“After a saddle is newly adjusted, in accordance to the second theory, the increased range of motion may cause temporary soreness.”
of the saddle to the horse should always be evaluated. Is the length of the saddle appropriate or too long for this horse? Do the billets fall in the horse’s girth area, or are they too far back or forward? Is the width of the gullet conso- nant with the width of the horse’s spine? Is the length of the vertical panel correct or too long? Is the horizontal pan- el hollow or bridging? Following this, you should ride your horse without a sad-
dle pad at the walk, rising trot, canter and sitting trot on a 20 meter circle in both directions. This is the dynamic fit portion of the saddle fitting evaluation: the dust pattern gained from it will allow an exact evaluation of what the saddle does when the horse is in motion. Does it move forward onto the horse’s shoulders? Does it fall off to one side? Does it stay level and centered on your horse’s back? The dust pattern ride gives additional information to help determine what ad- justments to make to the fit of the saddle.
Conflicting Theories on the Fit Equestrians should all be aware that there are two complete- ly divergent theories on saddle fitting. Many saddle manufacturers and their trained saddle fit-
ters maintain, according to the first theory, that a saddle should have a narrow channel, and therefore sit on the spinal processes and ligaments. The tree is long and flat (resting on the shoulder and lumbar area) and sits with minimal weight bearing surface on the musculature. In this scenario, the sad- dle barely moves (other than perhaps to twist during motion as it is ‘kicked back’ by the bigger shoulder) because it is sit- ting on the spine. This saddle rarely needs to be adjusted because bone
structure and ligaments do not adapt and change their conformation through training like muscles do—and the muscles really won’t change much because the horse sim- ply is not able to use his muscles properly with a saddle that fits like this. Often people will say “my saddle always fits” or “my saddle fits any horse.” They are partially cor- rect, because the one advantage to this saddle fit is that the horse doesn’t really change shape and so the saddle doesn’t have to be modified. This theory’s disadvantage is the spine and ligaments will
not tolerate prolonged compression and the horse’s back movement is restricted. To protect the shoulder, lumbar and spinal areas, the horse will get tighter and tighter in his back (especially in the lumbar area), which leads to cramping in the gluteus maximus muscle. The horse will then develop a dip in front of its SI (sacroiliac) joint and the glutes will seize up. Between the SI joint and the tail, the gluteus will
become atrophied (as in the photo at right). The front end of the horse will then push down the base of his neck and will ‘break’ over the third cer- vical vertebra (C3) in or- der to get on the bit. At this point it will become difficult for the rider to get the horse supple through the poll and have his highest point at the poll and not at C3. The second theory is that the saddle stays off the spine,
Swelling on the spine: the dam- age shown on this horse’s back has been compounded over the years of use with a poorly fitting saddle, showing hunter’s bump, sublux- ations and vertebral inflammation.
lumbar vertebrae and shoulders while maximizing the sur- face area the saddle sits on. The saddle support area is on the weight-bearing longissimus dorsi (long back muscle). The advantage to having the saddle on this “saddle support muscle” is to stay away from the reflex points that create negative behaviour or negative conformation and health issues. Staying off the spine, lumbar area and shoulder keeps the back muscles loose and supple. Your horse can then articulate through the SI joint and use his haunches better by stretching his gluteus maximus and hamstring. In the first theory, where the saddle sits on the liga- ments, involuntary con- tractions (i.e. cramping) impede correct coordina- tion of muscle contrac- tions and thus full range of motion is not possible. In con- trast, the second theory allows for both stretching and con- traction of the muscle, allowing full range of motion. The most efficient way to train is to maximize both flexion
The white cross-hatched area shows the saddle support area of this horse’s back; you defi- nitely want to stay off the red triangle at the front with any part of the saddle.
(contraction) and extension (stretching) and in order to achieve this, full range of motion is required. By reducing the pres- sure on the shoulder, your horse will be able to lift the base of his neck and become supple through the poll. By allowing the horse to fully engage his muscles and lift his rib cage, he will become progressively more uphill as his training progresses. As a result of these continuous positive changes in his confor- mation, the balance of the saddle will need to be readdressed many times throughout his career. In the first theory, because the saddle is mainly sitting on the spine, with limited contact on the back muscle, the horse
Warmbloods Today 57
Joanna Robson
Steffi Neumann
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