Entertain this scenario, if you will ...
I've become bored with dressage, and decide I want to take up eventing. In order to do that, my mare Lyric will need to learn to jump. (Keep in mind that this is totally hypothetical, for three reasons: 1) My mare jumps like a goat. 2) I haven't cleared a fence on a horse in the better part of two decades. 3) In that time, I've managed to forget quite a lot of what little I knew about jumping.) So - keeping reason #3 in mind - I take her to a trainer so she can learn to negotiate fences. Said trainer mounts, starts trotting her over some ground poles, then progresses to cavalettis. All's going well, and the trainer is about to start with some cross rails. Suddenly, what little knowledge of work over fences I have retained percolates to the surface, and I morph into what I call a Self-Appointed Expert. I butt in with, "Don't you think those cross rails are too high/low/wide/narrow? Shouldn't you put a ground pole down? I don't like the distance between the cross rails - it's too long/short. And the poles are a funny color. Why don't you put some wings on that cross rail? Lyric won't go straight into it without wings on it. And why are you using those white plastic blocks instead of real jump standards? And here, let me lengthen your stirrups - they're far too short for riding cross rails. And watch your hands - I don't want you hitting my mare in the mouth. Why are you trotting/cantering instead of cantering/trotting? And I think you should have a line of 6 cross rails rather than 3 - or better yet, four cross rails and two verticals. And wait - I don't like the footing here. Can't we drag the arena/move to a different arena? And why are other people working in the arena? Lyric can't concentrate with other horses in here."
Now, in my mind, such behavior would justify the trainer dismounting, handing my mare off to her assistant, and pounding me to death with a jump cup. In real life, though, the trainer might answer all my concerns calmly ... and then discover that her schedule was far too jammed to accommodate working with my horse. She'd be very sorry, she'd recommend that I try Trainer X just down the road ... and as soon as my tail lights were out of sight, she'd punch a hole in the tack room wall and call Trainer X to warn her about me.
My scenario is quite over the top, I know; a lampoon of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. I do have customers who involve their trainer, their farrier, their vet, their equine massage therapist / chiropractor / acupuncturist / communicator in the saddle fitting process - and to be perfectly honest, I know people in most of those fields whose input and opinion I accept without question. There are times when input from a professional who knows the horse and/or rider can be incredibly helpful. If I note that the horse seems a little off, the vet or chiro can tell me that the horse has arthritic changes in the left fore fetlock or issues with the sacroilliac, and I can stop worrying that the saddle is causing the issue. Trainers can tell me if the horse's reluctance to move out energetically (or prediliction to move out too energetically) is due to past training or pilot error, or if it might be the saddle; they can tell me if the rider is leaning behind the vertical out of habit or because the twist is wrong, and they can tell me if the head toss going into the canter is habit or something completely new.
Self-Appointed Experts (hereinafter known as S-AEs), on the other hand ... Their area of expertise suddenly widens to encompass saddle fitting (and perhaps even saddle design and manufacture as well), and they make a saddle fitter's life absolute hell. I may have found a saddle that perfectly suits both the horse and rider, but if it doesn't make the S-AE happy (and S-AEs are, by definition, almost impossible to please), it will not be accepted. And unfortunately, many customers who have Self-Appointed experts in tow are firmly under the Self-Appointed Expert's influence, so my opinion on the whole process is just so much barking at the moon.
With S-AEs , there's no sense in arguing. Gods know I've tried, but fortunately, I was wise enough to not spend too long beating my head against that particular brick wall. I wound up looking like a contentious no-nothing who was just jealous of the wealth of knowledge available to the S-AE. In those cases, the customer leaves with whichever saddle the S-AE chooses and I wish them a safe trip home. End of story.
Or, more usually, not.
Almost invariably, the customer will come to his/her senses at some point ... and often, they come back. If we're lucky, it didn't take long, so the horse will only have been made mildly uncomfortable. But if we're not, there can be serious training or behavior issues (such as bucking, bolting from the mounting block, biting or kicking when approached with the saddle, or refusing jumps) or serious physical issues such as muscle atrophy or alignment problems. Serious problems always make fitting tougher. For one thing, you need to wait until the horse is no longer in pain - you can't do a saddle fitting on an unsound or injured horse. And when the horse is finally healthy enough to do the fitting, you run into tons of questions. Is the horse trying to nip while being girthed because he's uncomfortable, or is it habit and remembered pain? Is the horse not picking up the left lead canter because of saddle fitting issues, or because muscle atrophy makes the left lead incredibly difficult? Is the horse's gait short and choppy because of the way this saddle fits, or is it because of the way the last saddle fit?
Karma will at some point catch up to the S-AE. Best we can hope is that it's in the form of another S-AE who runs roughshod over their particular area of knowledge. Not that the first will necessarily learn anything from the experience, or gain sudden insight into their behavior ... but it's satisfying to think they might get a taste of their own medicine.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
From the Tree Up - Further Panel Modifications
Sometimes, a small change in the front of the panel can make a huge difference in saddle fit. Two handy modifications are the full front gusset and the wither gusset.
