One saddle fitting your horse and saddle, including on-site flocking adjustments by William Gates Wood.  Location must be in Virginia or Maryland and service used in 2013.                      

About the Process

The process generally takes about two hours. I evaluate your horse’s back conformation, check the back for saddle-related pressure points, note injury history, assess the saddle both on and off the horse, and provide a written report. If the fit can be improved onsite, I will adjust the flocking.  Typically, I will need to see you ride in the saddle in order to evaluate it properly.

About William Gates Wood

Bill Wood trained with some of the best in saddle fitting both in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Bill earned his designation as a Qualified Saddle Fitter from the Society of Master Saddlers (UK) Ltd. He originally learned saddle fitting from internationally known saddle fitter Gary Severson, aka "The Saddle Doctor," who has served as the saddle fitter to the U.S. and Canadian Eventing Teams.

Bill has also attended saddle fitting clinics with Joyce Harman, DVM, MRCVS, author of The Horse’s Pain-Free Back and Saddle-Fit Book, and with Peter Menet of Amerigo, the official saddle of the U.S. Eventing Association.

To augment his saddle fitting skills, Bill has trained as an equine massage/muscle therapist. This allows him to bring a holistic understanding to the way tack influences performance and how muscle therapies alleviate a horse's work and tack-related stress. He received certification from the Equine Center for Integrative Therapies in South Carolina, where he studied with Mike Scott. Bill also has continued his education by completing a course in myofascial release with Ruth Mitchell of Equinlogy, Inc. As an addition to his massage training, he attended the Tufts Veterinary Medical School equine cadaver lab.

For tack repair, Bill studied under long-time custom tack maker Ben Perry of Cape Cod, Mass. In addition, he holds a certificate in tack repair from the Cumbria School of Saddlery in Penrith, England.

Bill was raised in Pennsylvania, and his family always owned horses. He lives with his wife, Elisa, and children, Lyndie and Spencer near Charlottesville, Virginia.