Sheila Merrill Belzil
info@merrillequinesolutions.com
Merrill Equine Solutions
About Saddle Pads / Blankets
My Thoughts on Air/Gel Saddles and Pads
First, the saddle should clear the top of the withers, by NOT LESS than 3 inches.
The gullet must be wide enough to clear the spine
from the front of the saddle, all the way to the back of the saddle.
It must also be wide enough...so that the tree rests about 2.5 inches down past the spine.
Look at your horses spine.
Feel those meaty muscles that run along the outside edge of the spine
from front to back in the saddle area.
Along that meaty area is where you want the saddle tree arms to sit.
The saddle tree was designed to protect a horse’s spine from injury
due to pressures exerted by the weight of a rider.
It was designed to displace the weight of the rider along those meaty muscles as well.
A properly made tree displaces weight EVENLY
to those larger muscles on either side of the horse’s spine.
That is food for thought when you consider a treeless saddle.
Without the tree, pressure from the saddle and rider is placed directly on the spine
and that compromises the soundness and comfort of the horse.
Especially so, on horse’s that have narrow, delicate backs.
Please make very sure that your tree is well clear of the spine from front to back.
Make sure that the gullet is wide enough that it sits nicely on
the large muscles that run along either side of the spine.
After riding your horse, inspect the top of his spine.
It should not be wet!
It should not be wet because...there should have been a constant flow
of air thru the entire length of the gullet.
However, the area under the saddle pad/blanket...should be wet.
And that area should be evenly wet...make a note of any dry patches....
as these indicate a pressure points.
One reason for dry patches...and I hope this does not give you an ouchie feeling...
but...under extreme pressure, sweat glands stop working
...and this is why that patch is dry.
Keep watchful for crooked saddle trees.
A crooked saddle tree may clear part of the spine horizontally and then not another part.
Or it may run 2.5 inches vertically from the spine and
then make a curve to a vertical .5 inches away from the spine.
That is dangerously close in my opinion.
Either way...there is no way that your weight will be evenly displaced over a crooked saddle tree.
Imagine for yourself, having pressure on only one or two vertebrae of your back.
Tie a large stone to the mid section of you back
Now sit down in your favorite chair...lean back.
Feel the pressure on that one area of your spine
First its uncomfortable, later it will be sore.
A properly sized saddle tree & panels have another purpose;
They help the saddle to settle securely onto the horses back.
A well-fitted saddle
does not need to have the girth cranked to its tightest.
If the tree is too narrow, and/or
if the saddles panels are so narrow (that they resemble rolling pins)
...The saddle will NEVER fit right.
I don't care if its a top of the line, best selling, hand sewn work of art...
too narrow....too bad!!
And that goes for the tree width and the panels
Think about this...we have an English saddle...
It has a narrow gullet....
And those panels on the underside of the saddle...
those things that look like narrow cushions...
are as hard as rocks, and about the width of small rolling pins.
Now, lets imagine this saddle, sitting quite proud, perched atop your fine steed.
If you were to put your nose down the gullet....
You could probably see the whole continental United States!
You could perhaps even hide that (half empty) quart bottle of fine Irish Whiskey in the gullet.
So other than acting as a possible mobile liquor cabinet...
I'm not sure what other use could be considered for this saddle.
But oh no, lets not leave it there.....
We as humans, have the inate capability of...without realizing...
making bad situations.. worse! (smile)
So, we step in very close to our great steed...
take the power position we learned in our last martial arts class...
take a deep breath...scream "aieeeeee!!"
and give 'er all we got!
Let me give you another great visual.....
remember that awesome New Years Eve party...when buddie with the big head...
took that small teepee shaped party hat...and sat it atop his great head....
Yes, it was hilarious...was'nt it...
but just when things could not get any more rediculous...they did!!
He hauled that weanie sized elastic down over his nose, his mouth....
and he let that elastic snap beneath his chin with a sharp twanggg!!
Now I ask you dear reader...
Had you dared to dream, or had you entertained the inclination
to knock that silly hat off his block...(and I know some of us did)
We know that without doubt...we could have...
with an ever so slight, and oh so artistic flick of the wrist....
sent that hat...soaring across the room and into next Summer.
