Can Groundwork Replace Early Ridden Fitness to Save Saddle Fitting Costs?

Sharing expert knowledge helps everyone, emphasises Fellow of the Society of Master Saddlers, Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow, hence I thought it would be interesting to discuss a recent question in more detail, as it is both seasonal, and in these days of rising costs in every area of life, topical too….

Question - ‘Can I do just groundwork with my horse to start him back into work, so that I don’t have to have my saddle fitted now, and then re-fitted again quite quickly once he starts to gain fitness? It would be helpful to avoid the costs of two fittings if it is a sensible option.

Kay replies - I must say I was impressed that the enquirer had realised the horse’s saddle would be unlikely to fit when first starting back into work, and also that there would be sufficient changes to his shape to necessitate a second fitting in a relatively short timeframe. It seems that there is a much greater understanding of the importance of correctly fitting saddlery to the horse’s soundness and wellbeing and nowadays, for which we must all be grateful, as it is definitely a positive scenario.

If a horse has been out or work, the first thing to ask is why? Was it because of injury or lack of time / opportunity to ride? The answer to the former will be different to the latter, as correct and effective rehabilitation for an injury often requires the horse to be ridden. If this is the case, then it is imperative that the saddle is checked before the horse is ridden, which will include the saddle fitter checking that the saddle will stay straight and be balanced, as injuries often alter the horse’s way of going and can send a saddle over to one side. I expect that rehabilitation work will have included walking out in hand, but perhaps, if the saddle fit doesn’t look ‘too far out’, sit on for a couple of minutes before the saddler’s visit, just for safety. If the saddle does move when the saddle fitter sees it ridden in, steps must be taken to keep the saddle straight as the horse works, or there may well be further damage caused. Its also well worth noting that in most cases of injury rehabilitation, lungeing can be harmful because of the forces exerted on the leg, muscles or joint when working on a circle on a manmade surface, which might not be ideal in depth or consistency.

Should the break just be that the horse was turned away for convenience, so just purely unfit, it might be possible to do some preliminary work on the lunge and on long reins, provided you have a safe and secure area to do this. If using a roller, with or without attachments such as side reins, I suggest that you read Russell McKechnie-Guire & Mark Fisher’s research on pressures from rollers, which I shared recently. It makes you think - and no, just putting a pad under it doesn’t solve the problem.

It will be necessary to start to ride sooner rather than later though, as although you are getting the horse fitter, his back is not being prepared by groundwork to carry the saddle for any length of time. I am not talking about top line and shape, but the actual physical ability of the skin and coat to accommodate the normal wear and tear from saddle movement. Even with the very best fitting saddle there is always some movement side to side, and possibly a little back to front, as you are strapping a rigid item onto a moving surface. The skin needs to be prepared as much as the rest of the body. Also, the horse will almost certainly move differently when ridden, so the all the different muscles, ligaments, tendons and other tissues used to support this ridden shape need to be prepared and strengthened as well.

So, would this approach of groundwork to gain fitness be sensible? Possibly, in the short term, but my feeling is that, beyond a couple of weeks the horse really needs to be ridden – and unfortunately, this will lead to the need for the saddle fitter to call a couple of times during the period of increasing fitness, to get the saddle fit established. The risks of taking the alternative route could lead to the horse being injured and unrideable for a while. Just what we don’t want.

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

 

Why Saddle Fitting is Not a Magical Cure for Chronic Issues in the Horse

For this post Kay Hastilow welcomes Guest Blogger Rachael Argo, who like Kay, is a Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter. Originally from Scotland, Rachael now lives and works in Portugal.

This is an article I have been debating about writing for some time. After more than 20 years of saddle fitting, I have seen so many horses set up for failure by owners who have chosen the wrong route and ended up with chronically lame or injured horses. 

These horses’ working lives have been cut short needlessly for various reasons, some of which include lack of knowledge, not having access to a team of professionals who are familiar with equine rehabilitation, not following good advice from knowledgeable professionals, wanting to ride at all costs, being in too much of a hurry and not ensuring the horse was ready and fit to ride, costs and sadly sometimes just not wanting the hassle of rehabilitating their horse.

I cannot count the number of times I have been called out to assess saddle fit on horses because they have problems. Perhaps the horse’s performance has diminished, he has behavioural issues, the rider is slipping to one side and so on.

