A lot can happen in six months…

Six months goes by so quickly, doesn’t it? I challenge you to sit back (without the help of your Facebook or Instagram page, oreven an old-school paper desk diary) and try to remember what you were doing six months ago. They say time starts to go faster the older we get, and I have to say from personal experience that seems to be the case. Foals born in the early spring are looking more and more like yearlings every day, the days are short, the weather is a bit rubbish… and the mud is most definitely here for us horse owners!

Why am I waffling on about how short six months can feel to busy horsey people, like you and me? It’s because six months is ideally the longest time you should let go by without getting your saddle checked. I recommend my customers to book in for a saddle fitting visit at least every six months, with more frequent visits needed in other circumstances. For example, you might need to call a saddle fitter in sooner if a horse is changing shape rapidly, or if they have a few weeks off for an injury or get rather too porky when the spring grass comes through…

One thing that I’ve heard from horse owners more times than I can remember is that they really, really don’t want to send their saddle away when they’re on a training roll. That might be while they are getting their horse fit after a holiday. Or sometimes the horse is fully competition fit, and they’d like it to stay that waywithout interruption. I understand what it’s like; I’m a keen competitor and enjoy my time out training and show jumping when I have time away from AMZ Saddles. However, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t also remind my customers that riding a horse in a saddle which is pinching or moving around can quickly impact the health of their horse’s back.

That’s why I carry virtually everything I need for altering and reflocking saddles with me on the road. My clients love the fact that I can make the adjustments on site at the same time as the fitting appointment in the vast majority of cases. That means a happy horse, a healthy back and no interruption to your training regime! I also reflock saddles with sustainable wool, and it’s all from the same breed of sheep. That’s important because different types of sheep’s wool are of different densities and will react differently to pressure, so the wool needs to be consistent throughout the panels and on both sides!

So even if you’re counting down the days to your next competition and training hard, make sure you don’t put off a saddle fitting appointment. Your saddle needs to be checked every six months or more, and as I said at the start – that time does tend to fly by! Drop me a line to see when I’m next in your area and get booked in.