#repost @performance.saddlefits I was thinking about balance today. Scrolling through some photos I took of one of our clients when we were doing a fitting, I was struck by how beautifully balanced she was in the saddle, how effortless she made it look, and how easily the horse grew under her into balance as well. And this is a big young warmblood with a rider in her 60's! One of the things we absolutely know, is that pressure on a horse's back, completely influences directly and indirectly how he can either use (or not use!) his back, deep core, neck, shoulders and hindquarters to move forward, stop, turn, collect, do transitions, jump and basically every little thing we want them to do. So we concentrate a lot on getting the fit of the saddle right for the horse as a primary concern, so that the pressure is as even as possible to cause the least amount of restriction. BUT! If the saddle doesn't allow the rider to sit in balance over the base of the horse's wither, if they are not...