W
hat is the ideal length of a dressage girth? Where should the buckles lie? Can you comment on the type of girth that’s ideal for dressage saddles as
well as jumping saddles? How stretchy should the girth be? What’s better: leather or non-leather?
I am going to combine these questions on girths into one answer. About 20 percent of saddle instability issues arise from either girth or pad issues. Girths have different forms and func- tions and are paired with saddle billets based on length. Dres- sage saddles will gener- ally have long billets and short girths in order to keep the buckles away from under the sweat flap and along the rider’s leg, but the older dressage saddles still occasionally have short billets, requiring long girths. There should be maximum of two to three open holes left at the top of the billet when using a long girth.
Jumping saddles
will generally still have short billets and require long girths. While we recommend leather as the ideal material, there are horses which simply do better with string girths, neoprene, or sheepskin covers on their girths. This is a matter of trial and error—whatever works best for your horse is fine.
S
promote themselves as ‘master’ trainers, saddle fitters, etc. without any true training or credentials. This damages those of us in the industry who have undergone extensive education and professional development, but as yet is unenforceable— other than when the end consumer (you as the rider) knows to ask the right questions and insists on proper procedures. I can only speak to the process our certified saddle
The more a girth is able to distribute the weight over a larger surface area, the more comfortable the horse will be. These are all “BSE” (both sides elastic) dressage girths with 4-, 6- and 8-inch sternum shields The bottom two are a newer version of a 5- and 8-inch BSE girth known as ‘softy girths’.
ergonomists follow when doing a saddle fit evaluation, but I would venture to say that most saddle fitters on the market will be doing at least part of what we do in their work as well. Your saddle fitter absolutely should have at least a basic understanding of equine (and human) anat- omy to be able to properly diagnose fit issues on the inter- face (your saddle) between the two. You should be asked for the reason you have hired him or her to come out. Your saddle fitter should listen to what you feel the issues are, then examine your saddle before watching you ride in it (if possible) to see for him/herself what is going on during movement. He or she will explain to you the issues and discuss with you the options to address the issues, then do the necessary adjustments to the tree and/or panels (restuffing) onsite and ask you to ride again. Only when you have decided for yourself that you are happy has your appointment ended (of course, you could make other deci- sions about what to do with your saddle—trade it in, put it on consignment, try out some demos, etc.), but basically the procedure is the same. You should expect to spend between 30–60 minutes at your appointment.
ome saddle fitters I’ve used have been better than others. What kind of education does a good saddle fitter have? What should I expect a fitter to do when I schedule a session?
This is a question very near and dear to us—and one of the reasons we developed the Saddlefit 4 Life (S4L) philosophy and curriculum. Although long-established courses such as those offered through the Society of Master Saddle Fitters are still very popular and often still considered the ‘standard,’ the S4L curriculum is now recognized by such prestigious orga- nizations as the German National Riding School, the German Association of Professional Trainers (BBR e.V.), as well as the University of Guelph Equine Sciences degree program—where I will soon be teaching saddle fitting as it relates to equine and human anatomy and biomechanics as an elective course. However, we are well aware that regulation is not stan- dardized in the equestrian industry; too many people can still
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