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Discussion on Fit of jumping saddle
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 9:01 am:
I need some advice on the fit of a jumping saddle.
The saddle I am looking at is a bit too wide for my mare.
The fit is greatly improved with the use of a pad with gel inserts at the shoulders.
At low level cross poles and jumps I think it will be fine.
I am concerned that at jumps of 3' the pad and gels might shift or otherwise prove inadequate.
Opinions?
Thanks
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Member:
dres
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 9:33 am:
Lori saddle fit is everything to a riding horse .. padding it up is not the answer.. image trying to pack a rider around with something pinching your shoulders or having a thick pad with pressure bareing down on it  All this will make for a grumpy horse or a unwilling horse to move foreward.. I suggest you keep looking for a saddle that fits the horse and you..
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 10:06 am:
Hi Lori,
In a perfect world, all saddles fit perfectly. You are going to have to let your horse and your common sense guide you on whether this saddle is good enough, and safe for jumping.
I'm not sure where exactly the saddle is too wide. If it's just in front, you need to make sure that the saddle doesn't slide forwards or backwards, without over-tightening the girth. If the tree itself is too wide, there is some risk of a shearing effect on her musculature because the weight-bearing is displaced too far "out." It may also make it difficult for you to maintain your stability.
Your best guide in this will be her attitude and level of comfort during and after work, and your ability to ride her correctly.
Horses vary a lot in their ability to work well with less-than-perfect tack. In spite of the time we spend fretting over the few special cases that are hard to fit or very fussy, a lot of horses seem to be just fine with pretty good saddle fit (as long as it doesn't bridge or something ghastly like that).
So good luck with her. My vote would be to keep a close eye and be prepared to adapt if she is uncomfortable.
- Elizabeth
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Member:
jivete
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 2:36 pm:
Elizabeth,
Can you explain what you mean by the "shearing effect on her musculature because the weight-bearing is displaced too far 'out.'" from a too wide tree?
Thanks, Carla
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 4:01 pm:
Hi Carla,
I can try! This is inexpert recall-- I own a horse with really crazy saddle damage. When my vet was evaluating her, she showed me how the previous saddle had put the rider's weight onto parts of the horse that really ought not to bear weight.
One thing that had happened was that the weight had been displaced too far out onto her rib cage, and had actually damaged her Longissimus and Latissimus Dorsi, resulting in interesting atrophy patterns and some strange compensatory muscling in other places.
An important part of a saddle's job is to balance the rider's weight where the horse is able to carry it. One possible effect of an ill-fitting saddle is to put that weight places where the horse can't carry it so easily (in the case of my well-sprung mare, pressing the muscles into the arc of her rib cage). So when Lori said "too wide" it occurred to me to mention that she needs to check (via sweat patterns or whatever) to make sure that the saddle is approximately putting weight in the right places on the horse.
Does that help, or sound like nonsense?
In my mare's case, a properly fitting saddle has caused her to (nearly) completely rebuild her topline and her attitude, and been pretty much a magical cure.
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Member:
jivete
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 4:47 pm:
Thanks. I was curious because I've begun to wonder if the saddles made for my wide mare are too wide in the gullet. Her favorite saddle to wear was a Kieffer that was a little too narrow and was really narrow through the gullet. She hated the Duett and only tolerates the Wintec Wide. It seems like "clear the spine" has gotten excessive. Wide saddles seem to have a really wide gullet in comparison to normal saddles, even though the spine of a wide horse isn't any bigger. I don't think any way.
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Thursday, Oct 25, 2007 - 6:40 pm:
ok, to clarify, the saddle is too wide only at the wither. It fits well at the shoulders and over the spine. This and the fact that I know I will only do low level jumping and that not often, is why I am considering using inserts in the saddle pad at all.
This horse (I haven't actually measured this is observational only) seems to have a wider spine than some. So some saddles that fit her at the wither actually are too narrow in the channel.
I think this is why my Wintec ap made her sore.
Her build is a bit narrow at the wither but quickly getting wide at the shoulder.
So a pad with inserts lifts the front of the saddle. Without the inserts the saddle sits too low, with weight in the saddle there is only about one finger width between the saddle and her spine. not enough clearance.
I have been changing the stirrup length back and forth trying to find a comfy position, it seems where ever my stirrups are I can't get my lower leg on without my knees coming out.
Interestingly I used this saddle on my mare that truly is wide, the inserts are not necessary on her.
Also, my leg was able to 'hug' the mare at different stirrup lengths.
However, what I don't know is, is it the saddle that makes a difference or the build of the horse?
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Member:
jivete
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Posted on Friday, Oct 26, 2007 - 9:02 am:
Is the angle of the saddle at the front parallel to your mare's shoulder?
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Friday, Oct 26, 2007 - 11:16 am:
Sorry Carla, I am not sure what you mean.
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Member:
jivete
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Posted on Friday, Oct 26, 2007 - 2:03 pm:
If you were to shape a coat hanger over your mare's back where the front of the saddle fits would this angle be roughly the same as the angle of the front of the saddle in question? If it is, then I would think padding wouldn't pose a problem, because a saddle fitter could potentially adjust your flocking to fit your mare and the pad would be mimicking that. But if the angles are different, then the saddle could pinch or gape and pinch, etc and I would think that would cause problems. It's a theory anyway. Hope it makes sense.
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Member:
maggienm
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Posted on Friday, Oct 26, 2007 - 5:25 pm:
Hmm, When the saddle is on her back just the way it is, yes, the angles or curves match quite nicely.
If I lift the saddle (just with my hand)so there is more clearance then the curves are wrong.
I don't know how a saddle maker would make adjustments. I do know that the Stubens can be adjusted by a saddle maker but I don't know much about the hows.
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