On becoming a saddle fitter

Monday, September 22nd, 2008 | saddle fitter training, saddle fitting | 5 Comments

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” - Oscar Wilde

Occasionally people send e-mails expressing an interest in becoming a professional saddle fitter and asking where training is available.  I don’t have a good answer for this.  It’s hard for me to imagine becoming an educated saddle fitter without spending time with saddle makers and tree makers, but they aren’t thick on the ground in North America.   Various therapeutic practitioners offer brief courses here, often in conjunction with training in therapeutic services such as equine massage, and some saddle brands offer training in aid of marketing their saddles.   

Some time ago, unhappy with the limitations of what I could learn where I was, I began to make the pilgrimage to Walsall frequently, to badger saddle makers, more experienced saddle fitters, and tree makers, crassly mining their collective centuries of experience for a fleck or two of precious insight.  The effort has been more than worth it, and this is quite odd because, in Walsall at least, almost any saddle maker you talk to will give you a completely different story about the right way to do things.  › Continue reading

Tags: saddle fitter training, Society of Master Saddlers