About
Tara Graham
The Equine Bit Fitter
The Equine Bit Fitter
Originally from the UK, Tara has been captivated by horses for as long as she can remember. She grew up working part-time groom jobs in exchange for lessons, and later took working student positions with jumper barns to spend as much time around horses as she possibly could.
At twenty-six, she found her heart horse — a six-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred mare she retrained for dressage. Despite having no dressage breeding, the mare held her own, training under Tara's stewardship at FEI dressage facilities in the UK. In 2015, Tara emigrated to Austin, Texas, importing her mare six months later. In 2021 she made the move to the west coast, continuing her education and research of equine anatomy. In 2022 she launched her fitting business.
Tara trained in bit and bridle fitting in Canada. While living in Austin, she attended the Vluggen Institute of Equine Osteopathy. After moving to Washington State in late 2021, she attended The Equine Natural Movement School to study equine structural integration, completing the course with the 300 practice hours required by the state-approved bodywork school. She also spent time in Colorado studying equine cranio-sacral therapy — learning the cranial nerves and structures of the horse, and developing a truly independent, anatomy-based approach to bit and bridle fitting.
Independent of brand training or alliances, Tara believes fitters need to know anatomy and take it back to the horse in order to address comfort in this often overlooked and confusing area of tack. Her method draws on her training to assess not only the horse's mouth, bit, and bridle, but tension in the cranial structures, neck, and sternum — all factors that affect the quality of contact as riders. In 2022 she launched her anatomy-based fitting clinic, "Bits, Bridles and Biomechanics," which opens with a presentation featuring "Hank the horse skull."
Tara Graham combines her training in 4 modalities to bring a unique, comprehensive approach to bit and bridle fitting. All of these modalities contribute to her approach — and her knowledge of equine anatomy is unsurpassed by others in this field of expertise.
Certified in bit and bridle fitting, the foundation of her hands-on approach.
Trained in equine bodywork, reading how tension and compensation show up through the whole horse.
Trained in equine osteopathy, understanding structural and postural patterns that affect a horse's way of going.
Focused on the cranial nerves of the horse's head and how tension there affects contact.
Tara has presented educational material on bit and bridle fitting for RideIQ, Horse Council BC, The Morgan Dressage Association, and Amelia Newcomb Dressage. She's presented her lecture "Bits, Bridles and Biomechanics" at the Area VII USEA annual conference, lectured at Kansas State University, horse expos, trainer symposiums and pony club camps — and was interviewed by Debbie Roberts Loucks (daughter of Monty Roberts) on the podcast Horsemanship Radio.
Combining bit fitting, equine bodywork, equine osteopathy, and cranio-sacral work, Tara's approach considers the whole horse — beginning with a hands-on examination of what their mouth can comfortably accommodate, not a chart or a guess.
An anatomy enthusiast and researcher, Tara remains a realistic horsewoman who understands the realities of training horses. She is a multi-disciplinary fitter who understands the needs of both dressage horses and jumpers — approachable and down to earth with an excellent sense of humor, she encourages questions and discussion during her clinics. Ultimately she remains a student of the horse, known for her "feel"; a remarkable ability to read a horse she's just met and find the right bit for horse and rider.
Many of Tara's clinics are organized by trainers. She has fitted for many of the West Coast's most respected barns and trainers, and works regularly with eventing trainers across the region.