FYI, Advanced Saddle Fit is Colleen Meyer, not Nancy Shedrick.
[QUOTE=Hilary;8656907]
FYI, Advanced Saddle Fit is Colleen Meyer, not Nancy Shedrick.[/QUOTE]
Itās my understanding Soloudinhere was referring to both Shedrick Saddlery & Advanced Saddle Fit as two she would never use, after poor experiences.
[QUOTE=halt;8656914]
Itās my understanding Soloudinhere was referring to both Shedrick Saddlery & Advanced Saddle Fit as two she would never use, after poor experiences.[/QUOTE]
Yes, that is the correct interpretation.
Another long term client of Gary Seversonās. He travels to the greater Boston area regularly, but is busier than a one-armed paper hanger. However, give him a call or text, and if he canāt fit you in he can recommend someone whom heās trained.
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Sorry!! - reading too fast. And also sorry that there are 2 saddle fitters to avoid. I have used both in the past and it seems services have gone downhill.
The rep for Borne saddles is in Harvard MA - she was very helpful and not at all pushy when I was on the endless search for a saddle that didnāt ride up my mareās neck.
Her first name is Candy but I cannot remember her last. Borne makes nice saddles, and she assessed both those and ones I had on trial and brought to her. (alas, none worked)
A friend of mine has been very happy with Janie Matocha from Pelham.
Josh Siegel at Siegel Saddlery is also very good. Heās a Trilogy rep but will work on any brand, and his work is first rate.
Bumping this back up again with another updateā¦ This entire saddle-fitting thing has been a fiasco and nightmare. My horse doesnāt even have a āhard to fit backā.
Long story short the saddle I was told by a professional to purchase did not fit. I purchased the exact size and dimensions told by a professional to fit. I had two fitters look at it - one of them mentioned upthread (Diane Williams). She said it fit perfectly, as did the other fitter.
Turns out it doesnāt fit so much at all. This was confirmed by a fitter and my vet, who came to assess my horseās body soreness about 2 months in to riding in the new saddle. Vet is very familiar with this horse and has palpitated his back before - he said the horse was under tremendous back painā¦ I chalked it up to possibly the saddle needing to be reflocked.
I had the saddleās rep out to reflock it once it was broken in since Diane was not available, who said it was too big in the tree, and that I needed a smaller tree for this horse. At first I was dubious but she had me ride in a smaller tree, and I could visibly see the difference in the way it fit and how he went. She was very communicative and prompt to reply to all messages any time I sent her a question - up until I decided to buy the saddle she recommended from a different party rather than custom through her. I sent her a few messages asking when she could come out to try the new saddle and she has not been as responsive. I think she was disappointed I did not go custom through her but I could not afford another custom debacle.
Thankfully, I am not riding my guy right now as he gets a a month or so off in the winter, but itās frustrating - I asked fitter to come out in November. Itās now January!
Anyway, if anyone has any other suggestions for a qualified fitter, that would be great. I am so tired of being taken advantage of by shams who happily take my money and donāt seem to care that their assessments of the saddleās fit can cause bodily harm to my horse.
What a nightmare. I still have Gary Severson come to my farm 2x year. It may be worth asking him if heād come see you. Iām not sure what Iāll do when Gary finally retires.
I would love, love Gary to come to me but Iām too small for him (not meant rudely) ā I keep my horses at home and it is out of the way. In the past Iāve trailered to a few of the bigger barns to get other big name saddle fitters to fit my old horse, but our trailer has been out of commission for the last few months and needs some major work before Iām ready to use it again. I talked to him a few years ago and he said he was really busy and that if I wanted in Iād need to truck my horse out to one of the bigger barns he services.
I wonder if thatās what I need to do. Thanks for the suggestion.
Gary is staying close to home and cutting back a bit, but he has transferred his business in New England to a former student of his, Audra McGough (570) 709-1212. She may well come out for one person (she did at my barn). At Garyās suggestion she did some work on my saddle, and it was prompt and done well.
If you know Gary, you know that he doesnāt hand out compliments easily. He recommends Audra with no reservations and says that she can do everything that he does. And someone mentioned that they thought Gary had retires some time ago. He did, but came back until he could find a successor he felt would provide services comparable to his. He has designated Audra, and Iām looking forward to meeting her when she works on my beasties this spring.
I think the world of Gary and will miss seeing him. Iām sure heās right about Audraās skills, but no one has stories as good as his!
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I hope that heāll still come to me! I saw him in the fall. He comes to me for my two horses, but Iāve been a client for 20 years, so maybe Iām just lucky. If not, Iām glad to know about Audra.
Deb at arbitrage tack in Waterbury CT. Not sure how far she goes in MA but Iād highly recommend her. She is also excellent at fitting the rider as well. I used to use patty before she stopped doing farm calls and Iām very impressed with Deb.
