Martin Wilkinson Master Saddler

We are absolutely delighted and proud to announce that Martin has been awarded the title Master Saddle Fitter by the Society of Master Saddlers!  This is a prestigious new award to recognise the expertise, knowledge and experience of the most senior and talented qualified saddle fitters. So far only six have been awarded and Martin is the only saddle fitter in England to have achieved this accolade.  He was one of the first to have been awarded the status Qualified Saddle Fitter and has continued to build on his experience and expertise, researching and designing saddles for manufacturers and customers to ensure the comfort, safety and performance of riders whatever their discipline.

Tracey Day is a long standing customer of Martin Wilkinson Saddlers and recently we received a cry for help as she was at her wit’s end with her youngster.  Harvey is a 5 1/2 year old KWPN by Contendro  whose career so far has been a bit stop/start.  Tracey bought him as a project 4 year old and broke him herself, she says ‘He wasn’t easy to break and he almost broke me in the process!’ On questioning her we discovered that she had broken him in a saddle she had bought from MWS – but fitted for her other horse, Tarry.  ‘It looked ok’ she said – but clearly it wasn’t as Harvey reacted violently to the saddle throwing Tracey and leaving her with back injuries which still cause her immense pain.  This is a brave and determined lady though and she persevered but didn’t at that time think that the saddle may have caused the problem.  This is not unusual as we often find that misbehaviour in a horse is blamed on the horses’ temperament but often the root cause is discomfort from an ill fitting saddle. Moral – best to get a well fitting saddle to break your horse in so that their first experience of a saddle is one of comfort not pain!

Tracey struggled on but still felt that Harvey was not giving of his best.  He was fine in the jump saddle she had (also fitted by Martin Wilkinson for Tarry) but couldn’t fathom why he still felt that he could give more.  Tracey has a livery on her yard who uses a different saddle fitter and as she was on the yard seeing the livery horse, Tracey took the opportunity to consult her about Harvey.  This saddler fitter only has one brand of saddle, a brand with air panels, and she recommended that Tracey find a saddle with air and she would then be able to adjust the air to compensate for Tracey’s back problem.  Tracey said that she had seen an Albion K2 Dressage online same width and seat size as her jump saddle with air panels and would this suit?  The saddle fitter assured Tracey that ‘an Albion tree would be suitable for her horse’ so she went ahead and bought the saddle.  The saddle fitter said she would be able to adjust the air in the saddle to compensate for Tracey’s back problem and so she ‘pumped up’ one side of the saddle and sent Tracey on her merry way.

Sadly this didn’t seem to be the answer and after two weeks Tracey felt that things had not improved in fact she said ‘It went from bad to worse’.  Not unusually, Tracey felt that the problems probably lay with her and that her back injury was causing the problem with the horse and that she just wasn’t sitting straight, so she booked herself on a biomechanics assessment day with Russell Guire, Centaur Biomechanics.  Russell watched and recorded her riding and said that no, she wasn’t sitting straight but that it was the saddle at fault, not her! He confirmed that according to all the research, the best way to alter the balance of a saddle would be to use shims or felt under the saddle so that you had a more solid base – the air would just shift and the more you pumped it up the harder it got and the more ‘bouncy’ it would become!

By this time Tracey was several hundred pounds out of pocket and no further forwards!  So this was when she approached Martin again and said help! Realising that this was not an unusual scenario, Martin asked her permission to use this as a case study to help educate and inform all the other horse owners out there who may be experiencing something similar!

Next:  Read what happened when Martin went to see Tracey and Harvey

Martin Wilkinson Saddlers

Martin was one of the first group of  Saddlers to achieve the saddle fitting qualification offered by the Society of Master Saddlers, a qualification which is now recognised world-wide.  Martin went on to be an assessor for the SMS saddle fitting qualification and is now a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers.  Supporting Martin, the business has two other fully qualified saddle fitters, Kate Watson and Nicole Louer, both of whom are also Master Saddlers. There is a common misconception that a qualified saddle fitter and a master saddler are one and the same thing but in fact they are two entirely separate qualifications - having both means that you are fully qualified to work on and adjust saddles, an important consideration when choosing a saddle fitter. 

The saddle fitters are ably supported by Szylvia Komondi in the saddle workshop, who is herself advanced in her training to be a saddle fitter and is also a Master Saddler.

At Martin Wilkinson, the horses' welfare is always the most important consideration together with the riders' needs in all the various disciplines and equestrian sports so that individual horse and rider combinations can achieve optimum comfort and performance.
There can be few horse owners who now fail to recognize that the saddle, and the way in which it fits, is fundamentally important to the welfare, comfort and success of both horse and rider and at Martin Wilkinson the staff are actively involved in research into the effect of various types of saddle on the horses’ movement and comfort. 

So why should you get your saddle checked and why, if a saddle has been made specifically for your horse should it need  checking again? Well, fortunately, there is now a greater understanding that horses 'change shape' for a variety of reasons (growth, changes in work, diet, fitness, illness,) and so the saddle which fitted  when it was purchased may require adjustment, alteration and even , in some cases, exchange at a later date. This means that it is vital that your saddle is checked regularly and that the horse owner keeps a watchful eye out for signs of discomfort or distress.  Bear in mind however that you see your horse every day and gradual changes are hard to spot unless you regularly use a weigh tape to monitor your horses’ condition. Just like us, those few extra calories can make a big difference over time and you yourself don’t notice those extra pounds until you come to try on your holiday clothes! Also you must remember that the flocking in the saddle panel is natural wool, an organic material, and so will move and flatten over time and will need to be realigned and rebalanced.

So what should you look out for when checking the saddle yourself? Well, a very rough guide to signs that your saddle may need some attention are a feeling of being tipped forward or backwards, causing lower back pain for the rider, legs being pushed forwards or backwards and not sitting in the centre of the saddle seat.  From the ground, you should be able to look to check that your saddle is in balance.

You should have approximately two fingers’ width clearance between the front arch and the horses’ wither.  But this is only a very rough guide – a qualified saddle fitter will have spent at least four years studying conformation, gait, equine anatomy, saddle and tree design and fit to be able to give you an expert opinion on not just the fit of your saddle but whether or not it is the right saddle for your horse.

So what can you expect when you have an appointment with Martin Wilkinson Saddlers? Firstly the saddle fitter will take a template of your horses’ back and a photograph of the horse in profile. He or she will then check the fit of the saddle and may ask you to ride – if they feel the saddle is a bad fit and is causing the horse discomfort, they will not ask you to ride for obvious reasons!  If your saddle is a good fit then they will congratulate you and go merrily on their way but if not, then they will advise you as to whether your saddle can be adjusted to fit – some saddles can be reflocked and rebalanced, others may need to be retreed or you may be fortunate to have a fully adjustable saddle.  We always try the cheapest option for the customer first but on some occasions there is no option but to replace the saddle and if that is the case then we will search our range of second hand saddles first.  

What sets Martin Wilkinson Saddlers apart from others is the level and depth of experience and expertise within the business – we are probably the most experienced team of saddlers and saddle fitters in the South East and so you know when you contact us that you will be offered an extensive range of saddles if you are buying new or second hand and that the advice you will receive is the most up to date and knowledgeable possible

We're often asked after someone has sold their horse or pony what's the best way of finding a new home for an unwanted saddle?....

If you are not in need of the saddle any more, the first thing to do is to find out the current value of it. The best way to do this is to take it to your local Master Saddler to get it valued.