Invest in your equine's health and performance: check your saddle fit. The EQUImeasure Kit is a universal tool to check the fit of any saddle and for any riding discipline. Buy one today for only $94.99, can be used up to 5 times, that's less than $20.00 per use!

You're finicky about the hay you buy. You track vet records on your calendar at work. You spend more time calculating nutrition and supplements than taxes. You plan training and conditioning regimens before family vacations. Shouldn't you be as careful with how your equine's saddle fits?

Proper saddle fit is one of the most important elements of equine health and performance. Over time, poor saddle fit can trigger behavioral problems, induce physical ailments, and limit equine potential. In addition, equines--like humans--change physically over time. Age, activity type, conditioning level, nutrition, and injury can all affect how a saddle fits an equine back.

The patented EQUImeasure Kit is an easy-to-use, accurate, and affordable way to create a 3-D model of your equine's back. This model can be used to:

• Assess the fit of an existing saddle
• Assist in the selection or creation of a new saddle
• Evaluate an equine's back for asymmetry

EQUImeasure Kits can be used by riders of every discipline and in every stabling situation. All you need to use an EQUImeasure Kit is an oven, oven mitts, and an equine. The insulated package and heating tray allow up to 40 minutes to elapse between removing the warm EQUImeasure sheet from the oven and placing it upon an equine.

EQUImeasure Instructions

1) Test fit heating tray and EQUImeasure sheet in oven to make sure it will fit without touching oven walls or rack.(a) (The sheet will stick and may be ruined when trying to remove it from the oven). If you have a shallow oven you can cut off up to an inch and a half off the right and left side of the sheet and tray using a utility or box knife.(b)

2) Preheat oven to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 Celcius). (c) Never exceed 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 Celsius), as sheet will melt on tray.

Accuracy of temperature settings vary oven to oven. Heating times will vary accordingly.

3) Find a level place for the animal to stand and brush loose hair and dirt from the back.(d) Locate back edge of shoulder blades(e) on each side and mark with tape.(f) One person should stay with the animal and the other can go to the oven.

4) Place the heating tray with the EQUImeasure sheet on it into the preheated oven on the middle rack.(g) Heating times will vary depending on the oven from approximately 7-10 minutes.

5) After 5 minutes remove tray and EQUImeasure and rotate 180 degrees and place back in oven.(h) This will insure the sheet heats uniformly. Begin checking the sheet in 2 more minutes and every minute there after. Do not leave the EQUImeasure sheet in oven unattended.

Take EQUImeasure sheet on tray directly to the horse when you remove it from the oven.
The EQUImeasure sheet must be hot when placed on the animal’s back.

7) Take the EQUImeasure Kit to the animal. Make sure the animal is standing squarely with weight on all four feet. Hold the animal’s head approximately where they hold it when riding. The person holding the animal should keep them quiet and standing still. Feed them treats etc..

8) Using two hands, lift the sheet off the tray(k) and place on the animal’s back.(l) Make sure the sheet does not touch itself or it will stick together and ruin the sheet. Use oven mitts if your hands are heat sensitive.

9) Position the EQUImeasure sheet at the back edge of the shoulder blade where you marked with tape,(m) aligning the centerline with the spine. (Use the center line as a general guideline as the animal’s spine is readily identifiable in the mold when finished). Use your hands to smooth the sheet to the contours of the back.(n) Make sure front edge of sheet is at the back edge of the shoulder blade.(m)

If the EQUImeasure sheet does not contour to the animal’s back easily in 2-3 seconds, or it forms ripples that you can’t smooth out easily, take the sheet back to the oven, it’s not hot enough.

10) The sheet will take approximately 5-10 minutes to setup depending on the outdoor temperature. On hot days try to do this in the early morning or evening and find some shade if you can.
11) Continue to smooth the EQUImeasure sheet until it becomes hard-set and rigid. Keep the animal quiet and standing squarely with weight on all 4 feet. Make sure the front edge of the EQUImeasure is at your reference mark at the back edge of shoulder blades.

12) When the sheet is rigid, remove and hold lightly.(o) Do not place it down on anything as it may need a few additional minutes to set up completely, depending on outside temperature. Check the mold on the animal’s back(p) at 5 minute intervals until you are sure the mold is completely rigid and has held the correct shape.

13) When the mold is rigid, take a level and mark a horizontal line on one side of the mold.(q) This can be used as a reference line for balancing a saddle front to back.

14) Place the mold on end inside your house overnight(r) and check it back on the animal the next day to be completely sure the mold is ready to use.

Tips from Professional Saddle Makers and Fitters

● Using a level to draw a horizontal “level line” along one side ot the mold will allow a saddle maker to properly adjust front to back balance of a saddle.
● Mark the “sweet spot” or lowest point of the animal’s back.
● Mark the point of each shoulder blade at the front of the mold where the shoulder blades touch the EQUImeasure sheet.
● Mark the location of any “white hairs” or “pressure spots” .

To Re-Use your EQUImeasure

1) Pre-heat your oven to ~190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 Celcius). Place the formed EQUImeasure mold on the insulated heating tray on a middle rack in your oven. Start with the mold upside down on heating tray.

2) Every few minutes remove the mold and tray from the oven and, wearing oven mitts, begin to press it flat. Turn over and return the mold and tray to the oven. Repeat this process every few minutes until it has become moldable again. The sheet doesn’t have to be completely flat to reuse.
Note: The EQUImeasure sheet may have a few wrinkles, especially near the withers, that do not have to be completey flattened. This is normal and will not affect product performance.

Checking Saddle Fit with Your EQUImeasure

1) Stand the saddle up and rest it gently on its back edge, then hold your EQUImeasure against the bottom. Line up the front edge of the mold with the front of the saddle.

2) The first thing you should look for is 1-2.5 inches (2.5-6.4 cm) of clearance between the mold and underside of the pommel. A saddle should never rest on any part of the spine.

3) Check to see if the saddle bottom is making good contact with the EQUImeasure. There shouldn’t be any noticeable gaps.

4) You can flip the saddle over on its pommel and check again for contact from the rear of the saddle.

5) If you are unsure about assessing a saddle’s fit to your EQUImeasure, ask a qualified saddle maker, fitter, or retailer for assistance.

6) You can also use your EQUImeasure to check for asymmetry in the animal’s back. Holding the mold at eye level, look at the shape of the arch over the withers. It should be nearly even side to side. Now look down the centerline to the back of the mold. Again, both sides of the mold should show the same basic shape.

Buy an EQUImeasure Kit today for only $94.99 - that's less than $20.00 per use! (Up to five uses per Kit.) Colors may vary.

Are you planning to use your EQUImeasure Kit to assess the fit of a western saddle? If so, you may want to add a Western Extension to your EQUImeasure Kit for only $19.99. Click here to learn more about the Western Extension.

Need a great gift idea? Order an EQUImeasure Gift certificate in any US dollar amount.

Order online at Wyoming Trading Post or call 877-595-0115