In most cases there I have found that poor saddle fit has played a part in the overall issues. In most cases there are also other issues underlying, for example, pain, mental distress from pain, arthritis in joints, soft tissue injury, poor hoof balance, teeth problems, poor bridle fit and bitting, riding techniques that are detrimental to the horse, use of gadgets like draw reins, pessoas etc. The easy part to alter is the saddle and bridle fit and the bit. These can be changed quickly to more appropriate tack that halts the cycle of re-injury that occurs each time the horse wears the tack.

HOWEVER this is where it gets more challenging. Once the offending tack has been changed to more suitable tack the owner often believes that all is now good, the problem will now magically disappear and the horse can resume not just normal work but actually increase the work because that is what the owner wants.

WRONG. WRONG. I say this over and over.

I cannot emphasise enough just how false this idea is. I can, and have, repeated this statement hundreds of times and yet I still have clients that it is not getting through to.

It is common to find horses that have had poorly fitted tack for a year, two years, ten years. A horse cannot have poorly fitted tack for any length of time without sustaining chronic injury and a resulting alteration of his gaits ie he will adapt his movement to try and minimise the damage to his body. It is not a big jump for rational people to make the connection that this change in gait will affect the horse’s whole body, his muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones. To simplify this concept the horse now has excess wear and tear on his whole body, he is suffering from chronic long term pain and injury. So WHY is he immediately expected to get back to full work and be sound????

If an athlete had been running for a year in badly fitting shoes and had gradually lost their speed and endurance and started to have pain and injuries, you would not simply give them new shoes and expect them to immediately to go back to running and to perform at a higher level than before with only a couple of days off and one physiotherapy or osteopathy treatment. You would expect months of careful and slow rehabilitation to re-educate the body. The ‘wrong’ muscles would need to diminish and the right muscles would have to be slowly built up. All of the soft tissue would need time to adapt to a new way of moving and be allowed to develop to support the joints. All of that is assuming that a long time of moving unevenly or in a less than optimal way had not caused skeletal damage. If there was bone damage, then a whole different approach would need to be taken. In all cases a thorough medical assessment would have to be undertaken to see exactly what damage was apparent before a successful rehabilitation programme could be developed.

So why is it different for horses? Why is it a common belief that changing the saddle will fix all of the problems with just a session or two of complimentary therapy treatment? And when it does not solve the complex plethora of problems and the horse starts to lose performance or the saddle slips to one side the saddle fitter is summoned to ‘fix’ the saddle because it ‘doesn’t fit’. And when they ask the question ‘Did you get your vet to come and do a work up to check for pain and lameness?’ the answer is usually ‘no’.

My best guess as to why this happens is that owners cannot believe the horse could have profound and far reaching injuries because they are not on three legs or bucking riders off.  The horse has learned to ‘cope’ with the chronic pain and injury because he has to and it is his nature as a prey animal. It is also that the rider can see the saddle and bridle. They are tangible objects and often changes in the horse come after a saddle fit therefore the saddle or bridle must be to blame.

Most times we already have the information that the horse has always thrown a saddle to one side or not picked up one canter lead or not been able to bend one way. The situation gets worse after the saddle is changed because the horse is being asked to change his entire way of going. He has to carry the rider in a different place, a different balance, and he is simply not equipped to do so at that moment. Because he is a horse and they are generally very accommodating animals, they will often try for their riders. In some cases the horse may feel better straight away because the saddle is no longer pinching so he may go a bit better initially. Often the owner will misread the situation and take this as a sign that they can increase the horse’s work. Over a short time the horse will start to break under the strain. The first sign for the rider is often the saddle starting to slip more to one side. It is not the first sign of issues but it is often the first one the rider notices. (Recent research from Centaur Biomechanics and from S Dyson and D Pollard - The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram - has correlated saddle slip with hindlimb lameness) At this point the rider will do the 1+1 = 256. The saddle was changed, the horse is losing performance or saddle is slipping therefore the saddle fit is to blame.

