Kay Hastilow Master Saddler

Friday, 14 January 2022

You Don't Have To Ride Your Horses To Enjoy Them!

Recently there has been much discussion around rider weight and along with my own post ‘The Elephant In The Room’, there have been several interesting replies, writes Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow, pictured left.

Many have recognised the problem and have taken steps to remedy this, which is a perfect example of the mantra ‘RECOGNITION, RESPONSIBILITY, ACTION, SATISFACTION’ and my congratulations to all of those that have acted on this and succeeded in shedding weight and getting fitter, to their own benefit as well as that of their horse.

Many though have said that they simply found it impossible to lose weight despite having tried just about every diet known to man. It certainly isn’t easy and as several have said, sometimes it just isn’t possible as health issues and conditions can mean it is unachievable. I have felt a great deal of sympathy for such people and have the greatest respect for those who have stopped riding, having recognised that this is a welfare issue for their horse. Heart-breaking, but you don’t have to ride your horses to enjoy them as there is much that we can do that will give pleasure to both horse and rider.

Let us think about horse ownership and what it entails. Yes, there is lots of boring stuff like poo picking, mucking out, turning out and bringing in but you can get great satisfaction and pleasure from grooming your horse. Most horses will enjoy it as well, so long as it isn’t rushed and you do the job well. It can really build a bond with your horse that is equally as strong as any that you could have built by riding him or her - and the horse will look fantastic.

I had one client who didn’t ride at all (I fitted saddles for him so that others could ride his horse occasionally so that she didn’t get out of the habit) but he and she would go for long walks together. Good and enjoyable exercise for both as they walked over hill and dale, through woodland and fields. A pause so that she could pick at some grass and admire the scenery. I don’t think that any of my clients have been happier than this pair.

There are many games that you can play with your horses, training them to be very responsive to your voice. So long as you have a safe, enclosed area (a small field if you don’t have an arena to use), you will find that horses just love playing with large balls, rather like yoga balls, and will play tag, learn to come and back away from you, move away or towards you, all to voice command. It really is amazing just how much horses recognise and respond to voice commands. The possibilities are huge.

Some will mention driving, but this will have a number of safety-related factors to be considered. I wouldn’t consider driving where I live because although this is a country lane, we have so many drivers going too fast, cutting blind corners with no thought that a horse and trap might be just around the bend. Likewise there are many tractors and a lot of farming machinery and whilst the drivers are great when I’m riding and we get out of each other’s way, this really wouldn’t be possible with a horse and trap. Also, this can be a very costly pursuit as you need safe harness (synthetic is fine if well-made but it’s still expensive) and some form of cart or trap. You also need to learn properly how to fit and put the harness on, put to (that’s attaching horse to cart) and actually drive. Your horse will need to be suitable too, as I don’t think that an ex racer would take kindly to this but if of a suitable type, your horse will also need to be taught– two novices together in this setting is a recipe for disaster. This would ideally mean the horse going away to be broken to harness then some training for both of you at that yard.

If you have the money and suitable facilities to do this, then go for it and I believe that both of you will enjoy it, which should be what this is all about, but it really is not the easiest option.

I am certain that there are many more things that can be enjoyed by both parties in this partnership and I hope that you will mention what you enjoy doing in the comments but be assured that horses can be enjoyed and enjoy life without having to be ridden - and so can you.

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Friday, 4 June 2021

Busting Myths 20 - My Horse Has A Short Back But I Am A Big Rider ...

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.

'My horse has a short back and despite me being 5'8" and 11½ stone I am told that I MUST ride in a 16" saddle as that is all that he can take. Can this be right?

Edited image to illustrate the issue.

It is a fact that, at the same time as our riding population is becoming taller and heavier, horses are being bred with ever shorter backs. Whilst we know that a short back is stronger than a long back and considered good conformation, there is a limit to all things. Would a horse with just 6” (15cm) between the leading edge of the scapula and the last rib / T18 be considered to have good conformation? Would it be of any use to anyone? I think not, but here we are with these short backed horses and their tall, well-padded riders.

What then is the solution to this? To my mind having a saddle far too small for the rider doesn’t help us at all. Our rider mentioned in the question would be most comfortable in an 18” saddle, 17 ½ at the very least, so to put them in a 16”, as is so often insisted on by various no doubt well-meaning people is a recipe for disaster. For a start the rider will be so uncomfortable that they will be constantly moving in the saddle trying to find a place to sit. They won’t manage it – it really isn’t possible. The constantly moving rider is changing their balance every time and the horse will have to try to rebalance the rider and themselves. That’s very tiring and certainly not going to help their concentration and so this will limit their ability to work as you would wish. Not only this, but the rider’s weight, the downward pressures and upward forces will all be concentrated in a very small area making it nigh on impossible to distribute these pressures and forces as is necessary to prevent damage to the horse’s back. Now that CAN cause a ‘sore back’!

Another solution sometimes used is to fit a shorter panel to a larger tree. Very clever. Now the rider’s weight is concentrated exactly where the panel ends. Well, I suppose at least the rider is more comfortable….

Often these shorter saddles are recommended by some form of paraprofessional, qualified or possibly not, in the massage / physio/ chiropractor / ‘back man’ field. They will have found an area of tightness and discomfort in, say the lumbar area and the saddle immediately gets the blame. Whilst of course the saddle should be checked for fit (by an SMS qualified saddle fitter ideally) it is often the case that discomfort in the back is a symptom of a hind limb lameness or ulcers and nothing to do with the saddle. It’s just too easy for some of these people to scream ‘SADDLE!’ having the belief, incorrect I believe, that saddles are usually the culprit. In an ideal world a practitioner such as those mentioned will work with qualified saddle fitters so that the knowledge that each has can be shared to the benefit of both horse and rider. It happens occasionally but perhaps not as often as we would wish.

I have two problems with the suggested ‘solutions’. One is that some people take T18 as the point at which the panel of the saddle must end, whereas the actual bearing area of the tree is forward of this point. Beyond the tree the pressures are much reduced through the panel as, with no tree to support the panel it will fold away from the horse’s back to some extent. Also, I have yet to see any proof (or evidence) that having a saddle an inch longer than perfect is going to cause any harm to the horse, and it is certainly preferable to having the rider squashed into a saddle that is too small for them.

The second problem that I have with fitting such small saddles is that so often the saddles are just fitted static, and then condemned as being ‘too long for this horse.’ Often they are not even girthed up, let alone ridden in, and yet we know that when the horse is dynamic the area available for the saddle increases. No, the back itself doesn’t lengthen- if you have ever tried to pull two thoracic vertebrae apart on a fresh cadaver you will know that this is nigh on impossible. However, if you just bring the horse’s head down from standing position to that more adopted for work ( a titbit or some food will achieve this) you will note that the saddle area is increased. Could this be the spinus processes opening? I don’t know, but this increase can and has been measured, showing between 1 ½ (3.5cm) and 2” (5cm) increase in length from the edge of the scapula to the last rib. That is a huge amount and would, of course allow our tall, well-built rider to have their 17.5 or 18” saddle.

This is easy to prove for yourself. Mark the edge of the scapula and the last rib (use Tippex or insulating tape), measure, then get the horse to change his head position as suggested. Re-measure. Likewise, put the saddle on. Photograph where the saddle sits then work the horse. Film with the zoom lens so that you just are filming the shoulders to quarters of the horse. You will see that the back marker, possibly concealed by the saddle when static is now clearly visible behind the saddle. Before being talked into buying the tiny saddle please try this for yourself. I think both you and your horse will be grateful that you did so.