Welcome to the conscientious horse owners who follow my
posts. By now you appreciate the importance of having your saddle correctly
fitted and regularly checked, the changes in a horse's performance in different
girths, that fitting the bit and choosing one suitable for the anatomy of your
horses mouth and also how bridle fits can be hugely influential in your horses
way of going. I am delighted that more and more people are taking note and
action to give their horse maximum comfort and therefore enhanced
performance.
All of this is excellent, but sometimes, by only looking at the bigger picture, it's
the little things that get missed. Let’s start with putting the bridle on. I am
always careful to ensure that all of the mane and forelock are pulled through
evenly so that no hairs are caught up that might pull and cause
discomfort. Personally, I like to clip a
bridle path in the mane to make this easier to achieve but I know that some
don't like this, whilst others can’t because of showing requirements such as in
M & M classes. In such cases extra care must be taken over this. Also, as
it becomes less acceptable to trim a horse's whiskers, please make sure that
any straps from nose bands around the muzzle are not catching or pulling any of
the whiskers. If this area and the
whiskers are considered so sensitive that it is sometimes considered cruelty to
remove them, surely it is doubly important to check this!
Whilst we are on the subject of bridles, please double check
that the browband is big enough. So
often they are not, and this just pulls the headpiece into the bulbs of the
ears. Also, some of the modern, fashionable bridles seem to have a very strange
shape in the headpiece, the cut away is
above the ears and the leather then comes forward directly into the back of the
ear! ?? Anyone worked out why? Me neither, but do have a very good look at your
latest purchase, to check that the shaping actually follows the shape of your
horse’s head. Look at symmetry as well; all buckles to sit as level as possible
and ideally you want twin fastening on nosebands to ensure even, symmetrical
fastening.
Despite my advising that elastic-ended girths really aren't
very good for your horse I know that many people still use them. Some of these
girths have a pad behind the elastic, which can get wrinkled up when the girth
is tightened. Often, in the initial
fastening this is smoothed out, but so often the rider will then get on and
tighten the girth. No smoothing out now.
Just a block of pressure under the girth in an area where the skin is quite
thin and there is little covering to the ribs. There is also a lot of movement
here. Ouch!
Whilst talking of girths, for many years it was thought to
be good practice to pull your horse's front legs right forward ‘to remove any
wrinkles in the skin under the girth.’ We now know that this just pulls flesh
in front of the girth, blocking it there. This actually causes girth galls in
many cases rather than preventing them. The first few steps once you are on
board will remove any creases in the skin but, if you want to be sure, just
lead the horse for a minute or so before mounting.
Please try to girth up as evenly as possible, no more than
one hole different side to side. We are becoming more and more aware of the
effect of symmetry on the horse's way of going. Of course, girths with elastic
one end can never give a symmetrical hold. I rest my case.
Back to girthing up the saddle. The saddle cloth or numnah will
have been lifted into the gullet of the saddle and the cloth beneath the girth
smoothed out (I hope), but again, once the rider is on and tightens the girth
the cloth can ruck up causing an area of excessive pressure. I am assuming that
our C.R. (conscientious rider) has already made sure that any decorative piping
does not run beneath the girth and that there is a gap in such piping to allow
for this. I am also assuming that they have checked that the saddle doesn't sit
on such piping at the back, nor that it is under the saddle at the front by the
knee rolls. Also, it will have been checked that the cloth, pad or numnah is
big enough, so that at no point do the outer edges of the cloth come beneath
the bearing area of the saddle. If you
have sheepskin saddle pads, also check that they haven't shrunk a bit so that
the sheepskin roll at the back of the pad is actually under the bearing area of
the saddle. Pressure points again.
Mounting. Has everyone seen the film on YouTube of someone
mounting their rather tall horse from the ground, with a mounting block and
with a leg up? Well worth a look as it shows the pressures exerted by each
method, and some of the readings are pretty horrific. Please
train your horses to stand by a block to let you mount. Whilst the pressures
are still high, they are for a much shorter duration. The young and athletic amongst us can just
step onto the horse from the block without putting a foot in the stirrup. This gave by far the best reading but few of
us would be nimble or brave enough to do it this way.
So there you have it. Even if our C.R. has taken great pains
to ensure that all of their tack fits, lack of attention whilst tacking up and
mounting can still cause harm or discomfort to your horse. Please bear this in
mind.
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