Contributed by Georgie Welge, Saddle Fitter
Finding a saddle that fits can be stressful – but why?
The title of this blog may lead you to believe that its subject matter is about what to look out for when checking your saddle fit, but it’s not. The aim of this blog is to have owners, riders, trainers, grooms and anyone responsible for the care of a horse to understand that the saddle can only fit well if all the contributing aspects of the horse’s life “fit well”. Confused? Yes, maybe!?
Finding a saddle that fits can be one of the most stressful things for riders. Saddle fitters are often vilified and blamed for any problems that arise. It is true that some saddle fitters are better than others – the same goes for any other equine professional. However, too often, poor performance is seen as the saddle fitter’s fault.
The reason saddle fit is so challenging is that we have a fixed inanimate object that has to act as an interface between the horse and rider – two living, dynamic structures. The saddle has to absorb shock, disperse weight and support the horse and rider in every possible situation. If we were talking about aviation or any other form of engineering, this would be a big challenge. When a single item is responsible for so many actions, it is monitored and checked constantly with sensors and a dedicated team to maintain it.
We as riders seem to see saddles as simple tools, rather than a very specific, highly important and delicate interface that makes riding work.
The saddle can only fit as well as the musculature on which it sits. It can only fit the horse properly, if their biomechanics are sound. The saddle can operate in the way it was designed when there are no blockages in the horse’s chain of muscles and in the way they use their body.
After being a saddle fitter for many years now, I can tell you honestly, that I have never come across a single horse in my entire career that has been truly straight, with no signs of compensation patterns or asymmetry. Asymmetry is, after all, part of nature. From the day they are born (or perhaps even sooner), horses have a dominant forelimb and a preferred canter lead. Usually, this is the left lead.
Saddle Fit is Complex
As youngsters, horses play and gallop, fall over and carry out all sorts of acrobatics, which will cause them to develop compensation patterns. We then decide to throw a saddle on them and expect them to develop muscles evenly and beautifully in a rather short time span. While it is true that horses can develop muscle quite quickly, the fascial chains running through the body take much more time to adapt. Once compensation patterns have been established, the fascial lines take time to correct and regain their elasticity to restore normal movement. This is only half the problem!
Then there is the rider. The saddle has to support the rider, without restricting them, enabling them to find good balance and provide them with security while maintaining fluidity. Once again, we see that a single item has a huge responsibility. When we think about the myriad of riders that the saddle is supposed to carry, we can easily see just how many expectations are placed on the saddle. Generally, the more experienced the rider, the more damage has probably occurred to their body over the years. Afterall, we know that horse riding is not without its risk. Accidents, trauma and repetitive strain cause compensations in the rider’s body in much the same way as in the horse’s.
Saddle fit is a highly complex subject which I feel never gets the respect it deserves. The saddle fitter is an important part of the team responsible for your horse’s care and he/she has a very difficult task! We need to acknowledge that the saddle has a huge role to play. Going back to if this were a highly important piece of kit in engineering, it would be checked constantly and with an entire team of people.
