Saddle Fitting Essentials Training Day (CPD)

An essentials of saddle fitting day aimed at coaches, owners and riders to give them greater understanding as to what's involved. The aim is not to turn them into amateur saddle fitters, but to give them tools to spot potential problems, notice unbalanced saddles, and pick up on cues from horses that indicate saddle fit could be an issue and should be checked by a qualified professional.

Including:

• Static assessment of the horse's conformation - spotting pros and cons in relation to saddle fit
• Dynamic assessment of the horse - again looking at pros and cons and implications for saddle fit
• Types of saddles and trees - what to look for, and look out for, when assessing saddles
• Saddle fitting - chalking up, saddle balance, options in accessories  - delegates will get the chance to get hands on with some horses and assess saddles themselves
• Using guinea pigs to illustrate good and bad fit; making subtle changes and noticing the horse's reactions to them
• Saddle fit for the rider - the importance of saddle fitting the rider too; common problems and the effect on rider position, comfort and stability

The day will be especially useful for coaches who see a variety of clients and may need to have a deeper understanding of saddle fitting problems, and anyone training for BHS or Pony Club assessments. 

Presented by Sara Udal, a member of the International Academy of Saddle Fitters and Society of Master Saddlers. Sara is also accredited as a Holistic Saddle Fitter with Lavinia Mitchell Saddles, holds a City & Guilds in Saddle Flocking and Repair and is a Director of Connect Equine (a saddle company specialising in biomechanically sympathetic saddles for horse and rider).

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be provided throughout the day. There will be a lunch break – lunch is not provided, so please bring a packed lunch.

Tickets: Limited to 25 places. £45 for BHS Accredited Professional Coaches, £55 all others. Please note the reduced rate is ONLY for BHS APCs, not coaches affiliated to other organisations - thank you. A £10 discount is available for anyone booking on to this course who has booked onto/attended our related training day on bitting, to be held at Quob Stables on 26 June (you must book the bitting day first to get the discount code. The code is only valid for those who have booked a place on the bitting day).

CPD: This day has been accredited as CPD for BHS Accredited Professional Coaches and counts for six CPD points. Certificates of attendance can be provided on request to coaches requiring CPD for other organisations, but it is your responsibility to check they will accredit the course.

Refund policy: tickets will be refunded where they can be resold. No refunds will be given for tickets which cannot be resold, unless a doctor's certificate is provided.