I originally contacted Kelly hoping to get my back sore horse some relief through massage therapy. At 12, Diesis had sustained years of work in expensive "custom" saddles that didn't quite fit. Finally, my stoic guy started reacting to weight on his back. I addressed it with the current saddle fitters and was told by the County team that the saddle they had was "as good as it could get" given his high withers and resulting slope. Well, that saddle bridged soo badly that he was seriously back lame with pinching from a too-narrow fit that caused atrophy. I was pretty naive about the basics of saddle fit...
Kelly was amazing- as an independent saddle-fitter he was able to assess a variety of saddles without compromise. It wasn't a fast process- it required tracings, photographs, saddle trials and telephone calls between Kelly and the saddlemaker to ensure the correct tree and shape. But finally success!! A saddle that fits my shark-finned horse like it was made for him- but the best was yet to come...Six months after the saddle change and therapy work Kelly did a follow up back tracing- Diesis had actually built up his top line during this period,WOW. Two years on, we have not had a single issue regarding his back and continue to build correct muscles.
Diesis and I are grateful to Kelly for his genuine concern and commitment to excellence.
I would be remiss not to mention that Kelly also took the time to find a second-hand saddle that fits my 4 year old beautifully! He kept a copy of her tracings and when he was at the tack shop he would check the re-sales for a match. The result was a great fit and saved me a bundle of money!!
Lori Bond- Land's End Farm- Louisville KY