Finding the best fit for you and your horse with a Society of Master Saddlers trained fitter. 

Tracie O'Brien, owner of Tack Room Too, and an SMS trained saddle, bridle, and bit fitter.

Tack Room Too wants to serve you with quality saddle, bridle and bit fitting. Tack Room Too's owner, Tracie, is a technical school trained independent saddle, bridle, and bit fitter. We will work with you and your horse to find the best fit possible.  We can work out of your facility or Tracie's at Keev Farm in Olympia. Basic static fittings with Tack Room Too staff can be done at our store location (no mounting your horse) for free. Tack Room Too has access to several brands of saddles, bridles and bits or we can consult on your tack purchased through private brand representatives. Let us know how Tack Room Too can help you and your horse!

Fill out this Questionnaire and submit to request a paid full-service fitting appointment with Tracie at your barn. We will invoice you for payment at or after your appointment.

Please call us at (360) 357-4268 to request a free static fitting at the store with one of our staff.

About Our Fitting Services

We are typically booking 4-6 weeks out for a fitting appointment. Please plan ahead for a 90-minute appointment for a saddle or bridle and bit fit. We will reduce the price with three horses or more at the same facility since we would need to reduce the time and detail of the service.

Saddle fit appointments are $150 per horse +$25 travel fee if you are located 30 miles away or more from Tack Room Too. Saddle fitting services include a template of your horses back to support your saddle shopping or to track your horse’s changes over time. Depending on your horses training level and age, saddle fitting should be checked by a professional every 6 months, more for young horses or horses in-training. We will also provide you with basic information about your horse’s back anatomy, movement and saddle placement. We will work with your current saddles and, if desired, bring multiple options from the store to see how different trees from different brands work with your horse’s body. Please plan to ride in the saddle to finalize the correct fit for the rider and the horse. When riding is not possible, we can often leave a saddle prospect with you to trial within the next couple of days.

You are also welcome to bring your horse to the store for free if you are shopping for a saddle at Tack Room Too and we can help you with a quick and free 30-minute appointment trying different saddle trees of different brands to see how they all fit. For this type of appointment, please call the store at 360-357-4268 to schedule. These appointments are more readily available and can often be scheduled within a week’s notice.

Our bridle and bit fitting services are $75 per horse (+$25 distance fee outside of 30 miles) when traveling to your facility. We will work with your current bit and bridle set up, discuss problems you are experiencing, proper bridle and bit fit, and palpate your horse’s head and mouth to better understand sensitive areas and unique characteristics of your horse. If desired, we can bring items from the store for recommended bits based on your horse’s unique anatomy and the rider’s needs. Please plan to ride during this appointment if you want to trial different bits. If riding is not possible at the time of the appointment, we can often leave you with a good prospect to trial within the next couple of days.

About Tracie

Tracie has been in multiple facets of the equestrian industry for over 30 years as a rider, trainer, horse owner, and instructor. Tracie and her husband, Tim, also own Tack Room Too and Premium Quality Hay & Feed. Tracie also operates a small riding school focused on youth horsemanship and foundational training and introducing students to the equestrian life, sports, and events. As a former wildlife biologist with an M.S. in the biological sciences, Tracie continues to merge her biological career with her love of horses, her infatuation with their anatomy and movement, and her desire to keep them healthy with the best fit of their tack and equipment.

Tracie is a member of the Society of Master Saddlers LTD in the UK, a trainee in their 3-year technical program for saddle fitters, a student at the North American Saddle School where she has attended saddle and bridle fitting courses, and a student with Neue Schule Academy for bitting and lorinary sciences. In her endeavor to stay current in the biological sciences, learn new technologies, and stay relevant, she continually attends professional development courses in equine anatomy, horse and rider biodynamics, bitting science, english leather tack repair, and other saddle, bridle, and bit fit subjects.

Email tracie@tackroomtoo.com today for questions about our bridle, bit, or saddle fitting services or fill out the questionnaire linked above to request an appointment.