How lovely it would be for all of us if a simple change of saddle could not only enhance the rider’s ability and make the horse feel better but it could miraculously undo all of the damage that has been done to the horse over the last year, five years etc. Sadly this is not true. The saddle fit is the first step to breaking the repeating cycle of damage. It is the first step on a long road of rehabilitating the horse. I always recommend that the horse be assessed by a vet and a qualified professional in whichever other modality the owner chooses to help the rehabilitation process.

Ideally the saddle should not go back on the horse until all of the rehab assessments and work are done. In some cases I will fit a saddle sooner than is ideal but with the caveat that the horse needs careful treatment and reintroduction to work. This is only in the case that I am a long way away from the client and know I cannot get back in the shorter term. In some cases I will refuse the saddle fit if the horse is obviously lame, thin, in pain etc. In other cases the horse does not appear to be too badly off and work is needed to help build up muscle and straighten the movement. When I hear the work has not only been resumed with no rehab involved, but has been increased and now the horse is really struggling, my heart sinks. In this case I will refuse to refit the saddle until the horse has been assessed and cleared for work by the vet. It will not make me popular but all equestrian professionals should be advocating for the horse and have a duty of care to tell the owner what the horse needs them to hear, not necessarily what the owner wants to hear. It is difficult for professionals to risk losing clients because they have to make money to live, but short term gain will be offset by long term loss if the horse becomes unfit to work.

So the next time your saddle slips or you are questioning why your horse is losing performance it is worth considering the bigger picture. Nothing happens in isolation and saddles can only go where the horse and rider put them. They cannot move on their own. Saddle fit issues can sometimes be the problem but more often they are an indicator of a much more complex problem. You need a team to get to the root cause and help formulate a plan to keep your horse healthy and sound.

 

 

Kay Hatilow Delivers Course at North American Saddle School in Maryland

As both a Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter, Kay Hastilow lectures around the globe and recently accepted an invitation to join the team delivering a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course for Advanced Saddle Fitting at the North American Saddle School in Clear Springs, Maryland. The topic was ‘Pain In The Ridden Horse’.

Kay reported after the busy programme; “I had a fantastic time helping to deliver this CPD for advanced saddle fitting, where the topic was 'Pain in the ridden horse'. 

“Sue Dyson very kindly allowed me to share her work 'Pain ethograms in the ridden horse' with the group, highlighting areas that are of particular relevance to saddle fitting.  It was well received; we all learned a lot and a vote of thanks was sent to Sue for her generosity in allowing us to share this work.

“Annette Gavin, the school's founder and partner, highly qualified in both knowledge and experience, spoke on various subjects relating to pain in the horse, discussing areas that can be affected, problems that can arise from conformation defects, injury, illness and of course, poorly fitting tack. We also had an excellent talk from Moira Nasbaum, a very experienced equine veterinarian who is a very engaging speaker.

“With Amber Markley, the other partner in the school, three horses were brought out for the candidates to study and comment on their confirmation,  along with possible problems that could arise from this. The school has a round pen and above it, a balcony where you can get an aerial view of the top of the horse. This shows asymmetry in quarters, hips, development either side of the spine, shoulders, neck and head.  Very illuminating.

Many other topics were covered including Social Licence to ride our horses and this led to lively discussion. The appreciative candidates (pictured above) certainly had plenty to think about on their journey home.

It was a real pleasure to be involved in such an informative and interesting course. Thank you N.A.S.S.”

 

Saddle Versus Back Length; Is It Such A Problem?

I am constantly being contacted by riders who have been told by a no doubt well-meaning expert in the ‘horse’s backs’ department, that their saddle is too long for the horse, will be causing the horse harm, and that they must buy a 16 ½” to keep within the T18 boundary. As often as not the rider is – well let’s just say 5’6” and 11 stone. Not big by anyone’s standard and probably considered to be a healthy height to weight ratio, yet for them to ride in most 16 ½” saddles would be extremely uncomfortable.

Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow looks at the reality around this increasingly discussed issue...

Perhaps you think that a rider should just put up with this, if it’s for the good of their horse, but is it beneficial? If the rider’s weight is concentrated over a smaller area, it will concentrate those pressures considerably and that certainly will cause pain and damage. In addition, If the rider is uncomfortable in the saddle, they will be constantly moving as they attempt to find somewhere to sit.

