The Saddler's Technique Ltd.
About The Western Saddle Fitters Course
Looking to turn your love for horses into a fulfilling career? The Saddler's Technique offers training courses for individuals who aspire to become certified consultant saddle fitters with The Western Saddler Ltd. Our courses are taught by industry experts who are dedicated to ensuring you have the knowledge and skills to succeed in this exciting field of horse-comfort based saddle fitting.
Course Outline
(may be subject to change)
Module 1 - The Western Saddle
-
English and Western saddles - a comparison.
-
western saddles: structure, function, styles, makes, models, materials and care.
-
Western saddle trees: types, angles and measurements.
-
Western saddle accessories: saddle pads, cinches, etc. - purpose, development, types, styles, materials and fitting.​
Module 3 - Equine Physiology
-
The skeletal system - anatomy and maturation. Range of motion of the axial skeleton. The Appendicular skeleton.
-
The muscular system - major muscle groups and understanding the horse's back.
-
The grimace scale, pain indicators and calming signals.
-
Static and dynamic conformation, gait analysis.
-
Observation, palpation percussion and auscultation.
-
Working within professional boundaries.
Module 2 - Horse & Handler Psychology
-
Understanding the true nature of the horse and its response to domestication.
-
How equines signal stages of discomfort, anxiety and fear.
-
How to predict, understand and make rational judgements about equine behaviour.
-
Donkeys, mules, horses and their differences.
-
Working safely with equines and their handlers.​
Module 4 - The Consultation
-
Preliminary information gathering.
-
Assessing horse and rider.
-
Measuring for saddle fit, padding, shimming and girthing.
-
Evaluating saddle fit, first without and then with the rider.
-
Bookkeeping, record keeping, data protection, insurance and legal support.
Module 5 - Individual Assessment
and Certification
-
Observed assessment of competence in Western saddle fitting to set professional standards.
Looking for a way to get involved and help improve horses comfort? The Western Saddle Fitters' Course is perfect for you! This highly detailed course will teach you everything you need to know about saddle fitting and give you all the tools to become a trained professional. We understand the importance of keeping our equines comfortable while riding. We offer a supportive and in-depth training experience that will allow you to make a real difference to many equines lives. Join us and, after successful completion of our course, should you wish to apply and work alongside The Western Saddler Ltd. to make a real difference in the comfort of equines, then we would be very happy to have you onboard.
Dates & Times
​
This is a nine-month course, offered over five weekends to give you time for wider reading, time for practice and to prepare your case studies.
The day runs from 8.30am-5pm.
​
The course dates are as follows:
Module 1: 27/28th April 2024
Module 2: 22/23rd June 2024
Module 3: 14/15th Sept. 2024
Module 4: 26/27th October 2024
Module 5: 23/24th Nov. 2024 & case studies on location.
​
At the end of the course students are to attend the Horsemanship Showcase on 30th November & 1st December 2024.
​
There will be at least one day (in addition to the above) with our own herd practising what has been learnt.
Accompanying Maria on saddle consultations is also required at various times once the course commences.
​
The second course will be running in 2025. Please note that places are limited. Should you be interested please fill in the application form.
Location
Venue: The venue for levels 1-4 is Ferne Animal Sanctuary, Wambrook, Chard. TA20 3DH. Home | Ferne Animal Sanctuary - a registered charity, which I am delighted to support. Ferne Animal Sanctuary is in a beautiful location and has excellent facilities, including free parking, a well-resourced classroom, café and the centre is also kindly offering us a variety of equines to work with. We also use horses from our own herd: a quarter horse, a Paint horse, a large cob, a Rocky Mountain horse and an Icelandic (both gaited) and a mule. This will ensure that we have a diversity of shape, size and temperament to work with, in which to identify and meet a wide range of saddle fitting need.
Join the Club
Stay up to date on the latest courses, release dates and news