In twenty years of researching and designing equine riding equipment it has become very
apparent that “horses do not actually muscle to carry the rider, they muscle to eject the rider!”
Obviously we are not academics and our evidence for such an assertion is anecdotal, it is,
however, built on decades of saddle fitting records and observation of changes whilst working
in cooperation with other equine professionals including veterinaries and therapists. Most
importantly the rules and methods we use achieve repeatable positive results.
Food for thought
gymnasium” the problem comes with the fact that the weights the horse uses, the rider, in its
gymnasium are not symmetrical! “It is very rare whether dealing with world class riders or happy
hackers to find a rider that sits perfectly straight!” and you should ask yourself “If you went to the
gym and every piece of equipment you used was unbalanced, say biased with more weight to the
right, what would be the result?”
Visual signs of asymmetry
When assessing a horse for a saddle the first thing to know is where the tree will sit on the horse. The tree point
should sit 2” or 5cm behind the scapula, but which scapula? The stronger the shoulder the more backward rotation
there is in that scapula. There can easily be a 2” difference in the placement of the scapulae in relation to one another. We do not want to fit the saddle to the weakest shoulder, as it would sit the saddle on to, rather than behind the strongest shoulder!
Saddle slip is a sign of hind limb lameness
Recently articles have been seen in the press stating how saddle slip can be a sign of hind limb lameness. Whilst I utterly agree with this statement, I would say that the saddle slipped before the lameness showed and is a symptom of asymmetric development, especially of the fore limb musculature, primarily the Serratus Ventralis Thoracic (SVT or thoracic sling). It is the
strongest muscle of the fore limb and is responsible for the support of the rib cage between the fore limbs.
A young horse grows a wither
Well, no it does not “grow” rather it is pulled up by SVT and in doing so pops the dorsal processes up between the fore limbs. But what happens when a rider sits to the right?
1. The horse has to carry more weight with the right hind.
2. The left lumber, the right thorax and left fore have to work harder
I describe these horses as Right Hind Drive. This develops and strengthens the opposing left forelimb and therefore the SVT more on the left. Evidence of this is the rotation of the left scapula, which appears further back and hence why we use this, the stronger shoulder to measure and place the saddle correctly. But the SVT shortens and tightens with development of the left fore, which in turn pulls up the rib cage more on the left than on the weaker right shoulder.
The rib cage being pulled up more on the left rolls the rib cage to right, so dropping the rider that encouraged this muscle development to the right!
QED: Horse develops muscle to eject the rider.
I honestly believe that this vicious circle is responsible for many associated muscle problems, strains, injuries and lameness.
It is true that the rotation of the strongest scapula does to some extent counteract the shortening of SVT. I believe it goes someway to alleviating the amount of roll we see in the rib cage but not all.
It is also true that you cannot roll the rib cage without causing torsion or twisting in the lumbar spine and a scoliosis throughout the back.
A horse with a rider that sits to the right
The horse will have a better trot to the right, bending better around the rider’s inside leg with a softer neck bend, and it may pop out through the left shoulder on the corners.
The rider may say that the horse is better at canter to the right, but the horse will prefer left lead canter. The left canter has more energy but lacks balance, the right canter lacks energy but is better balanced, for this reason the rider prefers right canter.
Lateral work will be better to the left.
Flying changes are better right to left.
Jumping: the horse will pull left and will prefer to land left lead canter.
Canter pirouettes are better to the right.
Interesting observations
Most young horses start work being better to the left at trot and canter easier to the right, the opposite of the above, in other words a Left Hind Drive horse.
Can I learn to sit straight?
A saddle is a tool that allows us to ride a horse in comfort and vice versa. It is meant to balance the rider on a moving horse allowing the rider to ride in sympathy with the movement and be able to influence and command the horse with the subtle changes in weight and pressure. For this to happen, the rider has to sit as still and quiet as possible. This is the difference between a good rider and a bad one, the good one allows the horse to do the work and the bad one hampers it. Good riders also have something else: a better sense of balance and rhythm.
So, “can I learn to sit straight?” is the question most asked by customers and my answer is yes and no. Yes, you can improve your fitness and your posture, if you have the time, but time is a thing most horse-owning riders don’t have! No, because you sit on your seat bones (Ischium) which are directly influenced by the way the pelvis is held to try to keep our backbone as straight and shock absorbing as possible WHEN STANDING. It is normal to see seat bone impressions on a saddle’s seat with the right seat bone much more forward than the other. Sitting astride another living creature whilst balancing on our seat bones was probably not high on God’s design criteria.
