Why saddle fit is a priority for me
“I don’t know why people don’t think of gear right away, they would sooner blame the horse and get to training on them more when the horse is already doing the best they can with what they have”
I am not a saddle fitter but I have learned a great deal over the past 10 years in search of the best saddle fit for my horses in campdraft and western disciplines.
When I first started dabbling in campdraft and western disciplines it was so hard to find saddles to fit me and my horses and there was no help available.
There were plenty of saddle fitters for English gear but I was on my own for the Western stuff.
Most people just buy a saddle and ride every horse in it and don’t give much thought to it…
But that wasn’t good enough for me.
If people are all built differently and need different size clothes and shoes to work comfortably then it was quite obvious to me that horses needed that too?
I have my own personal pain with saddle fitting! It is something that I became really passionate about after years of trial and error, wasted money and LOTS and LOTS of tears.
I see so many horses with behavioral problems that would simply go away if someone were to take the time to see how their gear might be affecting them.
Saddle fit for horse and rider is a huge cause of soundness issues!
Saddles can be the cause of so many bad riding habits! Not only is it important to get the fit right for your horse so they can work comfortably and free of pain but it is equally as important to make sure the saddle is right for you and your body type.
Riding in a saddle that suits you will do wonders for your CONFIDENCE!
My mother and I breed quarter horses and and they are exceptionally beautiful, I see how well developed they are when they are young and unstarted and the old broodmares in the pasture that have amazing toplines and incredible necks, versus the horses that we were riding.
I made a decision to find a solution because my horses were too precious to trash their bodies with ignorance and ill fitting gear. I love them dearly and want them to enjoy being ridden not cause them discomfort or pain.
Saddle fit is a massive topic that gets way overcomplicated!
You do not need to be a professional or a saddle fitter to find better solutions for your horse, in fact I believe we as owners and riders have an advantage because we have the horse to give us feedback (provided we listen).
I am not claiming to be an expert, I have simply made mistakes and learned to fix them and I wish to share with you what has worked for me. I continue to learn and when I know more and a better way I will continue to share that with you too.
No amount of protein will build a muscle if the muscle is unable to work correctly.
The horses topline is muscle and we have to build it by correct exercises and riding. If a saddle is not fitting correctly it will interfere with the movement of the muscle and there for the muscle will atrophy.
Have you ever noticed the sunken parts each side of your horses wither? This is just one example of man many things that can be the result of ill fitting saddle.
Just because a saddle looks good when you saddle up doesn’t mean it will stay that way once we mount.
There are so many things to take into consideration that is impossible to explain properly through a blog post which is why I am so passionate about sharing this information through my workshops where you can get a visual.
Horses can also get nerve impingements from ill fitting saddles or previous training which can cause immense pain from, seemingly, out of nowhere. This can appear as a horse that suddenly spooks or starts bucking for no apparent reason.
Restricted shoulders can cause a horse to not want to move out or to hump into transitions, horses reluctant to go forward.
Back pain is a common issue and yet it’s not something we think to look into properly.
Can you imagine being expected to wear a pair of shoes that give you blisters or forced to wear something that gave you painful or numbing nerve sensations and be expected to do thing that were physically impossible under these conditions? Imagine having no way of telling anyone about how you feel or what you’re experiencing? Imagine being labeled as bad or mean because you try to run away from the pain or you use your strength to try relieve yourself of the thing causing you pain?
Just because a horse can’t verbalize what they feel doesn’t meant they don’t feel it!
Below are some signs of saddle issues
rushing
bucking
pigrooting
humping into transitions
drifting in circles
not wanting to go forward
not moving out
lack of purity of gait
biting
flinching
girthy
not wanting to be caught
not standing to be saddled
tricky to bridle
in some cases where the horse is pushed to go forward they will rear due to restriction and pain
not happy in work
ears back
tense
tail swishing
That is just to name a few! How else are they meant to let us know that something isn’t right?
Sometime damage caused by ill fitting gear in the past can have lasting physical or psychological effects, meaning that even when the problem is fixed the horse will still have the same undesired responses.
It takes time to figure this stuff out but it gets easier when you don’t give yourself and easy way out by blaming the horse. When you take that option away and you keep trying eventually you will figure it out and your horse will be so grateful!
I have made so many saddle fit mistakes in the past but now that I know better I am committed to listening and making sure my horses are comfortable at all times! This has made our relationships so much stronger since they know I understand them and have their best interests at heart.
I hope this encourages you to look into things a bit more and take your horses reactions as a sign of communication.