The wither gusset a great help when dealing with horses that have that dip below the wither, like so:
It's often used in conjunction with a dropped / trapezius or K panel, since those dips are often seen on the withery, rangy horses. It can fill in the gaps quite nicely. (Pardon the PhotoShopped saddle. Believe it or not, in the hundreds of photos that inhabit my computer, I can't seem to find one of a horse wearing a saddle with wither gussets. Of course, I'll find one about 20 minutes after I publish this ...)
You can see how the gusset settles into that dip, and helps keep the saddle up off the wither.
The full front gusset runs further down the front of the panel and sweat flap: 
Apologies for the sideways shot - I tried several times to correct it. It looks fine in PhotoShop, but appears here sideways. No clue why.
The full front gusset can be helpful in keeping the saddle up off the wither on a lean, rangy horse when the wither gusset isn't quite the ticket. It can also help keep the saddle back on a horse who's rump-high, or who has a big barrel and a short, forward girth spot. A fitter can add flock and "square up" the gusset, which acts as a stop to help keep the saddle back.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Input Appreciated
Lately, I've been receiving a LOT of requests for more information on saddle fitting. People are interested in having me present fitting clinics and seminars, some are asking for a book, and some want dvds or on-line courses, webinars and podcasts. I'm absolutely thrilled that so many folks want to learn and are interested in what I have to say; getting to geek for hours on saddle fitting is about as good as it gets for me. So here's my question for you all: what works for you? Do you prefer "live" presentations, would you prefer a book and dvd series, or would something like webinars or podcasts work better for you? Do you want to learn about fitting for your own information, or would you eventually like to do this professionally? What do you hope to learn?
Obviously, whatever direction this goes, it'll take a while to develop ... but getting input from the interested parties will give me a good set of guideline to use, and will go a long way toward making sure it's something that people would want to buy. So please, let me hear it!
Obviously, whatever direction this goes, it'll take a while to develop ... but getting input from the interested parties will give me a good set of guideline to use, and will go a long way toward making sure it's something that people would want to buy. So please, let me hear it!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
From the Tree Up - Panel Modifications
Finally, we return to the "From the Tree Up" series. This time, we're going to look at two of the basic panel modifications: the dropped or trapezius panel, and the K panel (you can find photos of both of these panels in this blog entry). Both are used for horses with similar conformations (again, covered in that blog post), but I wanted to show things in a little more detail.
Here's our horse, Dee. Dee was a Grand Prix jumper who'd been shown by a fairly big-name rider; he's 16 and retired from the show circuit, re-homed with a teenage girl who wants to start showing in the jumper division.
Dee is a BIG boy - 17+ hands - and more substantial than you might think from the photo. Unfortunately, his back shows the signs of being ridden in an ill-fitting saddle:
This photo shows some serious issues. The longissimus dorsii - the long muscle that runs on either side of the spine and is the primary supporting muscle for the saddle - is so atrophied that it's almost totally absent. This photo shows it even more clearly:
This shot from the rear also shows some white hairs on the wither, and some fairly dramatic asymmetry throughout the back (and he was not perfectly square behind when the photo was taken, so the asymmetry in his hindquarters looks more severe than it really was).
This sort of damage doesn't occur overnight. Dee had been ridden in an ill-fitting saddle for a long time. I knew that his back would muscle up considerably, but I also knew that his young owner would be more focused on her jumping than her flat work, so I wasn't thinking the changes would be so radical they'd rate a different saddle than the one I had in mind.
Here's a shot of Dee showing the way a standard panel would fit:
The red arrows show the area where the saddle would make no contact and be unsupported. The standard panel wouldn't be deep enough to make contact with everything it should to support the saddle and rider.
This next shot shows how a trapezius panel would fit:
The orange area shows where the trapezius panel would make contact. It's a definite improvement over the standard panel, but the red arrows again show where the saddle would be unsupported.
This next shot shows how a K panel would fit:
Of the three panel configurations, the K is definitely the best. It would "fill in the gaps" left by the muscle atrophy and would offer the greatest are of support.
Unfortunately, the rider didn't have the budget for a bench-made saddle, so we had to strike the best compromise we could between the horse's needs and the rider's economic reality. Fortunately, we had a used close contact saddle with a trapezius panel, and we were able to use a shim pad to correct the spots that weren't quite perfect. I'm happy to say that Dee's owner put in some good, consistent work, and his back is looking much healthier now. He still has a good wither with dips below them, but the longissimus has re-developed nicely and he no longer needs the shim pad. The trapezius panel works beautifully for him now. I don't have any current photos of his back, but if I can get some, I'll post them.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Smoke and Mirrors (The Saddle Shopper's Oath)
"Basic rule of saddle fit: it's not rocket science." - Edie Tschorn
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Taking It on the Road - Saddle Fitting Clinic at Clover Hill in Williamstown, MA
On May 15, Edie Tschorn and I drove down to Carolyn Henderson's Clover Hill Farm in Williamstown, MA to do a saddle fitting clinic. This is something we've done a couple times before, but this was probably the best we've done to date.
We started the morning with a PowerPoint presentation on the basics of saddle fitting. It covers the purpose of a saddle, the different types of english saddles, basic saddle construction and fit for the horse and rider. It touches on what to look for when assessing fit, what sorts of behavior can manifest when there's a saddle fitting problem, and what can happen if the problem isn't addressed. We also spent some time discussing issues that can mimic saddle fitting problems, such as training problems, ulcers or Lyme disease - and how to tell the difference between the two. We also brought some bare trees and junker saddles to further illustrate some of the points we covered, and so people can get some hands-on study time. Edie and I have streamlined the presentation as much as possible, and it really does just cover the basics, but with some Q and A, it usually runs at least two hours.
After lunch, Edie had to head back to the shop, so I spent the afternoon doing a bunch of hands-on assessments of horses and existing saddles. It was a great chance to delve further into the Heavy Seven, and to learn about perfect fit vs. acceptable fit vs. unacceptable fit. (And I'd like to take a moment to say that I hugely appreciate how well-behaved the horses were. Doing a fitting while dodging hooves and teeth is difficult, but doing a fitting and dodging hooves and teeth while trying to teach people about saddle fit is a bit more than I prefer to handle all at once!)
I also showed everyone how to take a template, and discussed how to "read" the template to evaluate a horse's fitting needs. We had also brought a couple saddles to put on the demo horses. We had a stock model Black Country Eden, and another Eden with a dropped panel and wither gussets. Fortunately, we had a couple of leaner, withery horses, so people were really able to see the function of the panel modifications quite clearly, and how they improved upon the fit offered by the standard panel.
It was the sort of day I would love have far more often: a lovely, workmanlike facility, well-behaved horses and interested attendees. In fact, I'm gearing myself up for doing more of these clinics. I have some fresh perspective, some new ideas and am thinking about expanding the format somewhat ... so if you or anyone else is interested, just let me know!
We started the morning with a PowerPoint presentation on the basics of saddle fitting. It covers the purpose of a saddle, the different types of english saddles, basic saddle construction and fit for the horse and rider. It touches on what to look for when assessing fit, what sorts of behavior can manifest when there's a saddle fitting problem, and what can happen if the problem isn't addressed. We also spent some time discussing issues that can mimic saddle fitting problems, such as training problems, ulcers or Lyme disease - and how to tell the difference between the two. We also brought some bare trees and junker saddles to further illustrate some of the points we covered, and so people can get some hands-on study time. Edie and I have streamlined the presentation as much as possible, and it really does just cover the basics, but with some Q and A, it usually runs at least two hours.
After lunch, Edie had to head back to the shop, so I spent the afternoon doing a bunch of hands-on assessments of horses and existing saddles. It was a great chance to delve further into the Heavy Seven, and to learn about perfect fit vs. acceptable fit vs. unacceptable fit. (And I'd like to take a moment to say that I hugely appreciate how well-behaved the horses were. Doing a fitting while dodging hooves and teeth is difficult, but doing a fitting and dodging hooves and teeth while trying to teach people about saddle fit is a bit more than I prefer to handle all at once!)
I also showed everyone how to take a template, and discussed how to "read" the template to evaluate a horse's fitting needs. We had also brought a couple saddles to put on the demo horses. We had a stock model Black Country Eden, and another Eden with a dropped panel and wither gussets. Fortunately, we had a couple of leaner, withery horses, so people were really able to see the function of the panel modifications quite clearly, and how they improved upon the fit offered by the standard panel.
It was the sort of day I would love have far more often: a lovely, workmanlike facility, well-behaved horses and interested attendees. In fact, I'm gearing myself up for doing more of these clinics. I have some fresh perspective, some new ideas and am thinking about expanding the format somewhat ... so if you or anyone else is interested, just let me know!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Play NICE, People!
As most of you probably know, I moderate the comments on this blog. I do it mostly to stymie the spammers - I do not need money wired to me from Nigeria, I do not want to pimp the latest computer software, and I do not wish to view "HOTEST Russian womens". I also want to make sure that a certain level of politeness is maintained. While I'm all for First Amendment rights and will allow pretty much any comment that isn't libelous, blatantly offensive or an out-and-out lie, I do insist that opinions be expressed in a civil manner.
