21/09/2025
"Even if your vet and physiotherapist agree your horse is technically “rideable,” there is no harm—and often great benefit—in spending time on groundwork first. Building strength, balance, and topline before fitting a saddle".
When Your Saddle Fitter Declines to Fit a Saddle
It goes without saying that a saddle fitter’s job is to fit saddles. However, there are times when your fitter may decline to do so.
This can come as a surprise and feel frustrating, but it is always done in the horse’s best interest. Reasons may include lameness, poor back health, horse–rider weight/size ratios being mismatched, or simply that your requirements cannot be met with the fitter’s current stock or specialisms.
One common example is poor back health.
If your horse shows muscle atrophy, weakness, or a poor topline, a responsible saddle fitter may decline to fit at that moment. Instead, they may suggest groundwork or a conditioning programme to improve your horse’s musculoskeletal health, with the aim of reassessing and providing a saddle at a later date.
Why This Happens
Of course, as owners, we want to ride and enjoy our horses. It can feel like a setback to be told we must wait. Yet there are times when riding is not in the horse’s best interest.
A widespread mindset exists—among owners and even some professionals—that horses “should” be ridden, even when their musculoskeletal system clearly needs improvement. Some argue that riding can itself be a form of rehabilitation, providing exercise and strengthening under saddle.
However, the scientific literature does not show that riding a horse with a poor topline is superior to groundwork. In fact, studies on back pain and saddle fit highlight that ridden exercise with an atrophied back can worsen pain, restrict movement, and delay topline development.
Why Fitting a Saddle Too Early Is Problematic
Even if a saddle fitter could find a saddle that “technically” fits a weak-backed horse, that fit is unlikely to last. With the right conditioning, the horse’s back should change shape significantly—muscles will strengthen, the topline will fill out, and posture will improve.
This means that:
A new saddle will soon become unsuitable as the horse’s back develops.
Even adjustable saddles have limits; they can only accommodate so much change before the overall shape, panel contact, and balance are compromised.
Frequent refits or saddle changes become costly and potentially uncomfortable for the horse.
In other words, waiting until the horse has a more stable, healthy back before investing in a saddle is not only kinder to the horse, but also more practical and economical for the owner.
The Evidence for Groundwork
By contrast, there is evidence supporting groundwork and in-hand therapeutic exercise as part of successful rehabilitation programmes. Controlled lunging, pole work, hill work, and stretching exercises have been shown to:
Improve posture and epaxial muscle development
Reduce signs of back pain
Encourage relaxation and reduce stress responses
Provide a safe foundation before adding the extra challenge of a rider and saddle
Reviews of therapeutic strategies for topline dysfunction consistently emphasise starting with diagnosis, pain management, and progressive in-hand work, then reintroducing ridden exercise once the horse has rebuilt sufficient strength.
So, What Does This Mean for You?
Even if your vet and physiotherapist agree your horse is technically “rideable,” there is no harm—and often great benefit—in spending time on groundwork first. Building strength, balance, and topline before fitting a saddle:
Protects your horse from discomfort and injury
Increases the chance of a successful, longer-term saddle fit
Avoids the expense and frustration of buying or adjusting saddles repeatedly during rapid physical changes
Creates a stronger, more capable partner once ridden work resumes
Final Thought
A saddle fitter declining to fit is not a setback—it is an opportunity. It is a chance to address your horse’s health proactively, so that when you do return to ridden work, you do so with a sounder, stronger, and happier partner.
Groundwork is not a “lesser” option. It is often the most compassionate and effective first step.
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