“A Saddle Disaster? Or a Saddle Saviour?” – Email 9

Hello ,

This month we’re focused on putting together the articles for the next IH Magazine. We are very fortunate to have support from top researchers with many different areas of expertise. One of our top contributors, Dr Sue Dyson, did a pilot study of horses at Badminton taking photographs of the horses during the run up to compare how they look (morphology) to how they performed. This has been the subject of a Facebook debacle recently.

I want to get to the bottom of this (I’m curious not judgemental!) and come at it from every angle – feed, fitness, training and whether the saddle fit can make a difference.

Getting the right saddle for your horse can be difficult, expensive and frustrating. It’s also important you get the saddle that’s right for YOU if you’re the rider.

We had an excellent article in the last IH Magazine about how to check your saddle fits your horse correctly. Even a caring, knowledgeable owner can let things slip and next thing their horse’s back is peppered with white hairs from the lack of blood flow caused by pressure points.

Are you and your horse happy with the saddle you have? You’ll know the signs if your horse isn’t happy: turning their bottom towards you when you present the saddle, ears back, nipping… A physio should notice soreness in the saddle area, although it will be fairly obvious when you groom them or run your hand along their back … if you’re paying attention that is.

So the obvious advice is ‘find a good saddle and a good saddle fitter’. But how do you know if you’re getting great advice? Rumour has it that “there is an increasing disconnect between craftsmanship and practical application – and it’s putting both horses and riders at risk”. Does anyone on this mailing list have any evidence of this?

That’s just one of the things we’re looking to address in the next issue of the IH Magazine and meanwhile I’d be really interested if you have a saddle or saddle fitting story.

Have you had a saddle disaster? Or a saddle saviour? Do email and let us know. We can share it anonymously if you’d prefer. Or you can comment on my Facebook page Kelly Marks and Intelligent Horsemanship if that works better for you.

All the best

Kelly xxx

PS – Rehab Hugo is coming along great and we’re planning a Fun Ride this Sunday all being well. This was picture was taken from a video so please excuse the headless rider!

…And don't miss out on the prizes and webinars coming up!