I've received several comments lately from people who are seriously cheesed off at certain reps and/or saddle companies, and have chosen to use (or try to use) my blog as a venue to air their grievances. I've chosen not to publish these comments because of both content and tone: "DON'T EVER DEAL WITH MANLY BARECHEST OF DEAD GOAT SADDLERY - HIS SADDLES ARE PIECES OF S**T AND RUIN HORSES' BACKS, HE'S MEAN, RUDE AND HE SMELLS BAD, TOO." (And the caps thing - I really, really dislike the all-caps thing.) "BARBIE THE SNUGGLEBUTT SADDLERY FITTER FROM EAST BACKACHE IS AN IDIOT AND TOTALLY RUINED MY SADDLE. SHE'S ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT."
Here's the bottom line: comments like those will never, ever appear on my blog - end of story. If you want to get your message across in that particular manner, you're welcome to start your own blog - there, you can vent your spleen until the cows come home, and you won't have some cranky old saddlefitting broad editing (and deleting) your commentary. Or better yet, write it all down on a piece of paper - call 'em names, curse them roundly, cast aspersions on their parenthood and family tree, question their humanity, call down upon them all manner of misfortune - and then burn it.
I'm not saying you shouldn't air your opinions (see this entry) - I'm just saying you should be careful about where and how you do it. Tell the truth, air your views in a factual, non-libelous/-slanderous manner, and you many save someone else from going through the same bunch of crap that you did. You'll also probably feel better. However, you won't find inflammatory stuff in the comments here. By not publishing comments like these, I've not only kept a lot of negativity out of my blog and my life, I've also protected the poster from possible litigation and attendent lawyer's fees.
You're welcome.
I've received several comments lately from people who are seriously cheesed off at certain reps and/or saddle companies, and have chosen to use (or try to use) my blog as a venue to air their grievances. I've chosen not to publish these comments because of both content and tone: "DON'T EVER DEAL WITH MANLY BARECHEST OF DEAD GOAT SADDLERY - HIS SADDLES ARE PIECES OF S**T AND RUIN HORSES' BACKS, HE'S MEAN, RUDE AND HE SMELLS BAD, TOO." (And the caps thing - I really, really dislike the all-caps thing.) "BARBIE THE SNUGGLEBUTT SADDLERY FITTER FROM EAST BACKACHE IS AN IDIOT AND TOTALLY RUINED MY SADDLE. SHE'S ABSOLUTELY INCOMPETENT."
Here's the bottom line: comments like those will never, ever appear on my blog - end of story. If you want to get your message across in that particular manner, you're welcome to start your own blog - there, you can vent your spleen until the cows come home, and you won't have some cranky old saddlefitting broad editing (and deleting) your commentary. Or better yet, write it all down on a piece of paper - call 'em names, curse them roundly, cast aspersions on their parenthood and family tree, question their humanity, call down upon them all manner of misfortune - and then burn it.
I'm not saying you shouldn't air your opinions (see this entry) - I'm just saying you should be careful about where and how you do it. Tell the truth, air your views in a factual, non-libelous/-slanderous manner, and you many save someone else from going through the same bunch of crap that you did. You'll also probably feel better. However, you won't find inflammatory stuff in the comments here. By not publishing comments like these, I've not only kept a lot of negativity out of my blog and my life, I've also protected the poster from possible litigation and attendent lawyer's fees.
You're welcome.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitters in the US
As promised, here's a current list of the SMS QSFs here in the States:
Tiger Adams - The Horse in Sport - Grand Junction, CO http://www.thehorseinsport.com/
Kate Wilson - Dutches Bridle & Saddle, Port Jervis, NY http://www.dutchessbridlesaddle.com/
Suzie Fletcher-Baker (Master Saddler) Eaton, CO 970 454 3556 http://www.masterssaddlery.com
Lucy Batchelor (Master Saddler) - Bridgehampton, NY http://www.brennansbitandbridle.com/?page_id=30
Judi Berninger - Saddlers Row, Palatine, IL http://www.tack-repair.com/saddles/dressage%20saddles/Albion%20Platinum.htm
David Boot (Master Saddler) - Bridgehampton, NY http://www.brennansbitandbridle.com/?page_id=30
Nancy Dotti - Contact Saddles, Santa Rosa, CA http://www.contactsaddles.com/about.htm
Annette Gavin - Hastilow Competition Saddles, Warfordsburg, PA http://www.hastilowusa.com/
Beverley Harrison - The Tack Collection, Lafayette, CO http://www.tackcollection.com/
Kate Lamacki (Master Saddler) Palatine, IL katelamacki@sbcglobal.net
Colleen Meyer Advanced Saddle Fit Marlborough, NH http://www.advancedsaddlefit.com/index.html
Cordia Pearson The Saddle Fitter Stacey, MN http://www.saddlefitter.com/
Kyrena Robinson The Paddock, Inc. Ledyard, CT http://www.thepaddockinc.com/category_s/64.htm
Nancy Shedrick NH 603-764-5899
Heather Soones-Booher Saddle Fitting 101, Portersville, PA http://www.saddles101.com/