Let’s ignore for the moment that such excessive movement could well lead to rubs, bruising and sores and think beyond this. A horse is constantly trying to balance both themselves and you, the rider. Anyone that has ever backed a young horse will know how they move like a dyslexic spider initially as they try to balance both themselves and this strange thing on their back. Okay, they get it sorted, strengthen up and cope, but this doesn’t mean that they aren’t still re-balancing both of you. Every time the rider moves about trying to find a sweet spot, they are unbalancing the horse. He then must correct, repeatedly. This is unbelievably tiring as anyone who has ever carried a badly balanced, decent sized rucksack for any length of time can testify.

The position of T18 marked with tape

So, T18. Why is it considered to be the furthest back that a saddle can go? This is the point at which the last rib comes off the thoracic vertebra (pictured left) and is therefore considered (probably correctly) to be the last strong area of the back with regard to supporting weight. Beyond this are usually six lumbar vertebrae, which are not supported by the rib cage therefore unsupported beyond their length down the horse’s sides.

Let’s think initially about the saddle itself. Although the shape of the tree should conform to the shape of the horse’s back it is possible to make the seat much flatter, if necessary, by rasping down the cantle and webbing up tighter during manufacture. This will give you more area to sit on comfortably. You can also get broader seated trees which, provided the horse’s back can support that width, will give you yet more room.  Likewise, flaps can be cut longer and further forward to accommodate the rider’s legs. Especially useful for our taller riders who will otherwise find themselves sitting on the very back of the saddle whilst trying to find somewhere for their legs to go.

The balance of the saddle, always very important, is even more so with these horses as the rider will tend to be quite far back in the saddle, so tipping back, even slightly, could well lead to problems in the lumbar area. Please remember that a horse dynamic (moving), in this case ridden, will be a totally different shape than static so that a saddle that appears to be in balance static (I saw an eminent professor establishing this with a cotton reel once!) can change totally once the horse works. They don’t always lift either. Some lift, some drop and some stay the same. Because of this, no saddle fit where the horse is not ridden in that particular saddle is of any value whatsoever. It can all change in a moment with movement.   

Tree does not extend beyond T18

So far so good, but two very important factors have not yet been considered. The first is that the length of the saddle overall is not all completely weight bearing as, beyond the parameters of the tree there is little real downward pressure (Tree pictured right does not extend beyond T18). The panel will fold away from the back without the tree to keep the downward force. In many saddles, the area beyond the tree parameters at the back can extend for another 5cm, yet this area really is causing no trouble to the horse whatsoever (Saddle pictured below depicts this).

Panel can extend beyond tree and T18

Another factor to consider is that these horse experts rarely if ever see the horse ridden, and yet we know that just a slight change in outline when dynamic (moving) as opposed to static can lead to the area available to take a saddle increasing by up to 5 cm! 2 whole inches! Using laser measuring equipment we marked a horse at the point of the shoulder and just down from the vertebrae at T 18 and measured when standing and again when just encouraged into a more ridden outline. I think all were surprised at just how much different these measurements were - a full 5 cm initially and, with further measuring in other situations, this was repeated and repeatable; we even gained another 3.5 cm with a 23-year-old horse with a considerably dipped back. We really didn’t expect that.

So, what is taking place for this to happen? Certainly, the back itself isn’t lengthening – the thoracic vertebrae are tightly joined, and I doubt that you would get more that 1 cm in any circumstance, but the dorsal spinous processes? That’s a different matter and one can believe that these open as the horse ‘lifts his back’ as he works.

Now, as is self- evident I am no scientist, but I am very observant. I hope that you are as well and, having read this think ‘well, I could try that. Just use a tape measure with the horse relaxed and again with it more in an outline’.  You can also mark T18 with some tape, put your saddle on (neatly cut numnah so that you can see, not a huge saddle square) and you will probably be covering the tape. Then go and ride the horse and have someone film you. Almost certainly you will clearly see the tape.

Now that we know that the static horse is shorter in the back than the dynamic horse we can allow for a longer saddle, especially as we are aware that beyond the actual tree there is unlikely to be much pressure and we can therefore fit a saddle that is suitable for both horse and rider. In fact, in conversation with other saddle fitters, it seems that many of us believe it is better for the horse to have a saddle that, even considering the above information, is still a touch too long, but in which the rider is comfortable.

Fit with thought, fit with care but always fit with knowledge.

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