03 October 2022

Saddlery fitters share their thoughts on equine welfare issues

Redwings, The Horse Trust and the Society of Master Saddlers (SMS) have published new data from a short survey of UK Saddlery Fitters which reveals fascinating insights into the experience and perspective of these vital equine professionals.

The three organisations came together to create a new online course for saddlery fitters, launched this summer, which focusses on the unique role SMS members play in observing and helping to resolve some of the issues that may affect horse welfare around the country.

Alongside developing course content together, the project sought to gauge insights from SMS members on what they currently see as the most prevalent welfare issues, and how they feel their role enables them to support horses and their owners.

The survey has revealed some fascinating data which has helped to shape the online course, and will also support better recognition of the ways the welfare sector can support saddlery fitters to make the most of their role to help horse owners optimise their horse’s health and wellbeing.

Weight issues (horses being overweight or underweight) were the most common concern that saddlery fitters reported seeing (22.45%), followed by owners’ lack of knowledge (15.31%), lameness (15.31%) and tack issues (15.31%).
When asked which were the main issues they felt were faced by equine welfare organisations, 15.49% of respondents selected ‘abandonment’, followed by obesity (13.04%) and inappropriate work/lameness (11.59%). The least selected option was issues relating to feral ponies (0.97%).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, saddlery fitters felt most comfortable talking to clients about issues around unsuitable tack (36.28%), while they were least comfortable broaching the subject of euthanasia (7.08%)
More than half of respondents (55.80%) said they were either ‘extremely likely’ or ‘somewhat likely’ to contact a welfare organisation if they were concerned about a horse.
The most common reason given for being reluctant to contact a welfare organisation about a horse was concern over compromising the relationship with their client. However, the majority (85.4%) said client confidentiality would not prevent them from reporting cruelty or neglect.

The saddlery fitters online course aims to help awareness of support and resources that welfare organisations can provide to help owners in their efforts to do the best for their horses. More than 30 SMS members enrolled in the course within the first month of its launch, earning 8 CPD hours as well as better understanding of how much the welfare sector has to offer. While cases of severe neglect or abuse of horses tend to receive more public attention, more of charities’ daily work is focussed on education and support to help more horses and their owners get the most from each other.

For more information download and share:

The full survey report (PDF 840 KB) (PDF 821 KB)

Details of the Saddlery Fitter CPD course: https://horsetrust.org.uk/training-courses/saddlery-fitters/

https://www.redwings.org.uk/news-and-features/saddlery-fitters-training

Making your advice count - for equine professionals (PDF 604 KB) (PDF 590 KB)