Cary Wallace Custom Saddlery San Marcos, CA http://www.mysaddle.com/MYSADD~3/DesignResearch.html
Janet Wells Tunbridge, VT jwhorsepower@innevi.com
Deborah Witty - Performance Saddlery, Groton, NY http://www.performancesaddlery.com/
Bill Wood (William Gates Wood) VA http://www.thesaddlefitter.com/
Tiger Adams - The Horse in Sport - Grand Junction, CO http://www.thehorseinsport.com/
Kate Wilson - Dutches Bridle & Saddle, Port Jervis, NY http://www.dutchessbridlesaddle.com/
Suzie Fletcher-Baker (Master Saddler) Eaton, CO 970 454 3556 http://www.masterssaddlery.com
Lucy Batchelor (Master Saddler) - Bridgehampton, NY http://www.brennansbitandbridle.com/?page_id=30
Judi Berninger - Saddlers Row, Palatine, IL http://www.tack-repair.com/saddles/dressage%20saddles/Albion%20Platinum.htm
David Boot (Master Saddler) - Bridgehampton, NY http://www.brennansbitandbridle.com/?page_id=30
Nancy Dotti - Contact Saddles, Santa Rosa, CA http://www.contactsaddles.com/about.htm
Annette Gavin - Hastilow Competition Saddles, Warfordsburg, PA http://www.hastilowusa.com/
Beverley Harrison - The Tack Collection, Lafayette, CO http://www.tackcollection.com/
Kate Lamacki (Master Saddler) Palatine, IL katelamacki@sbcglobal.net
Colleen Meyer Advanced Saddle Fit Marlborough, NH http://www.advancedsaddlefit.com/index.html
Cordia Pearson The Saddle Fitter Stacey, MN http://www.saddlefitter.com/
Kyrena Robinson The Paddock, Inc. Ledyard, CT http://www.thepaddockinc.com/category_s/64.htm
Nancy Shedrick NH 603-764-5899
Heather Soones-Booher Saddle Fitting 101, Portersville, PA http://www.saddles101.com/
Cary Wallace Custom Saddlery San Marcos, CA http://www.mysaddle.com/MYSADD~3/DesignResearch.html
Janet Wells Tunbridge, VT jwhorsepower@innevi.com
Deborah Witty - Performance Saddlery, Groton, NY http://www.performancesaddlery.com/
Bill Wood (William Gates Wood) VA http://www.thesaddlefitter.com/
Monday, April 19, 2010
There's a Rumor ...
Did you ever play the game "Rumor" when you were a kid? You'd sit around in a circle and one person would whisper something into the first person's ear - say it was something like, "Donna's going to the movies with her best friend next Friday night." The first person would whisper it to the next person, who'd whisper it to the next; it was passed on in that fashion until it reached the last person, who would announce it to the group at large. Almost invariably, the message would have become something like, "Donna's going out with her best friend's boyfriend next Saturday." And the more people it filtered through, the more distorted it was likely to become.
Now, we just heard a couple of rather nasty rumors here at the shop, and I'd like to do what I can to put them to rest before they spread and morph into something even uglier than they already are. According to the first rumor, Black Country Saddlery has gone out of business. Totally, absolutely, completely untrue. What IS true is that Nikki Newcombe, BC's sales manager, has been stuck in the UK, unable to get to Rolex Kentucky because of the no-fly situation caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. (If you're going to Rolex, however, do stop by the BC booth because it will be open!) The company itself is still hale and hearty - in fact, they've recently hired a new saddler - and they're turning out our best-selling saddles with the usual attention to quality and fit. So, to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated.
The second rumor is that there is only one Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitter here in the US. While I may not put a huge store on a fitter's certification or lack thereof, I am an incorrigible nit-picker and MUST set facts straight by saying that this rumor is also completely false. There are well over a dozen SMS QSFs here in the States. The SMS site has a list on their website, but - strangely - their site is down as I'm writing this post; so Nikki is sending me a list of the US QSFs, which I will post here when I receive it.
Well, I feel much better, having done my bit to set the record straight. And to those who spread this sort of misinformation, I'd remind you to be wary of the Teeth of Karma, which are, in my experience, very long, very sharp, and unerringly aimed to take a large chunk out of the offender's butt.
Now, we just heard a couple of rather nasty rumors here at the shop, and I'd like to do what I can to put them to rest before they spread and morph into something even uglier than they already are. According to the first rumor, Black Country Saddlery has gone out of business. Totally, absolutely, completely untrue. What IS true is that Nikki Newcombe, BC's sales manager, has been stuck in the UK, unable to get to Rolex Kentucky because of the no-fly situation caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. (If you're going to Rolex, however, do stop by the BC booth because it will be open!) The company itself is still hale and hearty - in fact, they've recently hired a new saddler - and they're turning out our best-selling saddles with the usual attention to quality and fit. So, to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of their death have been greatly exaggerated.
The second rumor is that there is only one Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitter here in the US. While I may not put a huge store on a fitter's certification or lack thereof, I am an incorrigible nit-picker and MUST set facts straight by saying that this rumor is also completely false. There are well over a dozen SMS QSFs here in the States. The SMS site has a list on their website, but - strangely - their site is down as I'm writing this post; so Nikki is sending me a list of the US QSFs, which I will post here when I receive it.
Well, I feel much better, having done my bit to set the record straight. And to those who spread this sort of misinformation, I'd remind you to be wary of the Teeth of Karma, which are, in my experience, very long, very sharp, and unerringly aimed to take a large chunk out of the offender's butt.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
My New Favorite Leather Stuff
Here's my new favorite stuff:
And here's what it does. This is an older, Argentine-made Collegiate that hasn't seen much in the way of TLC:
The leather's dry and the flaps have seen a lot of rubbing and abuse:
Now here's the same saddle (note that all photos were taken using the same lighting and exposure settings on my camera, and all the same adjustments in PhotoShop) after a single light application of the Black Country Balsam and a quick buff with a soft cloth:
Close-up of the flap:
Added bonus: it wasn't so oily that I had to wash my hands after using it, and it has a light, pleasant lemon scent. And if it can do that in less than 5 minutes to badly-damaged, inexpensive leather ... 'nuff said!
What's the Point?
There is very little standardization in the way saddles fit - particularly when it comes to width. Tree construction varies from company to company, so one company's medium may be comparable to another company's medium-wide or wide. Trees made in the UK to BETA (British Equestrian Trade Ass'n.) standards have to be within a certain angle measurement - a medium, for example, between 85° and 94.9°, and a wide between 95° and 104.9° - but that's almost 10° variation. Even centimeter measurements, which you'd think would be a more exacting way of measuring width, aren't much help. A 29 cm. Passier (that company's x-wide tree) will fit a wider horse than a 32 cm. Stubben.
Why? Tree point length. Saddles measured in centimeters are measured between the tree points on the bare tree, before the saddle is built. So if you have an 8" long point, 32 cm. will be considerably less generous than if the points are 5" long. To illustrate, I've compared a 28.5 cm. "wide" Passier with an "xw" Stubben (which, according to Stubben's web site, is wider than a 32 cm., though no exact width measurement is listed).
Measured from the saddle nail down to the end of the point, it's just about 5":
Now, here's the Stubben, with Edie's index finger again at the end of the tree point:
And here's the length of the point - about 8":
Here's a comparison of the same saddles (remember, Stubben xw, Passier wide, 28.5 cm.) from the front, with the ends of the tree points marked with tape. First, the Passier:
Though it's hard to see, the measurement is just under 12".
Here's the Stubben:
Again, hard to see the numbers, but it's measuring about 12 1/2".
The longer points on the Stubben can be helpful when fitting a horse with a good wither - they distribute the weight all the way down the wither. But on a horse with moderate to no wither, long points can make the saddle "perch" and cause lateral instability.
And when you add panel configuration and tree shape into the mix, it can be even more confusing. A K panel or a wither (or full front) gusset will make a saddle fit less generously. A hoop / freedom head tree or a panel that's attached lower down in the gullet (like Passier's Freedom panel) will make a saddle more generous in the width department. Here's a photo with three saddles - all 34 cm. trees - so you can see the variation in width. The top saddle is a Duett Largo, built on a hoop-type tree; the middle is a Prestige 2000D, and the bottom saddle is a Duett Fidelio.
And to get an idea of how panel configuration figures in, here are two Black Country saddles - an Eloquence X on top, and a Vinici X on bottom. Both are 17.5" wides, built on the same tree ... but look at the difference.
So if you're in the market for a saddle, remember that describing your horse as needing a "wide" tree or a "33 cm. tree" can be open to a LOT of interpretation.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Mythbusters, Inc.
Here we are, more than four months into a new year and a new decade. I remember being in my teens and doing the math to find out how old I'd be in the year 2000 ... and not being able to imagine being that old. And now I'm 10 years older than that. Little did I know ...
There are also a lot of old saws regarding saddles and saddle fitting that should be laid to rest. Some are based on outdated practices or technology, and some were never really true to begin with.
1) "If the saddle is the right size for you, you'll be able to fit your hand between the back of your butt and the edge of the cantle." Perhaps back in the day when English saddle design was pretty static, this might have been true. Now, however, it's pretty much gone the way of the dodo. If you look at the deep seat and high cantle on some dressage saddles, or the swept-back cantle on some cross-country saddles, you'll see what I mean. The length and set of the flaps, and the placement of the blocks are also important - if the seat's ok but the flap or blocks are wrong, the rider won't be comfy:
Also, personal preference plays a large part here. Some people like to feel a little more cradled, while some prefer a bit more room to move. If you feel balanced and comfortable, and can ride well and effectively, then the seat's the right size for you.
2) "Foam panels are no good because they break down so quickly." This was pretty true in the beginning. Anyone who's old enough to have had one of the first English saddles with foam in the padded flaps will tell you that it degraded in pretty short order and became this nasty, grainy sand-like stuff that would magically leach out and cling with great tenacity to the knee patches on your breeches. Unfortunately, the first foam panels behaved in pretty much the same manner. The good news is that today's foams are far more resilient. They don't conform to a horse's back the way wool does, which makes them a good choice for a "one saddle, multiple horse" situation (providing, of course, the fit is basically correct for all the horses it's being used on). And if something does happen that affects the integrity of the foam, the saddle can be sent back to the manufacturer and the foam can be replaced.
3) "You should have 3 fingers' clearance between your horse's wither and the gullet of the saddle." This has changed to a much less exacting "adequate clearance." With some horses and saddles, three fingers will be about right ... and on some, it may be 4 fingers, and on some, only one. Hoop trees, for example, are designed to sit lower on the horse than standard trees, in order to minimize lateral instability on the sausage bodies. Here's an example of a hoop tree that's fitting well (note the green lines showing angle of the back and angle of the tree points). There's not 3 fingers' clearance there, but the fit is correct:
4) "Buy a saddle with a wide tree and you can pad it to fit any horse." I'm going to go back to my favorite analogy here and compare that to buying a pair of size 14 shoes and thinking they'll fit everyone if they just wear enough pairs of socks. I know there are some big-name trainers out there who subscribe to that theory, but if a tree's way, way too wide for a horse, you can have it sitting up on 4 or 5 or 6 pads, and it still won't fit properly. And in addition, you'll run into lateral stability problems if your saddle is perched 3" off your horse's back on a drift of multiple pads. Just not a good idea.
5) "Women want saddles with wide twists, and men want saddles with narrow twists." I covered this in a blog post way back in March of '09 (http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2009/03/twist-and-shout.html), so I won't go into tons of detail - I'll just reiterate and say that I've never found much truth in that particular statement. I'm a woman, and I like a narrow twist; two women here in the shop like a wide twist. So go figure. If I ever get to the point where I can peg twist width preference and fit for the rider as easliy as I can assess fit for the horse, I'll retire in under five years.
6) "High withered horses need narrow trees for wither clearance." High withered horses rarely need narrow trees. I've been fitting saddles for a decade or so, and in that time I've run into two horses that really needed a narrow tree (and strangely enough, when their fitting needs were met, they both developed muscle and had to be re-fit with medium trees). Often, high withered horses need modified panels: a K or trapezius panel, a wither or full front gusset, or a deeper rear gusset. Putting a narrow tree on a horse just because of a big wither will actually cause more muscle atrophy under the tree points and actually exacerbate the fitting problems.
7) "Steeple-withered horses are built that way because they've never had a saddle that fits them properly." As I said in #6, trying to fit a big wither with a narrow tree can make a bad matter worse. But there are times when saddle fit isn't the culprit - genetics are. If you've been on the Trumbull Mtn. website at all, you might be familiar with this photo:
8) "Getting a custom made saddle is the only way to get a really high-quality saddle, and if you have a hard-to-fit horse, it's the only way to fit them correctly." Any saddle company out there is going to make the best saddle it possibly can, whether it's a stock model or a custom job. And as for fitting hard-to-fit horses ... in all the time I've been fitting saddles, I've yet to see a horse that really, truly needed a fully custom saddle. Some need a bench-made saddle - that is, a stock model made with certain modifications - and some have needed one saddle built on another saddle's tree. But as far as honestly needing a custom tree and a custom saddle built on it? Nah. It's a nice way to spend your disposable income, and the snob appeal is undeniable, but I've yet to see it be an absolute necessity.
There were lots of things I believed in my youth that have turned out to be fallacious: "Wait an hour after a meal to go swimming. If you don't, you'll get a cramp and drown." (I rarely go in over my head, and "You'll get a cramp while you're wading" just doesn't have the same impact.) "Eating raw potatoes will give you worms." (I love raw potatoes, and if I have worms, they're very quiet tenants.) And the biggest, courtesy of my French-Canadian Catholic grandmother: "At midnight on Christmas Eve, the animals in the barn bow down to honor the birth of the baby Jesus." (Ever the pragmatist, I snuck out to the barn one Christmas Eve when I was about 6, sat quietly, and watched. Midnight came and went, and while most of the cows and some of the horses were lying down, there was no bowing to be seen. This not only made me question the whole organized religion thing - it also blew some pretty big holes in Grandma's credibility.)
There are also a lot of old saws regarding saddles and saddle fitting that should be laid to rest. Some are based on outdated practices or technology, and some were never really true to begin with.
