The Saddle Hub presents Saddle Skills for Horse Owners
A one-day workshop with Jane Clothier at the Teveton Centre, 75 North Teven Rd, nr Ballina, NSW 2478 Saturday 27th August, 9.30am-4.30pm
How well does your saddle fit? Do you know enough to spot where it might be causing your horse restriction, discomfort or even pain? This enjoyable, informative workshop is designed to be an easy way to learn the essentials. There’s no heavy technical talk, no lengthy anatomy lessons and no having to memorise all the named parts of the saddle – just straightforward information and enjoyable learning!
This workshop will:
• Show you how to recognise signs of problems in your horse, even before you check the saddle.
• Provide you with a basic understanding of the saddle’s construction and what might be wrong with it, before it goes onto the horse.
• Help you to check your own saddle off the horse – you can bring it along to the workshop.
• Show you how to recognise whether a saddle fits a horse by going through a simple checklist.
• Get you practicing saddle fit checks on horses – hands-on really is the most effective way to learn!
• Show you the principles of how the saddle should sit on the horse.
• Guide you in identifying some of the more common problems involving saddle fit on horses.
• Offer suggestions about rehabilitating your horse’s back after it has experienced saddle fit pain.
The day includes:
o Presentation – slides to show the basic principles of saddle fit and the problems caused by poor fit. The clear and easy format includes real cases from my practice, so plenty of chat and opportunity for discussion.
o Demonstration – showing how to identify ‘landmarks’ and conformational characteristics of the horse’s body and how the saddle should fit in relation to these.
o Practice – you get to put the above into action on demo horses, step by step. This is easy and fun, being an opportunity to learn without it feeling like hard work.
Jane Clothier runs her bodywork and saddle fit practice from Armidale NSW. She counts herself very fortunate to have been able to learn the principles of good saddle fitting from Peter Horobin and Graeme Aitkens, two of the country’s leading experts. As well as practicing bodywork and saddle fit, she is completing a PhD (with CSIRO and UNE), and writes a globally read blog:
