Elephant In The Room. An Update

 In the three years since I wrote a piece in my blog spot on overweight riders many things have changed. Social licence to ride our horses has become a really big thing, many believing that it is unacceptable to ride at all. Welfare, which should always have been at the forefront in all that we do has become more spoken about, but I might venture that in many cases, it’s not so much in evidence.

Before I go further can I put on record that yes, I’m reasonably slim, that yes, I have been  overweight and yes, it’s really hard trying to shift the weight. I am not without sympathy or understanding for those with these problems.

So, in this post I speak of riders with horses that are too small or light boned for them. All too often we are asked to fit a thoroughbred, or similar type of sport horse with a saddle to “go eventing/ show jumping/showing (hunter type classes, for my American friends)”. The rider may or not admit to their correct weight, and yes, I am aware that there are many factors that can cause problems, but often it is in excess of 110kg – 242lbs.  The horse, at 500kg and using the 20% scale can carry, say 100kg –INCLUDING saddle, bridle, stirrups, girth, saddle cloth, your boots, hat and clothing. I suggest that everyone spends a bit of time to weigh this lot – it will be far more than you expect. Add to this that the 20% guidance is for the horse at its optimal weight, and so, with an overweight horse many kilos will be deducted.

Have we have got to a stage, bearing in mind the social licence and welfare considerations, where saddles should not be fitted to these horses as this will facilitate the rider being able to work them? I have walked away from a decent saddle sale because the rider was, in my opinion some 35kg too heavy for the horse . That’s 5 ½ stone or 77lbs!  Believe me, that was a difficult thing to do. I would have liked to make a nice sale and see the horse in a well-fitting saddle. I also have no doubt at all that the client was upset and hurt. How on earth can you say this without upsetting them? In this case it was the right thing to do, and it really is what all equestrian professionals should be doing. However, it is still ‘the elephant in the room’, meaning that we all know that it’s there, and a problem, but no one is prepared to address it.

Unfortunately, many who do try to compete when too heavy for their horse might be in for a shock this year. Certainly, in the UK and if not in place yet, soon to follow in other equestrian nations where this is a problem, people are being turned away from the competition. Many show classes have scales at the gate and have a maximum weight for each class. If you exceed it, you will be asked to leave. In dressage and, I believe eventingc the judges have a right to eliminate a rider if they consider their weight excessive for that horse. Surely other disciplines are the same or will follow. Endurance? Showjumping?

Whilst honestly full of sympathy for those who struggle with their weight, we just can’t allow this abuse of our animals to continue.

Let me leave you with this thought...

If you walked into a barn and saw someone beating a horse and, as you got level with them the whip broke, then the person asked you to give them another nearby whip so that they could continue as ‘he needs this to keep him in line’, would you give them the second whip? I suspect not. However, by ignoring or ‘not seeing’ the under horsed rider and walking on by, how much pain and injury will that horse suffer? Sadly, a great deal. It could well be broken beyond fixing. Why is this thought by some to be acceptable?

I’ll re-publish my original blog post about overweight riders when I have finished some planned edits to it and include a reminder of the formula I first shared in 2022 that can reliably help work out how much weight a horse can safely carry. In the interests of horse welfare and the growing awareness of the importance of our social licence, this is a subject for which all of us need to take responsibility.

Like many riders and trainers, you've probably thought at some point that understanding more about saddles and saddle fitting would have the potential to help you improve your horse's comfort, performance and also long-term soundness - and not only are you right, you can now do that online, whenever and wherever fits into your busy lifestyle.

With online learning and training now much  more familiar to us all, Kay's highly acclaimed and informative 2-part video series continues to sell around the world since its launch in 2019. Aptly titled Saddle Fitting Know How - For Riders and Trainers, the two videos distil her 50 years of experience into over an hour of what is an unrivalled go-to resource for all Riders and Trainers interested in saddles and saddle fitting. They contain a wealth of information that will be of practical relevance to everyone serious about improving their riding, competing with more success or at a higher level and for those whose career is focused on training riders to develop their horses correctly.
Watch a brief trailer and buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/saddlefittingknowhow

If you are working as a saddle fitter or in training for a career in saddle fitting, Kay's 8-part video series titled Fitting Saddles: The Essential Guide will support your learning and help you develop a more in-depth knowledge of the subject and include invaluable insights into running a successful business as an SMS qualified saddle fitter.

Watch a trailer and invest in one or more of the series that together form a definitive resource to enhance your understanding of saddles and saddle fitting.
Buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fittingsaddles

 

 

Busting Myths 17 - My weight isn't any business of the saddle fitter

There are many myths that have been going around with regards to saddlery and the use thereof. In this series of posts, I endeavour to show most of them are without foundations and can, in some cases, be the opposite of the actual facts.

Pictured right is author Kay Hastilow, Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter.

The Elephant In The Room...

This is a very sensitive topic and one that I have been avoiding as it’s easy to give offence, but it is so important to our horse’s welfare that it must be addressed. I am talking, of course, about rider weight and its influence on the horse’s wellbeing, ability to perform the tasks we ask of him and yes – saddle fitting.

Many horse owners work so hard to keep their horses, often rising at silly o’clock to go and see to the needs of their beloved neddy, work long hours to earn enough to keep him then do the morning run in reverse, possibly managing to get a bit of time to ride somewhere in that schedule. Husbands and occasionally children tend to come second, their needs often being shaped around those of the horse. I applaud you all for your dedication and sheer work ethic – certainly you don’t very often see such horses in anything other than superb condition and they rarely want for anything.

Somewhere in this maelstrom of horse/ work/ horse/ family will be several cups of coffee, usually cappuccino or latte and probably sandwiches, filled rolls, pastries, burgers with fries, crisps and the like. Rarely does such a person eat a sensible breakfast, lunch or dinner; in fact sitting down to a meal tends to be a bit of a luxury. It’s more grazing and having a car full of nibbles to keep you going. Then of course there are the shows and events – more burgers and chips. Not often a ‘healthy option’ and honestly, who wants a salad after all of the exertions of competing? A note here. I am speaking about myself as much as anyone else as I certainly had a stash of comfort food in the truck and was often thrilled to see a McDonalds on the horizon, so this certainly isn’t preaching on my part. Just telling it as it is.

Almost without exception my larger clients have been the loveliest people. Kind, generous and fantastic horse people. Many of them have had a terrific eye for a horse and bought the most beautiful animals who live the life of Riley – except that the riders are too heavy to ride them without unwanted side effects. We see this particularly with the saddle fitting, when the initial fit is, let’s say a standard wide fit saddle on a flattish tree. Three months down the line there is a dip starting to appear under the centre of the saddle and they have gone down to a M/W or M fitting. After a year this is a considerable dip to which the flatter treed saddle no longer conforms. A new, dippier treed saddle is needed and this time it’s essential for it to have dropped, thoroughbred panels and longer tree points, as the muscles behind the shoulders are beginning to atrophy. After a couple of years, say, the horse’s top line has totally gone. No muscle and a very dipped back, and possibly or probably having issues with soundness and loss of performance. Owner upset. Saddle fitter upset as we hate to see this type of thing, and I doubt if the horse is very happy about it either. Now let me be clear, we are talking GOOD riders here. Well balanced and secure – as one said to me when I complimented her on her riding and balance “if I didn’t have good balance I would be on the deck all the time as I’m so top heavy!” These are good horsemen who work their horses on the lunge and long reins with schooling aids to try to build top line. Feed them well, massage and groom, visits from the physio, in fact they do everything to try and improve their horses except for the one thing that will really help – lose weight!

Those that know me will tell you that tact and diplomacy are not my strong suits (you noticed!) and yet I do try to carefully have that conversation. You know the type of thing. “Perhaps you are a little heavier than is ideal for him? Perhaps we need a larger saddle. Have you considered a weight reduction programme?” See, that’s not a very tactful way to go about it I know, but no one yet has given me a suitable approach to this topic. If I ask “Well, what would you say?” the critics run for the hills, not wanting to touch this subject with a barge pole. It is just forbidden to mention it. And yet? If these people see a horse being abused by someone they will be on social media in a twinkling, roundly condemning such abuse – recently a respected trainer was vilified for sitting on a dead horse. Wrong? An error of judgment? Yes, but for sure the horse didn’t suffer by this action. None the less we know that asking the horse to carry an overweight rider is causing him harm and discomfort and will ultimately cause such damage to him that he could either need months of rehabilitation or worse, be totally broken. Why is this different? Physical abuse and excess rider weight both cause discomfort and distress to the horse, but nobody will say a word about weight for fear of being called judgemental – mentioning rider weight is just NOT ALLOWED!  However, if our heavier riders were to lose some weight a large number of our saddle fitting problems would disappear overnight. In truth, they aren’t really ‘saddle fitting’ problems at all, just excess rider weight problems.

You see how I am thinking here?

For riders that care however, how can we find the correct weight that our horse can carry? Is there a formula that you can use? Not easy, that one. There was talk that a horse could carry 15% of its total bodyweight but all that happened with this was that people  gave their horses more feed to increase their weight, often making the horse obese so that by using that formula they could carry the weight of that rider! The sums add up, but now we have an unhealthy horse having to carry their own excess weight as well as the heavy rider. Unintended consequences! It also doesn’t take into consideration the horse’s build, so a big boned cob can carry more than a fine thoroughbred although they might measure the same on a weight tape. We have tried to find a successful formula, but no one has managed it yet that I am aware of.

Dr Sue Dyson and her team did some preliminary research on this topic a couple of years ago. Three good riders, a lightweight, medium and heavyweight and they rode an assortment of horses over a couple of days. The research is there to look up if you wish so that you can see all of the protocols that were used. In every case I believe they had to stop the set programme that was supposed to be ridden when the heavy rider was on as the horses all showed negative reactions by Sue’s ethograms  – his comfort and well-being were being compromised and in research work you must NOT continue with experiments that do this. This was a  good rider with a short, ridden programme, so what is happening to our own horses if we are a bit, or perhaps more than a bit overweight?

This is not going to be a popular post as this topic is totally taboo, but someone has to start this conversation. Our horses want for nothing in care, feeding, matchy matchy wardrobes, more clothes than I have for certain but in so many cases the one thing that we could do to REALLY help our horses is ignored, not acknowledged, pushed to one side or denied, and that is to look at ourselves. I’m not going to suggest ways to lose weight, suggest that you do this or that form of exercise to slim and get a bit fitter. Lord knows, there’s more than enough information out there on this topic but I just ask you to take a quiet moment and look at yourself. Stand on the scales and decide for yourself if YOU are causing your horse discomfort or possibly injury.

Over to you!

Like many riders and trainers, you've probably thought at some point that understanding more about saddles and saddle fitting would have the potential to help you improve your horse's comfort, performance and also long-term soundness - and not only are you right, you can now do that online, whenever and wherever fits into your busy lifestyle.

With online learning and training now much  more familiar to us all, Kay's highly acclaimed and informative 2-part video series continues to sell around the world since its launch in 2019. Aptly titled Saddle Fitting Know How - For Riders and Trainers, the two videos distil her 50 years of experience into over an hour of what is an unrivalled go-to resource for all Riders and Trainers interested in saddles and saddle fitting. They contain a wealth of information that will be of practical relevance to everyone serious about improving their riding, competing with more success or at a higher level and for those whose career is focused on training riders to develop their horses correctly.
Watch a brief trailer and buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/saddlefittingknowhow

If you are working as a saddle fitter or in training for a career in saddle fitting, Kay's 8-part video series titled Fitting Saddles: The Essential Guide will support your learning and help you develop a more in-depth knowledge of the subject and include invaluable insights into running a successful business as an SMS qualified saddle fitter.

Watch a trailer and invest in one or more of the series that together form a definitive resource to enhance your understanding of saddles and saddle fitting.
Buy securely online for unlimited streaming or downloading to your device at
https://vimeo.com/ondemand/fittingsaddles