News — #hmsaddles

Unless your horse or pony has been in full work throughout lockdown, it is likely that he or she has changed shape and your saddle may not quite fit as it should. Many equines have been turned away or put on reduced work the past few weeks so, for them, the most important thing you can do is have your saddle fit checked. A good saddle fitter will assess the saddle fit with you riding your horse in it, as well as them thoroughly checking from the ground. A poorly fitting saddle can lead to discomfort and behavioural/physical changes in your...

Vogue SoftTree Saddles The Vogue SoftTree is our flagship range, and is a revolutionary design unlike any other saddle on the market. The manufacturing process is unique in saddle-making, developed by myself and Nurseys of Bungay in Suffolk, England. Vogue saddles are still made for us in England by Nurseys, using the finest Italian leather. FlexEE Saddles Rishabh Sharma contacted me through the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA), 12 years ago, then aged 19, and looking for a job in the UK in equestrian wholesale and marketing, in which he had trained, as well as in saddlery manufacturing. I hadn't...

Catherine Morris (MSFC dip) gives in-depth instruction on taking wither and back templates with a flexi curve, so that you have a precise picture of the horse's back conformation. This guide shows you how to do this accurately, which will help in the choice of the right saddle for you and your horse.  Our step-by-step pictorial guide also shows how to take a wither template - http://www.hmsaddles.com/pages/taking-a-template  

Balancing a saddle is a very important part of fitting: "After i posted the other day that my VSD felt like it was tipping me forward and i was utterly despondant - I tried my friends wonderful Dressage FlexEE and was shocked it felt so different. So today armed with my Le Meiux Shim pad I shimmed the hell out of the front ( put in a thick shim at the front), the result I AM SURE ITS NOT THE SAME DAM SADDLE!! seriously. Just tipping the front up a few cm's changed my position and how safe i felt!...

Another successful HM Saddle Fitters' course, lots of information imparted and happy newly-qualified fitters - see the feedback on our Enlightened Equitation Facebook group Hannah Stansfield shared the changes in her horse Paddy's back shape, saddle fitted by approved HM Saddle Fitter Viv Moss: "Changes in Paddy's back shape. Black ink is from April, blue from today. This is from two months of riding twice a week in a Heather Moffett FlexEE and it's essentially allowed Paddy to build correct and even muscles across his back. He still likes to chuck his right hip up to send the saddle skewy...