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Saddle Fitting
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I would like to extend my gratitude to a
great veterinarian and teacher, Dr. Kerry
Ridgway, DVM. He is a very talented teacher at
Equinology. In his private practice in
Aiken, SC, he combines acupuncture and
chiropractic modalities to the physical therapy
for healing horses. He is very dedicated
to helping riders find the best saddle fit and
help relieve pain in their horses. Dr.
Ridgway has also published a DVD titled
Saddle Fitting From A to Z. It
is available on his website at
www.ultimatesaddlesolutions.com |
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Where there is pressure, there is pain. |
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Paula, Miriah and
Pantz
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Let me start by talking about pressure points.
I find that many horses I
work on have pain related to saddles. If
you have ever seen white hairs on the withers or
anywhere under the saddle area, that is evidence
of injury from an improperly fitting saddle (or
perhaps even a blanket). This area with
the white hairs does not even have to have been
rubbed raw for the damage to occur. Since
the saddle can really cause pain if it does not
properly fit, it is very important for us to
provide them with the best fit that we can.
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Imagine trying to carry a
backpack load full of camping gear, climb and
exert yourself, and move balanced under the
load. It’s hard work. Now imagine if the hard
frame of that backpack has a point which is
causing you pain! You will move
differently, try to avoid the pressure point,
and certainly you will look at it with a stink
eye when you have to put it back on after lunch.
At least I would. I don’t like pain, and I
don’t tolerate it very well. |
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Where there is pressure, this means that the
blood supply to the muscle is shut off.
It does not take much pressure to do this.
0.75
PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure over an
area where blood is supplied to the muscle
(Arterial side of blood flow) is enough pressure
to shut off the flow of blood to the muscle.
Over an area where blood is returned from the
muscle (Veneous side of blood flow), pressure
above 0.4 PSI shuts off blood supply.
Low pressure over a sustained time of 20 minutes
or more is enough time to produce deep tissue
damage. Posting allows the horse to tolerate
more pressure from the saddle by interrupting
the sustained pressure which is the most
damaging. If the rider is posting, this acts as
a pump, both moving toxins from the area and
allowing air to get under the saddle. |
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"After that last session, Washashe went
down the trail straight as an arrow. She had never been
straight before that.”
Kacy
Heinrich, Oregon City, OR
Miriah and
Washashe stretching her neck |
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An
ill-fitting saddle can cause or contribute to
lameness of the horse. |
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- If
the saddle causes pain the horse will change
its way of moving to protect itself from the
pain.
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This means that if the saddle digs into the
horse on the right lumbar (back) area, this
horse will move differently in the corners
going one direction than going the other.
- If
the saddle hurts the horse at the shoulder
or withers, this horse may not want to go
over a jump, slide to a stop, or walk down a
steep trail.
- It
may take a shorter stride rather than have
that shoulder be hurt under the ill-fitting
saddle.
- If
the saddle hurts the horse’s back and he
compensates his movements, soon he may
develop lameness elsewhere from
compensating.
- The
hocks may be involved if the pain is in the
back (where saddles sit).
- In
order to escape the pain caused from the
saddle, this horse may not bring its back
leg fully under itself when moving forward .
- If
the saddle pinches so hard that it damages
muscle or skin tissue, there can be
inflammation to the area and this too, could
cause the horse to be lame.
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An
ill-fitting saddle can cause several behavioral
problems.
Pain
causes fear and fear causes avoidance reactions. |
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- The
horse would likely be cranky to saddle and
cinch.
- The
horse may show that it is upset by pinning
its ears, swinging its head at the rider, or
raising a threatening kick at the thought of
the upcoming pain.
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When mounted the horse may reach back to
bite the rider, jump or buck, or act very
disobediently.
- He
may be cranky at all gaits, and unhappy or
“cold-backed” until warmed up sufficiently.
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This horse could even start by being unhappy
at getting haltered in the stall, knowing
that what comes next – being saddled and
ridden – is painful.
