The Tack Fits - or Does It?

It has given me great pleasure to see that now, in the UK, the majority of caring horse owners get their saddle professionally fitted.  Many are also good at having the fit checked on a regular basis, but often the thought stops there. Some will also look at their girth, look at current research and make wise choices. However many, perhaps too many will think that they don't really need to consider this, nor the bridle, nor the bit or any other piece of the equipment that we use on our horses. Let’s take a look at other factors that contribute to your horse’s comfort.

Bridles have changed out of all recognition, some of the designs carefully researched, with a lot of research & development (R&D) having taken place. Some less so, and some positively awful. Old style bridles really don't fit modern horses unless they have been made to measure.  Arab horses, warmbloods and thoroughbreds have been used to develop the horses that we ride now and of course, the shape of their heads have changed with these different breed influences. If you are buying an ‘off the peg’ standard bridle, you may well find that the headpiece is too short over the head and in the throat, cheek pieces will be too long, browbands will be up to 2” (5cm) too short, nosebands too small around the face but too long in the head parts. These are the sizes used 50 or 100 years ago, which some of the manufacturers, who rarely if ever look at a horse, have continued to make, believing that they will be a good fit.

The thing is to look for research, good, repeatable and repeated research, not just a snapshot of some of the research undertaken, as it’s possible to make this show what ever you want. You need to ask what protocols were followed to assess the value of the claims made for products.

I saw a horse recently that wouldn’t turn left, was throwing saddle and rider left and was being very naughty. It had a modern continental bridle on that was strapped up as tight as the owner could do it as he had little control of the horse when jumping. A good rider by the way, and a good horse. In hand the horse moved straight and there were no obvious signs of lameness or gait asymmetry (a vet was in attendance). I changed the bridle to a conventional bridle with a high ring grackle noseband. Certainly not a perfect fit but much better than the modern bridle and within 20 metres the horse had relaxed and stopped fighting his rider. Within 15 minutes he was as soft as you could wish. The saddle still moved a little left, but nowhere near as badly. I found a way to keep it straight by altering the way the girth straps were used whilst the vet investigates to see if she can find any underlying problems. Meanwhile, he is doing really well in his high-grade jumping classes and is a much happier horse.

Nosebands!! PLEASE stop using flash nosebands. If you look at current research with regard to the TMJ (tempero-mandibular joint) and the nerves in the face, you will see that flash nosebands inflict high pressures in all of the wrong places. Research by Fairfax Saddles showed that the best nosebands to use were a drop (yes, that surprised me as well), the high ring grackle or a cavesson, in that order. Good, solid research. It’s worth listening to.

Girths come in many shapes and sizes. One even has elastic bands (vacuum cleaner type) within its construction! There are some excellent options available with solid research to back up their design, but some are apparent copies of these girths, with their purchasers failing to appreciate that although they are similar in shape, key components of the successfully tested design have been missed out. You haven’t bought ‘a copy’ of this or that girth. You have bought an inferior product in many ways.

Many of you will know that I detest the use of elastic in girths. One thing that we know about horses is that they like the saddle to be stable as they find it easier to maintain their own and your balance with a stable platform between the two participants. It is therefore unhelpful to add elastic to a girth, especially at one end only. The latter will just encourage the saddle to move away from the elasticated side, so making the saddle unstable. Both sides with elastic risk destabilizing the saddle completely, unless of course you have tightened the girth up so much that the elastic is at maximum stretch. In that case, the girth will have been over-tightened anyway, so what is the point of the elastic? If you watch a horse breathing after exercise you will note that almost all of the rib expansion, such as it is, takes place further back from the girth and that expansion in the girth area is miniscule. You really aren’t helping the horse with this in any way. Most of all, with girths think of any unintended consequences that could come about because of the girth that you use.

Girth sleeves. Great for keeping the girth clean but in many cases,  these are made from synthetic fleece which can heat up and cause a rash on the skin. If made of real sheepskin they can make the horse sweat more than usual in this area and these can be harder to keep clean.The synthetic fleece sleeves  also tend to twist around making pressure points. I have found a stretchy towelling sleeve the best of those that I have tried over the years.

 

Whilst you are here, do watch the short trailer below for my two-part video series specifically for  Riders and Trainer 

 

Kay Hastilow’s Saddle Fitting Know How For Riders and Trainers is a two part video series, giving a fascinating, practical insight into saddles, correct fit and common problems.

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