JULY 2022 THE RIDER/ 7


Beyond the Wither Tracing A Saddle-Fitting Series by Holly Barnett, REMT, CSF


houses your horse’s spinal column aka their ‘neural highway’. Spinal integrity is critical for systemic health (especially organ innerva- tion!) and biomechanical performance. Horses typically lose


“Once my horse puts on more topline, I’ll get my saddle re-fit”


Horrible plan. Sorry… For a horse lacking


topline saddle-fit has never been more paramount. If your saddle isn’t fitting properly your horse won’t have a chance to build a proper topline. Period. So why then is this the


most common reason for someone to put off a fitting? Truth is riders know their horse is going to change and this idea stems from not wanting to pay for two fit- tings. Here’s why that that thought process shows a se- rious lack of education around building a horse’s topline. Your horse’s back is


like a report card – one glance tells an educated ob- server a LOT about how


your horse moves, stands and how your saddle is cur- rently fitting, even how they’re being ridden. A well-developed topline is well muscled – like the top half of a loaf of bread – which provides a tissue cushion over the rib shelf which your saddle rests upon. Anatomically speak- ing the back primarily com- prises of the structure parts: thoracolumbar spine (verte- brae), motion parts: muscles and tendons and ligaments, protective parts: fascia & bursae, command parts: nerves and spinal cord and nutritional and detoxifica- tion parts: blood and lymph vessels. The horse’s back in an anatomically and me- chanically complex system – one that requires excep- tional function in order to carry a rider without insult or injury to the horse. It also


topline due to ill-fitting sad- dles, injury, time off and overuse. New research points to heat entrapment having far worse impact on tissue health than previously understood and should be taken into consideration. Most riders acknowl-


edge a horse lacking topline is lacking strength yet many fail to recognize that lack cushioning over their rib shelf makes the horse un- comfortable to carry a rider. Poor toplines are often under tension meaning they lack blood flow, reduced nu- tritional supply and poor detox, reduced neural com- munication all of which negatively impacts muscle growth. Exercise physiol- ogy is also often misunder- stood


or


underacknowledged - add an ill-fitting saddle to the mix and you are taking the long slow route of building compensation patterns that further inhibit a well-devel- oped topline. In an effort to save a


few hundred dollars on a fit- ting for a horse that’s ‘going to change anyways’ think of


it as an investment to ensure you’re giving your horse their best chance to develop a proper topline. You have a duty to ensure your horse’s back is well cared for espe- cially when rebuilding their topline. Remember, you can only increase one element (speed, duration and inten-


Every Breath Counts


sity) every two weeks in order to avoid tissue break- down. My suggestion is to start with some documenta- tion and track your progress. This approach dramatically improves the quality of your topline rebuild and speeds up the process while reduc- ing the chances of setbacks.


These photos show the


degree of change that is pos- sible in a horse’s posture in mere minutes of being rid- den in the correctly fitted saddle. Had this owner de- cided to keep struggling in their current saddle situation before getting a fitting they’d be spinning their


wheels and likely end up with a sore and sour horse. Instead, they decided to book in to get their horse on track from the beginning and as a result was amazed at how much more comfort- able her horse immediately went (not to mention the im- pressive posture gains) FROM ONE RIDE! Imag- ine trying to build a topline on the horse in the above photo as compared to the posture below. The differ- ence is night and day. Your horse is a master


adapter and will adopt a posture related to the fit of their saddle - every time. Ill- fitting saddles cause ill-de- veloped toplines. Get your fit right from the start and keep it that way, it’s more than worth it!


Holly Barnett has been a professional


fitter and


equine therapist for 20 years. She has worked with horses of all breeds and rid- ers of all levels and disci- plines throughout North America. She is the founder of August Equine, located in Campbellville ON. Her team provides saddle-fit consultations of all brands and sales of new and used saddles. Stay tuned for more issues of Beyond the Wither Tracing saddle-fit series.


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