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by Amy C. Barton


Saddle Fit for the 21st Century


Adjustability. This is the primary theme that sums up Danny Kroetch’s philosophy when it comes to saddle fi t and design. Danny is a world renowned Master Saddle Fitter and designer based in Calgary, Alberta. Danny has proven his saddle theories time and again after fi tting more than 60,000 saddles to horses in all disciplines around the world. That translates into designing, building and fi tting over 2,000 saddles a year. This jet-setting saddle fi tter clarifi es a variety of myths and misconceptions that are often misunderstood when it comes to fi tting arguably the most important piece of equipment used in equestrian sport.


Adjustability According to Danny, the success of his saddle designs is based on an adjustable fi t that is incorporated into every saddle that his company, DK Saddlery, builds. It begins with Danny’s belief that a symmetric saddle cannot ever truly fi t a horse’s withers, which are asymmetrical. This is just one of many saddle fi tting theories that Danny addresses for us. Danny was invited to take part in a research study at the


University of Utrecht Veterinary Clinic in Holland. The study was “How Ill-Fitted Saddles Aff ect Horses.” It was the fi rst ever research study done on saddle fi t by a veterinary university. The results were published in The Veterinary Journal in August 2005 and proved that an asymmetrically-fi tted saddle was far better for a horse’s back than a symmetrically- fi tted saddle.


Twenty years ago when Danny started with adjustable English saddles, there was only one other company in the world doing it. Now, there are close to twenty manufacturers incorporating some form of adjustability in their saddles. “I certainly don’t agree with all their designs,” says Danny, “but the point is that more companies recognize that the consumer is looking for adjustability.” He stresses that it is a concept that has been proven to work, but only when done correctly. He points out that a traditional English wooden tree


An Interview with Master Saddle Fitter Danny Kroetch


is, essentially, nonadjustable. The point of contact is three inches from the top of the wither muscle. A wooden tree can only withstand up to 1,000 pounds of pressure before it separates and breaks. Wood is a very brittle material. “How far do you think you can bend a wooden tree with 16 rivets in it before you break it?” he asks. Danny explains that these types of trees have only about one centimeter of adjustability. On a properly fi tted tree, the pressure is approximately nine inches from the top of the wither placed on a true carrying muscle. Research shows that there is approximately 1,800 to 2,800 pounds of pressure exerted at the head of the tree when the saddle is girthed down, the rider mounted, and the horse is moving. Many saddle brands that are currently marketed with an adjustable tree are not truly able to be adjusted. Those saddles that boast an inter-changeable gullet plate cannot withstand the pressure exerted on it when you girth down the saddle, then add a rider and a horse in motion underneath it. The gullet plate of a saddle needs to withstand from 1,800 to 2,800 pounds of pressure during ridden exercise. The interchangeable gullet plates are only about 1/8 inch thick and can only tolerate 25 pounds of pressure before they start to spread out. Danny asserts, “If you took the widest gullet plate and stacked


Warmbloods Today 55


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