1) "If the saddle is the right size for you, you'll be able to fit your hand between the back of your butt and the edge of the cantle." Perhaps back in the day when English saddle design was pretty static, this might have been true. Now, however, it's pretty much gone the way of the dodo. If you look at the deep seat and high cantle on some dressage saddles, or the swept-back cantle on some cross-country saddles, you'll see what I mean. The length and set of the flaps, and the placement of the blocks are also important - if the seat's ok but the flap or blocks are wrong, the rider won't be comfy:
The seat on this saddle is sufficiently large - it would be too large for some people's taste - but unless the rider lengthens the leather considerably, her knee is going to be over the block and off the flap. A more forward-set flap would be needed if the rider is not comfortable with a longer leg.
Now here's an example of a saddle that's just too darn small - we're almost talking "thong with stirrups" here:
Probably another inch of seat length, and perhaps a more generous flap, would make the saddle a much better fit.
2) "Foam panels are no good because they break down so quickly." This was pretty true in the beginning. Anyone who's old enough to have had one of the first English saddles with foam in the padded flaps will tell you that it degraded in pretty short order and became this nasty, grainy sand-like stuff that would magically leach out and cling with great tenacity to the knee patches on your breeches. Unfortunately, the first foam panels behaved in pretty much the same manner. The good news is that today's foams are far more resilient. They don't conform to a horse's back the way wool does, which makes them a good choice for a "one saddle, multiple horse" situation (providing, of course, the fit is basically correct for all the horses it's being used on). And if something does happen that affects the integrity of the foam, the saddle can be sent back to the manufacturer and the foam can be replaced.
3) "You should have 3 fingers' clearance between your horse's wither and the gullet of the saddle." This has changed to a much less exacting "adequate clearance." With some horses and saddles, three fingers will be about right ... and on some, it may be 4 fingers, and on some, only one. Hoop trees, for example, are designed to sit lower on the horse than standard trees, in order to minimize lateral instability on the sausage bodies. Here's an example of a hoop tree that's fitting well (note the green lines showing angle of the back and angle of the tree points). There's not 3 fingers' clearance there, but the fit is correct:
4) "Buy a saddle with a wide tree and you can pad it to fit any horse." I'm going to go back to my favorite analogy here and compare that to buying a pair of size 14 shoes and thinking they'll fit everyone if they just wear enough pairs of socks. I know there are some big-name trainers out there who subscribe to that theory, but if a tree's way, way too wide for a horse, you can have it sitting up on 4 or 5 or 6 pads, and it still won't fit properly. And in addition, you'll run into lateral stability problems if your saddle is perched 3" off your horse's back on a drift of multiple pads. Just not a good idea.
5) "Women want saddles with wide twists, and men want saddles with narrow twists." I covered this in a blog post way back in March of '09 (http://saddlefitter.blogspot.com/2009/03/twist-and-shout.html), so I won't go into tons of detail - I'll just reiterate and say that I've never found much truth in that particular statement. I'm a woman, and I like a narrow twist; two women here in the shop like a wide twist. So go figure. If I ever get to the point where I can peg twist width preference and fit for the rider as easliy as I can assess fit for the horse, I'll retire in under five years.
6) "High withered horses need narrow trees for wither clearance." High withered horses rarely need narrow trees. I've been fitting saddles for a decade or so, and in that time I've run into two horses that really needed a narrow tree (and strangely enough, when their fitting needs were met, they both developed muscle and had to be re-fit with medium trees). Often, high withered horses need modified panels: a K or trapezius panel, a wither or full front gusset, or a deeper rear gusset. Putting a narrow tree on a horse just because of a big wither will actually cause more muscle atrophy under the tree points and actually exacerbate the fitting problems.
7) "Steeple-withered horses are built that way because they've never had a saddle that fits them properly." As I said in #6, trying to fit a big wither with a narrow tree can make a bad matter worse. But there are times when saddle fit isn't the culprit - genetics are. If you've been on the Trumbull Mtn. website at all, you might be familiar with this photo:
(Sorry it's so pixellated - I can't find the original and had to pull this one from the site.) This is a fairly young horse at the beginning of his under saddle career. That wither's a fitting challenge, and could be made worse by a bad fit, but it comes directly from Mom and / or Dad, not from a saddle.
8) "Getting a custom made saddle is the only way to get a really high-quality saddle, and if you have a hard-to-fit horse, it's the only way to fit them correctly." Any saddle company out there is going to make the best saddle it possibly can, whether it's a stock model or a custom job. And as for fitting hard-to-fit horses ... in all the time I've been fitting saddles, I've yet to see a horse that really, truly needed a fully custom saddle. Some need a bench-made saddle - that is, a stock model made with certain modifications - and some have needed one saddle built on another saddle's tree. But as far as honestly needing a custom tree and a custom saddle built on it? Nah. It's a nice way to spend your disposable income, and the snob appeal is undeniable, but I've yet to see it be an absolute necessity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)