There are obviously lots of factors that can influence this and as a saddler my problem is making sure that the rider distributes their weight over the horse’s back evenly front to back and most importantly side to side. For this to happen they have to sit in a three point seat.
Men sit on their seat bones and balance on their coccyx. Men normally have seat bones closer together than women and therefore sit more forward to the narrower middle of the saddle dropping the pelvis back to balance on the coccyx.
Women sit on their seat bones and balance on their pubis. Women generally sit their seat bones further back on the wider part of the seat than the men but roll forward on the pubis as their coccyx is generally shorter and higher. (Something about giving birth! This is probably why women look more elegant doing dressage as they sit up and look less collapsed at the waist than a man.)
The seat bones have to be solidly in contact and the third point is used more as a reference. Sit on your coccyx or pubis for any length of time and it will cause you all sorts of problems. Pressure testing equipment shows us that only sitting solidly on one seat bone transfers a rocking instability to the horse via the saddle. A good analogy is the pub garden table on uneven patio slabs; we all know what happens to the drinks.
Another important factor is that the heaviest part of the human is the head which is also furthest from the horse. The human will do everything possible to keep this bit of themselves in the centre of the horse. The less the rider has a steady level three point seat the worse the contortions of the rider will be to achieve this.
The key to good riding is a relaxed and balanced rider. Or put another way, the key to an efficiently working horse is keeping the load it has to carry in the middle of its back at all times.
So what are we going to do about it?
The saddle is the mortar between two bricks. The mortar is there to take out the discrepancies between the horse and the rider. We know riders are asymmetric. We know horses are asymmetric. The saddle has to be complementary asymmetric so the discrepancies of both are eliminated from the picture.
We use the patented Flair air flocking system to demonstrate balance. Obviously results can be achieved using other methods but they are not as easily quantified nor is the adjustment made as easily to maintain balance over time.
In a nutshell, Flair comprises four overlapping airbags - 2 front, 2 back designed to allow the saddle balance front to back and side to side to be adjusted. The air is not changing the saddle fit – that is achieved through head plate angle, tree style and panel design. The air bags simply adjust balance. Each air bag can be individually inflated and deflated or each pair of front or back bags can be inflated.
By the use of individual air bags, asymmetric adjustments can be made of diagonally opposite air bags. If the rider sits with their weight to the right side, then the air will be put in the right back and left front. Back adjustments will influence the rider more than the horse. Front adjustments will make a difference to the horse’s neck and shoulder.
Asymmetric fitting
Think of the degree of asymmetry in the horse as ranging from normal to almost lame. The nearer we are to lame the less likely it will be that asymmetric saddle fitting will be beneficial without the potential lameness being addressed first. Most of the time we are asymmetrically fitting horses within the range of normal asymmetry to horses that have regular treatments for the over use of the same diagonally opposed musculature. These horses improve in training and musculature very fast and require little or no treatment barring maintenance. If saddle fitting is left unchecked, then a regression will then start up again. Regular checks of the saddle normally result in less and less asymmetry being used over a period of time, although one normally has some residual adjustment left in the saddle for the rider even when the horse is very close to symmetric.
It is important when refitting the saddle to bear in mind that the asymmetry that was used on day 1 should be less on day 30. The horse should improve in muscle development not degrade. If the amount of asymmetry used is increased on subsequent visits we recommend that a vet is consulted immediately.
Other factors
Therapists should make clients aware that having their horse treated before a saddle fitting is preferable to the other way round. A horse can change substantially after a therapeutic session, so much so, that the saddle does not fit anymore. Use of the saddle without adjustment can reverse all the good work done in the treatment.
Everyone should be very careful about condemning a saddle fit. I have personally witnessed a horse go from a narrow fitting to medium wide with one 30 minute treatment! The horse was ridden immediately before and after the treatment and the horse stayed at the larger fitting even after being ridden. The saddle was refitted to the horse’s new shape after treatment.
Summary
Saddle fitting is a moving target.
To get the best from the horse and rider saddles need to be monitored on a very regular basis. Our sponsored riders are seen every 6-8 weeks in the competitive season to maintain the saddle fit as the horse changes in fitness.
Knowledge of different types of saddle and how they are meant to be fitted is essential.
A good working relationship between Vets, Therapists, Farrier and Saddle Fitter leads to sounder, happier and better performing horses.
©Author - David Kempsell (M.D of First Thought Equine Ltd. WOW Saddles) for HIO 2017
For more information visit www.wowsaddles.com email: info@wowsaddles.com or call 01227 831614