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Saddles and your horse's comfort.
How frequently should you get your saddle checked for the saddle fit, for your horse's comfort, and for safety reasons?
The answer is a variable one as it depends on many factors.
Competition horses at the top of their game are often checked every four to six weeks and stretch to every three months as a maximum. There are cost implications in doing this and so it depends on what is deemed reasonable for the particular horses' circumstances, and so every six months caters for the winter and summer periods where horses may have changes in condition due to summer grazing or winter grazing restrictions and it also depends on the amount of use the saddle is getting obviously changes are less likely in the flocking distribution and its spring ability when the saddle is being used less.
Your saddle fitter will template the horse on the day of the fitting and that will act as a record of the horse's condition and shape at the time the horse is templated, and if at some point later on problems arise with the saddle fit, the template can be used to compare the horses shape and any changes by doing a second template measurement at the time any concern arises, adjustments can then be considered.
For horses that are doing less competition work, their owners may decide to book an annual check with a saddle fitter to confirm the saddle is doing its job properly and to ensure the horse's comfort is not compromised, unless any changes become apparent during the year that brings a requirement for this check to be brought forward.
In flocked saddles the saddle flocking may need topping up or re-distributing within the panel because the flocking can move. It may be time for a saddle re-flock, due to the flocking being old and getting hard as it loses its natural wool spring.
Consider the situation of a new horse and finding the right Saddle, or an existing horse changing shape due to growth or condition.
When buying a new horse or pony, you might also buy its saddle as part of the sale, but did you ask when it was last checked for fit by an approved saddle fitter?
The danger is you assume the saddle is ok because that's what the horse goes in, when it may already be causing the horse a sore back due to saddle imbalance or a level of soft tissue injury over the shoulder area due to the points of the tree pinching due to a gullet width issue albeit in a minor way that the horse is currently tolerating.
This could be important especially in a young horse as the likely hood is that the saddle is being outgrown as the young horse develops, and this could lead to some objection to riders' commands under saddle.
With an existing horse that is developing and building muscle due to changes in its work or feeding regime, there is the issue again that the saddle may be getting to a point where it is fitting badly, or the horse has changed in condition, and so the saddle will most likely require some form of adjustment.
If the horses saddle is not available to purchase, you will probably look and see if you have a saddle that will fit already. If you don’t have one that will fit, you will have to buy one that does.
The question is how qualified are you to say if it fits correctly?
A saddle may fit reasonably well but not as well as another one could do, given that a full appraisal is made by an approved saddle fitter for the horse's current body shape and condition.
Checking the fit needs to be completed with you riding the horse as the saddle needs to fit when the horse is moving not just when it is stood still and relaxed, so unless you have someone qualified to look at this from the ground when you are on the horse you clearly cannot complete a full saddle fit appraisal yourself.
So don't deprive yourself of the best start you can with training your new horse making do with a saddle that is not functioning properly to the maximum benefit for you and your horse.
The right thing to do is to get the saddle fitter in to do a complete check on your horse's size and shape, gait, and any asymmetry that might be affecting the saddle fit and any saddle slip, lift, or movement. You can then be advised on a saddle profile that will suit your horse and suitable girthing points and other available options.
Your horse needs to be fitted with a saddle that will not cause discomfort as we all know pressure creates pressure elsewhere, and that may mean a horse running from pain and being more difficult to control due to a pinching saddle, or simply not being as expressive in movement as it could be during competition, and this is where marks count.
Making an effort to consider the purpose the saddle will be used for is important, so that the right saddle type can be selected for the job in hand which will allow the rider to perform at their best as well.
The saddle also has to take into consideration the riders height and physic so that they are as comfortable as possible in order to execute the desired ridden work the horse is doing, and so a certain saddle size may fit the horse and not the rider and we need to consider both.
Saddles come with different saddle tree designs deliberately selected to cater for individual horses' unique features as well as to maximise the benefits that different tree designs can bring. This helps to improve ridden performance outcomes in light of different horses' confirmation, and so the ridden performance is improved by maximising comfort for horse and rider particularly when the horses' shoulder is free to move with the minimum of restriction which is especially important in competition horses that are performing dressage or jumping activities.
Fitting a saddle to a motionless horse does not cater for the fact that with properly schooled horses the horses back will rise slightly as the horse starts moving and so we need to fit for when the horse is in motion and not just at rest and this is often overlooked by less experienced saddle fitters.
Ian Taft
Saddle Fitter
Saddlemasters Saddles
Amerigo Approved and Authorized Dealer.