I donāt want to speak ill of her, but Diane missed that the saddle I purchased (at both her suggestion and another fitterās) was two tree sizes too big for my horse. She saw it, gave it the ok, and I rode it in on her suggestion for two months while my horse got increasingly aggravated over his back - my vet came out for a lameness exam and said he was incredibly back sore and that it came from the saddle. I heard great things about her too which is why I used her. I found her pretty nice and she was very reasonably priced. However, she also advised another saddle for a different horse that also did not fit him. I agree she is professional and she was honest with me (or I believe so) but she advised two saddles that did not at all fit either horse. I would be more understanding if my horse had funny conformation or was difficult to fit but as far as horses go he is not hard at all.
To the other poster, thank you so much for the number for Audra. Patty was one of my favorites too but she semi-retired. I
Respectfully, it was two experiences, and I didnāt say anything about her intentionally trying to deceive me (your words) - I also did not say she was a sham. I did not publicly āout herā. She was suggested on this thread and I used her and reported my experience. That is exactly what this forum is for.
She still missed that a saddle she suggested was several tree sizes too big. Thatās a huge error. I am glad to hear she is working great for you, but after that experience I would like to find a different fitter. Which is why I bumped this thread up.
Iām glad this thread was bumped up. It is good to know that Gary is still around and that he is recommending Audra. Itās hard to get a good fitter to come to Maine so I rely on UPS.
What happened to Patty Barnett? I was really pleased with the work she did on my Albion Original Comfort a few years ago. It was a special order on consignment at Pelham and is perfect for me and the horse. Replacing it would be out of reach for me if I could replace it at all.
Patty still repairs saddles at her workshop but is retired from on-farm fitting.
Like another poster said, Patty repairs but doesnāt do on farm visits anymore. A shame since she was one of the best, in my opinion.
I use Refined Equine and have been happy with them.
Thanks for that! It is greatly reassuring that she is still doing repairs, and that she also is considered one of the best.
FWIW, Iāve had both horses that were nightmares to fit (Ben had 19 saddles over six years!) and ones that appeared easy to fit, but were deceptively difficult.
My mare was fitted by a very well known, and well respected saddle fitter that travels all up and down the eastern seaboard. She didnāt seem thrilled in the saddle after a little time, so the recommendation was to send the saddle to Patty Barnett to have the tree widened, and so we did that. Everyone agreed that she needed a little more room there, and otherwise it was perfect. (Side note, Patty Barnett was AMAZING to deal with!! Told me exactly when to ship to her in a time frame that she had an opening, she did the work and returned it to me exactly when she said she would ā I think the saddle was gone, maybe a week? Sheās awesome!)
So, saddle has been widened and should be great, right? Well, when I got ready to buy a dressage saddle, I found a fitter in the south east, who fitted us for a Frank Baines dressage saddle, and Frank built one to fit my mare. I used this dressage saddle pretty much exclusively once it arrived. I schooled a little bit in the jump saddle and then headed to a clinic. At this clinic, I asked my mare to extend her canter a smidge and got bucked straight off.
I had had the saddle checked and was certain my broken knee was a result of my crappy riding. Until the pro I sent her to rode her in that saddle, and she tried to kill him too. Hmmm, this is odd. So, saddle fitter checks it again. And watches her go in the saddle. Finally turns to me and says āWell, it fits every saddle fitting test and metric, but it clearly hurts her and she hates it.ā
So, sometimes, even when experts check and verify and even watch them go, the only clue to it not being fitted correctly is that the horse just doesnāt like it.
So, we sold that one, and she got in touch with Frank, who happened to have something in the workshop that he was sure would work for her shape, and it does. It isnāt what I would have picked AT ALL, but I actually ride ok in it and sheās happy. Which, in the end, is the only thing that matters!
And your horse has told you that he isnāt happy, and I applaud you for listening to that. I am a big fan of working with Frank Baines ā I met Frank and his daughter, Victoria, at Rolex 10 years ago, and spent more than 2 hours with them and learned so much about saddles. He has yet to steer me wrong and has chosen three for me, through the fitter Iāve worked with here. Baines saddles donāt seem to get much interest over here, though they have changed some of their trim options to make the saddles more āfashionableā so that may change? But, Iāve had two built for two different horses, and one chosen for my mare, based on what he knew about her back after building one for her, and have stayed under 3k for all of them, which is way less than many brands off the rack prices. Close to your area, it looks like Pelham is the stockist for Baines there.
But, even if a Baines wouldnāt be an answer, I can weigh in on the fact that sometimes, even when the experts say that something works, it doesnāt. And the horse should be the ultimate judge of that. And saddle fitting really does suck. 
Best of luck getting it sorted out ā should you come south at all, Iāve got someone Iād recommend!
Libby
