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.
Kay says; "Knowing when you need to book your saddle fitter is an important aspect of managing all ridden equines. Having spent more than 50 years working with saddles and fitting them to horses and ponies, I have retired from actively fitting saddles and I am now focused on sharing what I’ve learnt to help develop knowledge and understanding of what goes into achieving a correct saddle fit. I feel that video enables me to do that much more effectively than would be possible in a book, I enjoyed the project immensely and am delighted with early feedback from those who have already bought these two videos which are specifically to help Riders and their Trainers understand a little more about saddle fitting and why it is so important for every ridden horse and pony.”
Find out more and get access to these unrivalled and informative videos at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/saddlefittingknowhow
Increasing your own knowledge will help you work more closely with your saddle fitter and your horse will benefit ...
Kay says; "Knowing when you need to book your saddle fitter is an important aspect of managing all ridden equines. Having spent more than 50 years working with saddles and fitting them to horses and ponies, I have retired from actively fitting saddles and I am now focused on sharing what I’ve learnt to help develop knowledge and understanding of what goes into achieving a correct saddle fit. I feel that video enables me to do that much more effectively than would be possible in a book, I enjoyed the project immensely and am delighted with early feedback from those who have already bought these two videos which are specifically to help Riders and their Trainers understand a little more about saddle fitting and why it is so important for every ridden horse and pony.”
Saddle Fitting Know How - For Riders and Trainers is
available as two videos for unlimited download or streaming from Kay’s own
Vimeo On Demand page for a one-off charge of just £35 per video – less than the
cost of a good quality saddlecloth or a lesson from a trainer!
The first video looks at Conformation and Movement of the
Horse, Types of Tree and their Influence, Different Panels and the Position of
Girth Straps.
The second video explains How to Assess a Saddle for
Soundness, Straightness and Safety, Recognising a Good Fit, the Balance of a
Saddle, When Saddles Move and finally, Rider Influences.
These two new videos contain a huge amount of
information and together they provide over an hour of expert Saddle Fitting
Know How. Certain to become a ‘go-to’ resource, one that you’ll view again and
again, Saddle Fitting Know How – For Riders and Trainers uses clever graphics
alongside clear explanations and insight into many different aspects of
achieving and maintaining a correctly fitting saddle.