Some of the brands we work with for saddles, bridles, and bits:

   

  

       

 

Fitting Appointments	Price
Saddle Fitting Appointment (gullet/flocking adjustments are included in appointment; Simitree, Cavaletti, and HART gullet system changes only)	$150
Bit/Bridle Fitting Appointment	$75 or $25 added to saddle fit
Static Saddle, Bridle or Bit Fit with Tack Room Too Staff at store	FREE

Our general service area is within 30 miles of Tack Room Too. Add $25 if further out.

Bench Repair Services

• Saddle Reflock - $300 - Estimated 2 Weeks - This is a bench repair that is done in the shop. Saddle can be delivered to Tack Room Too or Premium Quality Hay & Feed. Saddles will be reflocked with Jacobs Wool and afterward fitted to the horse.
• Air to Wool Panel Conversion - $325 - Estimated 2 Weeks - This is a bench repair that is done in the shop. Saddle can be delivered to Tack Room Too or Premium Quality Hay & Feed. Saddles will be reflocked with Jacobs Wool and afterward fitted to the horse.
• English Saddle Billet Replacement - $40 per Billet - Estimated 1 Week - This is a bench repair that is done in the shop and assumes the panels will not need to be removed. Saddle can be delivered and picked up from Tack Room Too or Premium Quality Hay & Feed.

All saddles will be inspected before starting bench repairs. Saddles deemed to be damaged, unsafe, or requiring other repairs prior to bench repairs may be denied. Any shipping costs needed would be added to the prices above.

Tack Fitting Qualifications

Certifications and Degrees:

• SMS Trainee – Saddle Fitting Vocational Student
• Neue Schule (NS) Academy Certificate in Equine Bits and Bitting Science
• Neue Schule (NS) Academy Certificate in Lorinary Science
  
• Equine Fitters Directory – Meets Peer-reviewed Qualifications for Listing as Saddle, Bridle, and Bit Fitting Professional
• BS – Biology
• MS – Wildlife Science and Toxicology
• Post-Grad Education – Veterinary Pathology, Toxicology, and Risk Assessment

Vocational and CPD Coursework:

• Society of Master Saddlers (SMS) Intro to Saddle Fitting Course
• North American Saddlery School (NASS) Intro to Bridle Fitting Course
• NASS Bench & Onsite Adjustment Course (flocking/billet repair)
• Dressage Naturally (DN) Finding the Sweet Spot of Healthy Biomechanics Program
• DN The Upward Spiral of Successful Gymnastics
• Horses Inside Out (HIO) & NASS Practical Anatomy & Biomechanics for Saddlery Professionals
• HIO The Thoracic Sling Muscles Improving Posture and Movement
• Centaur Biomechanics Evidence-based Saddle Fitting with Dr. Russell MacKechnie-Guire and Mark Fisher
  
• Centaur Biomechanics Head and Neck Position in Ridden Horses
• Centaur Biomechanics Evidence Based Saddle Fitting
• Centaur Biomechanics Rider-Saddle Fit with Dr Russell MacKechnie-Guire
  

Hobbies and Career:

• Dressage Rider
• Horse Trainer of Foundational Skills
• Riding Instructor for Youth Horsemanship and Intro to English Equestrian Sports
• Retired US Fish & Wildlife Service Endangered Species Act Section 7 Biologist

Fun Facts

• Did you know that pain on the horse’s head or in their mouth can affect their stride and movement?
• Horses are rarely symmetrical on both sides, do not count holes when adjusting your bridle, but rather fit for that side of their head.
• The purpose of the noseband on a bridle is to stabilize the bridle, you should be able to fit a couple fingers underneath all parts of a tightened noseband.
• The size and type of bit to fit your horse will be determined by the width of their mouth and the size or shape of their bars, lips, hard palate, tongue, and smile. Do not follow the “2 wrinkle rule”, but rather an adequate location between their tongue groove to the edge of their molars. The size of their “smile” will determine how many wrinkles there will be.
• The weight bearing area of a horses back should be between 2” back from their scapula to Thorasic Vertebrae 18 (T18). Anything in front of that can affect the scapula, trapezius muscle, spinalous, or more and anything behind that will affect mostly the lumbar vertebrae.
• The purpose of the saddle tree (the wood, plastic, or composite skeleton of the saddle) is to distribute the rider’s weight evenly on the horses back in the area most able to support the weight of a human.