Equestrian Online NZ

01/11/2025

The incredibly dedicated Sophie and some of her beautiful team 🦄
I love working with Sophie, her approach horses is so inspiring results really speak for themselves 💪

03/09/2025

Listen up 🫵
Your saddles panels should NEVER feel like they are going to POP 💥

Another day on the work bench, another flocking disaster 🙈 this time beautiful quality wool, in a well made saddle, but there was about twice as much as necessary 🫣 The panels were more likened to a sausage to fit a wooden plank, than the sympathetic mouldable panels that should support you and your horse. We want our beautiful horses to work into the saddle, and when the saddle is part brick 🧱, I’m sure you can all guess where that ends up.

So, if you’ve had your saddle fully reflocked, rebalanced up or are looking at a used saddle and it feels like you could use it as a tennis court, there’s a bit of work to do = money to spend to solve the problem 💸

28/07/2025

One of these things is not like the other 😳
Reason number 567384, why you should have a used saddle checked by your fitter before you spend your 💸 on your 🦄

This s**t show came out of a beautiful saddle, that retails for around $5600 new, so to say I was surprised what a “fitter” had put in as “flocking” to balance the saddle, likely from new, surprised me a bit, although I’m a bit desensitised these days 🙈

I’m so lucky to work with the most awesome group of professional fitters, and I know that they will be happy to check your saddle before you commit to buying it.

19/06/2025

NSC’s innovation isn’t just about beautiful saddles 💕 they have just launched their new Trade In Program 👌 Never a better time to upgrade your current NSC 🎉

🎉 Our New Trade-In Programme is Here! Unwrap Your New Saddle! 🎉

Looking to upgrade your saddle? It’s now easier than ever with our new Trade-In Programme!

✔️ Trade in your current NSC saddle and put its value toward a new one*
✔️ Guaranteed trade-in option when you’re ready to upgrade again*
✔️ Flexible options - sell privately, use an on-behalf service, or trade in, the choice is yours
✔️ Expert support to guide you through the whole process

We know investing in the right saddle is a big decision. That’s why we’re here to make the process smoother, more affordable, and with confidence that your saddle has lasting value.

📲 Talk to your local NSC Expert Saddle Fitter today and ask about NSC Trade-In options!

*Some exclusions will apply. Trade-Ins available on qualifying NSC saddles. Contact NSC or your local NSC Fitter for full details.

10/03/2025

https://www.equestrianonline.co.nz/products/equestrian-online-acavallo-flexia-s-stirrups-aca626-900000/?c=

07/03/2025

Possibly the coolest thing I have seen it a while 🙌
FOLDING sunglasses from the awesome team at Gidgee 🥂

I love Gidgees, have done for the longest time, and I do get excited by new stuff, but this might have got a bit more of reaction when I opened up the cutest case around to capture a glimpse of this sort of awesome!

Whats not to love!! We have nearly sold out of the first shipment, with more arriving this coming week 😎

So get yourself a pair of the coolest sunnies out! Oh, they, like all other Gidgees fit PERFECTLY under your helmet, cap or hat too 👌

https://www.equestrianonline.co.nz/products/equestrian-online-gidgee-canter/?c=4

06/03/2025

FRIDAY FACT 👇 From your slightly frazzled, enthusiastic, little bit crazy, but in a fun way, fitter. After nearly a decade full time in this game, I thought it was time to put it all on paper, well the paper Gen Z and AA or what ever we are calling them now use 😂

Saddle Balance ⚖️

The "I can't ride anymore" aka, "I never could", closely followed by "Imagine how great this horse would be if they had a great rider"! Yep, I've heard them all, probably uttered them under my breath myself when riding too, or worse 🙈

🫵 But news flash team, so often I find the answer to this self defeating statement sits firmly on your horses back🐴, thats right, the throne between which you sit upon your majestic creature 🦄, might just be the answer to your prayers.

Lets have a bit of a dive into SADDLE BALANCE! So your total legend of a fitter has found you the dream, a beautiful new or used saddle to ride off into the sunset with and at first, it had you feeling like that sunset was firmly placed on the horizon of the next Olympics 🥇 Then ...... all of a sudden, 😈 the "magic" wears off and we are back to, "I can't ride" "I never could" etc etc! Well I'm here to tell you, just as your saddle was not magic to begin with, your ability to "ride" and "not ride" does not disappear quite that quickly either! But, saddle balance changes, as you change fitness, coaches, nail technicians, the works! As your horse does, when he changes those things too.

