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 a SMS trained saddle, bridle, and bit fitter.

• Is your tack fitting your horse appropriately without hurting them or causing damage?
• Do you need a new saddle to fit your horse’s changed body or a new rider?
• Do you need help sizing and selecting a new bit or evaluating different types of bits for your horse?
• Are all the parts of your bridle fitting your horse appropriately and not causing pain?

Tack Room Too's owner, Tracie, is a 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 ours 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!

Email [email protected] today to schedule your full service bridle, bit, or saddle fitting. Call us at (360) 357-4268 to schedule your static saddle fitting at the store location.

Meet Tack Room Too Owner, Tracie O’Brien

Outstanding service at your farm or ours

Hi, South Puget Sound horse community! Tack Room Too wants to serve you with quality saddle, bridle and bit fitting. 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, and a student at the North American Saddle School where she has attended saddle and bridle fitting courses. 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, biodynamics, lorinary science, English leather tack repair, and other saddle, bridle, and bit fit subjects.

 

 

What's involved with a fitting appointment?

A full-service fitting appointment will include observing, palpating, and massaging your horse to get an idea of your horse’s unique features, sensitivities, and skeletal and musculature build (appropriate to what tack we are fitting for). It can also be helpful to watch your horse move in-hand without tack and then again while riding in current tack. Reevaluating your horse’s body after exercise might give us critical saddle fitting details. During a saddle fitting appointment we will trace your horse's back so you have it for saddle shopping or for future reference to see how your horse is changing. So that we can be prepared and best meet your goals, we will discuss what you want to get out of a full-service fitting appointment several days before the appointment. 

Email [email protected] today to schedule your full service bridle, bit, or saddle fitting.

Fitting Appointments	Price
Saddle Fitting Appointment	$150
Bridle Fitting Appointment	$50 or $25 added to saddle fit
Bit Fitting Appointment	$50 or $25 added to saddle fit
Bridle & Bit Fitting Appointment	$75
Saddle Flocking Adjustment	$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.

Ask about Fairfax Saddles and Breast Collars!

Ask Tracie about ordering a Fairfax saddle and breast collar through the fitting program! Fairfax leads the research on why these breast collars are a better fit for your horse’s jump. We stand behind several brands of saddles and can help you find a great fit for you and your horse!

Fun Facts:

• Did you know that pain on the horse’s head or in their mouth can affect their stride?
• 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 will affect the shoulders and anything behind that will affect 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.

Tack Fitting Qualifications

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
• Neue Schule (NS) Academy Certificate in Equine Bits and Bitting Science
• Centaur Biomechanics Head and Neck Position in Ridden Horses

Certifications and Degrees:

• SMS Trainee – Saddle Fitting Vocational Student
• Equine Fitters Directory – Meets Peer-reviewed Qualifications for Listing as Saddle, Bridle, and Bit Fitting Professional
• Post-Grad Education – Veterinary Pathology and Toxicology
• MS – Wildlife Science
• BS – Biology

Hobbies and Career:

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