to me as soon as I lay my eyes on him. It's not that I hear his voice or see pictures projected to me. His body speaks to me. I notice the placement of his feet beneath his body, the angles and symmetry of his hooves. I take in the rhythm of his breath, the motion of his ears, the wrinkle over his eye.

As you begin to tell me his story, my eyes continue scanning over the contours of his body. The hollows and creases explain a history of imbalance in his muscles. I make a mental note to look at your saddle.

I know he travels on the forehand well before you mention that he leans on the bit. The thickened throat-latch and hypertrophied under-neck muscles have been shouting at me since I arrived. That he spooks randomly at nothing comes as no surprise to me either.

Tensegrity will absorb many physical problems as they arise, allowing bodies to do an amazing job of compensating for physical trauma, but like us, as horses get older, trauma accumulates and creates dysfunctional posture and movement patterns.

And it's not just physical damage suffered through knocks, falls and micro-tears that takes a toll. There's emotional trauma from being weaned, trapped in yards, deprived of sufficient forage, transported, “broken-in”, separated from herdmates and so on…

Chronic emotional trauma can manifest as fascial restrictions. Dehydrated fascia becomes rigid, creating a strangle hold around muscles, nerves, tendons and even organs, limiting range of motion and sending pain signals to the brain. A vicious circle is created. The body braces as if to form a protective armour against unseen threats and the nervous system remains ever ready to flee, fight or freeze.

So once you have told me his story, it is my duty that I tell you what his body said to me. Be assured - these are my observations, not accusations. He’s always been like that, you say? Well how about today we start to do something about it? Not after the show next weekend, not after the trail ride, or after the $150 jumping lesson with the coach from out of town. For the sake of your horse, it needs to be now.

I've made a promise to your horse that I will
See him
Hear him
Honor and respect him.

I promised to do all in my power to help him feel safe so he is free to become the magnificent creature I know he can be.

So before I take your money - are you with me?