Top line builds up, saddle pops up in front, you tip forward, knees fire on and all of a sudden it all feels like trying to rise on a trot three horses behind the one you are on! Saddle balance!

Horse coming back in from a well earned hibernation period over winter, cause you know, ick ☃️ and the saddle drops down, suddenly you feel like you are trying to ride old Bessy out of an early grave they are running so down hill .... guess what, saddle balance!

Legs feel like they are off the side of the world and getting any contact on the sides of your current nag leaves you crippled after a hot mess of a lesson, ahha! Saddle balance.

So before you hit the doom and gloom button, and give up on that Olympic Dream just yet, give your fitter a call, flick them a text, use ESP or what ever it is you need to get them in your life, but for the love of all things magical, don't let that inner critic get too much momentum on, because, if we looked at the signs, we would start to understand, that most of the time it is not that easy to be good enough at riding a 500kg animal one minute, and a dire mess the next.

A 6 monthly check is an awesome way to stop this epidemic from spreading, but I get it, admin is hard, there are a vast number of you who can attest to that being a huge issue for me!! So just listen to the inner critic for long enough to remember, Ursula said I can go to the Olympics 😉 So make that call.

Have the best weekend everyone! I'll (hopefully) be back next Friday with more Fitter Chat 🙌 🥂
p.s the pic, my daughter Abi and her super steed Dez! Fun little combo that both know where my buttons are 😂😂 lucky I love them both 🦄❤️

NSC The English Saddle Company

05/03/2025

Welcome to the newest technology in Acavallo Stirrups 🥂

Pure class with only your safety and comfort in mind. The all new Acavallo® Rel-x stirrups in aluminum with patented 180° branch opening and rotation system. Now even lighter and safer 🧚🏻‍♀️

Weighted perfectly, not too heavy nor too light, these stirrups look as beautiful as they are comfortable.

https://www.equestrianonline.co.nz/products/stc-acavallo-rel-x-180-safety-stirrups/?c=22

04/03/2025

✋I think I have found the ULTIMATE rug for the mad weather! I know, one less thing on the the list to worry about 🙌

Zilcos Woolguard, ticks all the boxes! Snug and warm, with the added benefit of wool lining to keep your horse feeling like Shrek the 🐏 when the weather turns from hot to cold faster than a kid with a handful of something they are not allowed to have 🏎️, but still cool enough to have one less stress in the work day!

So, rest easy at your day job, grab a Zilco Woolguard Combo, get it on your horse and kick back, I swear it's a feeling that is about as close as a horse gal can get to a holiday on beach somewhere, cause we all know that only happens in our imagination 🏖️

https://www.equestrianonline.co.nz/products/zilco-zilco-woolguard-combo/?c=88

13/01/2025

Riding at saddle fittings …… how important is it and what is your fitter looking for 👀
Just as we change our posture from standing to walking, walking to jogging, jogging to running etc. your horse does too 👍
Technically, we’d love to all see them engage their core (us too right 🫣🤣) and use their backs well. This for most horses will mean they do change in ridden work, some FAR more than others, sometimes it’s predictable, but sometimes it’s not!
Your fitter, who trust me, wants to do the absolute best job they can, will get a much better idea of balance for the rider when you’re in the saddle. Which leads me to, what your fitter is looking for 👌

We’re not here to judge you, I know lots of people get really nervous about riding in front of someone, we get it!! But we are all human and totally understand, for most of us, we haven’t just come off a Gold Medal winning performance at the Olympics, have day jobs and families and that this is a hobby! So we don’t expect that Olympic performance, just be yourself and by all means let us know if you need a minute to warm up, lunge, stash some treats or say a quick prayer 🤲 we love any opportunity we can to write notes 📝
Then just let us know when you’re ready, and follow our instructions. We’ll very likely ask for small exercises, which allow us to assess you and your horse together, looking at balance, straightness, position etc. you may need to get on and off a few times as we work through different options adjustments and more. Flocking or shims may be added, and we’ll get you riding again, again checking the above.

The list of complexities we work through are endless and sometimes getting a saddle to work between two moving parts can be more of a process than what even NASA would consider reasonable 🙈

So don’t be too nervous if you can help it, let us know if there’s something we can do to support you and enjoy a bit of time with your 🦄 as we try and figure out what at times looks like The Enigma Code 🤔