A Good Saddle - Allures

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A Good Saddle

What is a good saddle? Any saddle can be a good saddle, as long as it is not broken, twisted, or damaged. And what is a very good saddle for one horse can be a very bad saddle for another horse. Below we list a few criteria that all saddles should respect.

1.The tree	Should be symmetrical and follow the contour of the horse's back. It needs to be chosen according to the horse's anatomy. There is nothing one can do to "fix" a saddle that is built on a tree that is wrong for the horse.

2. The gusset	Should leave the withers unimpeded.
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3. The seat	Should support the rider, without impeding the horse's shoulder movement and without touching behind the horse's last rib.

4. The flaps	Protect the horse and rider from the girthing; protect the rider from the horse's sweat; and house blocks and rolls for the rider.

5. The panels	Are crucial for the comfort of the horse. They distribute the weight of the saddle and the rider on the horse’s back. They should be chosen according to the horse’s anatomy, and wool is by far the superior flocking.

6. The gullet	Is the security zone for the horse’s spine. It has to be deep and wide enough so that the saddle never touches the spine, even with the rider on board and in full action. Four fingers is a nice gullet width.

7. The girthing	Is very important for the stability of the saddle on the horse’s back. It, too, has to be chosen according to the horse’s anatomy.

Might you have a saddle problem?

More often than not, if you are experiencing a problem riding your horse, the primary reason is the saddle. Certainly, there are problems caused by bad teeth, poor diet, sore feet and improper stabling, but as the first connection between horse and rider is the saddle, it is worth investigating this fully before considering any other possibilities.

The list below reviews a number of problems known to have been caused by a badly fitting saddle. If you are struggling to find the root of the problem, we would be happy to assist you!

Physical conditions that suggest saddle problems:

1.	Open sores, inflammations, especially on the withers or in the girth area. These are caused by excess pressure and rubbing.

2.	White hairs in the saddle area. They are caused by a loss of pigmentation due to excess pressure on the skin.

3.	Lack of, or loss of muscle, especially behind the shoulder blades. This is caused by excess pressure on the muscle, reducing the blood flow and the muscle atrophies.

4.	Asymmetry of the horse. Although all humans and horses are somewhat asymmetric, a twisted saddle can create new asymmetries in both horse and rider. Note also that a perfectly symmetric saddle will not sit properly on an asymmetric horse. Such a situation requires a therapeutic solution.

5.	Excess or absence of perspiration. This can be caused by too much pressure on the surface tissues that regulate body temperature.

6.	Muscle spasms in response to a light touch. This is a sign of superficial muscles in distress, caused either by too much pressure, or from over-work. A horse that shrinks away from a firmer touch, or reacts aggressively, is showing signs of distress in the deeper muscle layers.

7.	Reduced mobility. Test the reflexes of the spine, flexing it vertically and laterally. A reduction in mobility is more often than not saddle/rider related, although clearly other pathologies occur.

8.	The horse finds it difficult to stand square. This suggests a problem in the limb the horse is resting. Strained limbs are often a symptom of blockages in the back.

9.	Any irregularity in the paces, difficulty with straightness, exaggerated actions of the head, resistance to flexions, lack of response to aids… The horse will react the most violently to pain located in the superficial muscle layers. Pain situated in the deeper layers causes dullness, stiffness, and reticence.

10.	Lameness. For instance, a horse with a saddle that pinches the shoulder can go lame on that limb.

11.	Damaged ligaments and damaged vertebrae. If the saddle puts pressure directly on the spine, the ligaments and the spine will suffer damage.

Behavioural conditions that suggest saddle problems:

1.	The horse flattens it ears, lifts its head or shakes its tail, sometimes at the mere sight of the approaching saddle.

2.	The horse moves about when tacked up, acts aggressively, and might try to bite when girthed up.

3.	The horse dips its back away from the saddle when tacked up.

4.	The horse moves away from the mounting block when you go to sit up.

5.	The horse is annoyed and shows resistance to certain exercises. The respiration becomes shallow and intermittent. The horse refuses to jump, rears up, or refuses to take a single step forward.

6.	The horse might be hard to shoe. Particularly the hind legs tend to be affected by back problems (front legs are primarily affected by neck and shoulder problems).

7.	The horse can be excessively active in the box or in the field, or suddenly lethargic.

8.	The horse "hides" in the corner of the box at the sight of the rider, or turns its bottom towards you.

9.	The horse is unable to travel straight in the van.

10.	More often than not, your horse’s “annoying” behaviour is really an attempt at communicating with you. If your horse behaves like this, he is trying to tell you something. More often than not, the horse that refuses to jump is a clever horse that is in pain. Only when you’ve checked the teeth, the feet, the back, and the saddle for any possible sources of pain, can you really permit yourself to punish your horse for bad behaviour.

Riding situations that suggest saddle problems:

1.	An overall drop in performance.

2.	Difficulty in obtaining and keeping the horse in an outline.

3.	Difficulty in maintaining impulsion.

4.	Difficulty in obtaining extensions, variations within the paces.

5.	Loss of amplitude in the paces.

6.	The horse jumps flat over the obstacle, doesn’t round its back.

7.	The horse can’t keep straight, doesn’t jump straight.

8.	The horse doesn’t engage the hind legs, doesn’t "step under"

9.	The horse takes a long time to warm up, and is difficult to get to relax.

10.	The horse doesn’t cooperate, might refuse entirely, to bend, or to jump.

11.	There are a lot of nice riders who would take all the blame upon themselves for these problems. That is not very helpful for the horse in pain. Only when you’ve checked the teeth, the feet, the back, and the saddle for any possible sources of pain, can you really permit yourself to punish yourself for your horse’s bad behaviour.

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