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 Rocker
or Arc are terms used to describe the shape
of the saddle’s curve from front (pommel) to
back (cantle). If this curve does not
match your horse there are pressure points
created that will cause injury to the back. If
the rocker angle is steeper than your horse, the
pressure will be greater in the center of the
horse’s back when you are riding. If the
curve is shallower than your horse’s back, there
will be pressure points where the saddle
contacts your horse at the cantle and at the
pommel in the shoulder area. In between
will be a bridging problem, where the
saddle will ride above the horse and not provide
contact. Both of these situations are very
painful for the horse.
To test this on your horse place the saddle on
the bare back (no pads). If you press on
the back of the saddle and the front comes up,
or you press down on the front of the saddle and
the back comes up, this saddle has a steeper
rocker than your horse’s back. |
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Saddle fitting hands
on demonstration with "Pantz" |
Width
of the Tree
- If the saddle sits high at the pommel,
this could mean too narrow a tree, not allowing
the saddle to sit down properly on the horse.
A narrow tree is very painful when it digs into
the shoulder blade and working muscles of the
shoulder. You can feel this by sliding
your fingers under the front of the saddle where
it touches the horse’s shoulder. It should
not be digging in, but should have enough room
for the horse to move its shoulder with every
stride. Tightness here is a common
problem.
If the
saddle sits low at the pommel, this could mean
too wide a tree allowing the gunnel to sit down
on the withers. The horse needs to have
plenty of pommel and gullet clearance above the
withers (use 3 vertical fingers as a guide) in
order to allow room for the withers to move side
to side with every stride. |
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| Treeless Saddle
is the term given to a saddle with no tree or frame
inside. It is a very flexible, lightweight saddle
made with a very thick saddle pad type base, with the
pommel and cantle attached. I have ridden in one
and enjoyed it very much. I purchased it when I
was leasing a horse and hadn’t bought my horse yet.
A treeless saddle solved the problem of spending too
much money on a saddle that wouldn’t fit the horse I
purchased in the future, because I would have bought it
to fit the horse I was leasing.
The problem occurred several years and miles later when
the treeless saddle that I owned had “broken down” and
was causing pressure points in the middle of my horse’s
back where it bent and hurt her. She would buck
quite a bit on the trail and this went away when I
changed saddles. Treeless saddles are made of
different materials by different makers, and my
experience was limited to the one I owned. To test
yours, hold it by the front and back and see if there is
a noticeable and dramatic bend in the middle which may
be uncomfortable to your horse. If it bends like
this, make sure to pad your horse’s back well. |
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“Miriah - I so enjoyed
your demonstration last weekend - just wish I had
dressed a little more warmly! I'm anxious to check
saddle fit on my guy and incorporate some of the
stretches. Thank you so very much for the invitation
and the information.”
Shari Woodcock, Hillsboro, OR |
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The
stages involved in a saddle fitting include first
examining the horse’s back for pain and evidence of
pressure points. After the horse’s session of
bodywork, we then examine the saddle off the horse.
Here we are looking for spots where the flocking is worn
down in the English saddle, areas where the fleece has
worn off or bunched up in the Western saddle, feeling
for points that would hurt, and checking for broken tree
or uneven wear of the panels. |
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Next we evaluate the saddle on the horse. This
pictures shows that there is adequate room for
the shoulder to move, the tree is not too tight
for this horse. There is also adequate
clearance above the withers and this saddle will
not drop down and damage her withers. |
This picture shows how the
cantle lays on Honey’s back and also shows
adequate gullet clearance above her spine. |
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This
picture is of the sheet liner used to test the
saddle fit while riding. The blue color is
from construction chalk that was applied to the
horse before riding. Then the horse was
saddled as normal, including the pad.
After a warm up and 20 minute session of
trotting work, she was unsaddled and this liner
was used to look for pressure points. I
did purchase this saddle for her, and had it
reflocked by a master saddle maker in Bend
Oregon.
Your
local saddle shop will hopefully have the names
of saddle repair professionals and reflockers.
I highly
recommend taking your horse to the saddle shop
for assistance with fitting. My experience
is that saddle sellers want the best fit for you
and your horse and they are very pleased to help
with the process. |
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Amy and Tehyo |
“Oh my
goodness. His neck looks looser.
I can’t get over how
he’s moving his neck.
He is totally free in the
atlas.”
Amy Spencer,
trainer, Canby, OR |
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