Lise Krieger
Although I was a child who fell in love with horses, it wasn’t until I was in my 40s that my first horse came into my life — Dudley, a beautiful Canadian Horse — and with him came everything horses, including another Canadian Horse, the lovely Maemae, and three Miniature Horses. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in lessons, clinics, and adventures to listen, observe, and learn everything I can about horses with openness and curiosity.
This desire to learn led to me complete a comprehensive certification course in saddle fitting with Mike Scott (The Saddle Guy) in South Carolina, and subsequently continue to immerse myself in education by attending classes at the North American Saddlery School and Society of Master Saddlers Certification classes .
I work with horses of all breeds, disciplines, and levels, from lesson horses, horses in therapeutic riding centers and backyards, to trail, dressage, hunter/jumper, eventing, barrel racing, and reining. I fit endurance horses, pleasure horses, and ponies — both Western and English.
When I’m called out by a client, I adjust and tweak existing saddles, if the fit is viable, or I’ll help the client find a different saddle completely. While I represent some saddle brands, I’m an independent fitter, meaning that I find the best saddle for the horse, the client, and the client’s budget, using the information I have gathered at the fitting. I don’t push specific brands; instead, I consider all of the saddles available and look for the one that will work best for the situation.
In addition to working directly with horses, I re-flock saddles, replace billets, and do minor repairs. If a repair is beyond my skill set, I will refer clients to more skilled saddlers.
In addition to traveling to clients’ barns, I offer on -site fittings at The New England Saddle Fit Shop at Heritage Farm in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Clients can ship in for fittings, try out saddles I have in stock, consign saddles, or just hang out and talk horses.
I love what I do. I get to hang out with horses and people who love them, while enhancing my clients’ (both horse and human) comfort and enjoyment.