About Hestbak
Hestbak was founded in 2020 with support from experienced saddle fitters for Icelandic horses. Founding the company was inspired by people, that needed help with finding the right saddle, myself included. Having an educated saddle fitter available should be a self given thing when saddle related problems occur - and we are here to help!
Saddle-fitting has been a part of my life as long as horses have, since in Finland saddles are always fitted to the horses. I spent a summer learning practical saddle fitting in Finland in 2020, have comprehensive education of the equine and rider anatomy through Saddlefit4life Academy and frequently attend seminars and lectures to follow the newest research and information about saddle fitting, saddle design and equine as well as rider anatomy. In addition I constantly work with other professionals such as veterinarian, osteopath and other saddle fitters to improve the quality of my work.
Why saddle fitting?
Coming to Iceland and learning that saddle-fitting was not considered important here was a huge shock for me. I did not want to ride my own horses with unfitting saddles, so I decided to look into importing a few quality saddles for myself. Turned out many other people were also interested to get help, and that was the beginning of Hestbak.
My goal is to spread knowledge about saddle fitting, so trainers and riders can help their horses stay healthy and perform on their best level. As it is now, I'm often called to fit saddles to horses who have already been in pain or discomfort for a long time, and have developed problems in their body. My goal is that people would start to recognize the signs of ill-fitting saddle much earlier, so they and their horses could enjoy working together.
Many questions regarding saddle-fitting don't have simple answers. The market offers people a lot of options and fancy marketing lines but not much reliable information. I think it is important to offer assistance to people who struggle with these kinds of problems.