Why do we know this? Because it is not hard for us to logically understand
That
THE INSTABILITY of that too narrow hat...perched so high atop that great head...
was no match for gravity nor balance.
And we also knew that not that tight elastic nor the very rope that secures a ship to shore...
was going to keep that hat securely on his head.
THE GIRTH
Over-Tightening A Girth Has Many Down Sides
It will directly compress your horse’s trapezius muscles,
which lie right under and around the point of the saddle tree.
But that’s not all.
Over-tightening will affects the horse from the wither, to the rib,
and to the pectoral muscles that lie near the girth.
Over-tightening a girth over-tightens a horse!
Over time his muscles and nerve endings will get extremely sore,
and as time marches on, and we all know that it does,
that pain will spread and include his bone joints.
So now that some of us, without realizing,
have brought our equines to this chronic state of pain, what do we do?
Well, ‘naturally’ we create excuses!
Such as, ‘he is girthy because he is lazy’ or
‘he has a bad attitude’, or
‘she is sour’…it blindly goes on and on.
And how often have you seen a rider, tighten the girth...
in one huge disrespectful tug,
then watched again, as the poor horse...
tossed its head, pinned its ears, and then swished its tail
in a futile attempt to communicate discomfort?
How often have you seen the rider again react,
by shouting and/or slapping the horse?
This rider returns the communication
with a strong and final EXTRA crank on the girth.
This final cranking, absurdly locks the pain and
the feelings of disrespect nicely into place.
This saddle I assure you, will not escape the horse,
and this horse will not escape pain.
When riding this horse,
it will exhibit behaviors such as not bending correctly,
stumbling, or rushing...because he is trying to escape something…
PAIN!
If you have unknowingly ridden with a tightened girth for a long time,
it will take a long time for the horse’s muscles, nerves and bone joints
to heal and once again function without pain.
So it's important to remain patient while the horse heals.
There are many options for treatment.
But time, patience, respect as well as education must top your to-do-list.
I can't say state this next paragraph strongly enough...
It is very important that you keep the following in mind...
that if a horse has experienced pain
for a number of years or months,
because of ill-fitting tack..
HE WILL BY NATURE
even after, you have corrected the problem,
REMEMBER THE PAIN
that was once associated with that tack.
So please allow time...
not only for his physical healing, but also for his emotional healing.
A well-fitted saddle, which is properly positioned,
will nicely stay in place, even if the girth is loose.
After you have tightened the girth,
slide the flat of your hand between the horse and the girth.
Were you able to slide your hand under the girth with little effort?
If so, your girth is probably just about right.
After a ride, there should be no wetness in the gullet area...
because that area should have had a constant flow of air
that was permitted to flow through the full length of the gullet.
The rest of the back should be evenly wet.
If you do find dry spots where the saddle had been positioned,
you can safely bet that, this is an area of pressure, caused by an ill-fitting saddle.
Do you know why it is dry?
Well, what has actually occurred here,
is that the sweat gland in that specific area has ceased (temporarily) to function
as they was designed to do.
Why?
Well, because pressure points from your saddle
have interfered with proper gland function.
Now having said that, can you imagine the discomfort? Hurts doesn't it?
Also look for areas where the hair is rubbed rough.
You will find that...
your horse short-strides, hollows his back, tosses his head, and swishes his tail.
All these actions (and others), on the part of the horse, are clues to you…
he is communicating to you in the only way he knows.
Please listen to your friend.
BRIDGING
Bridging occurs when there is...
contact at the wither
contact at the loin
and little to no contact in the center areas of the horse’s back.
This causes a horse a lot of discomfort, and of course the horse is going to act out.
Weight is not being evenly displaced along the muscles of the spine and as a result
pain is most definitely being experienced. I will speak more of bridging at a later date.
If a saddle sits on any part of the wither or any part of the spine…
that saddle is too wide.
You should see light under the gullet from wither to croup.
The tree panels should sit on the horse evenly,
down the wider, stronger muscles on each side of the spine.
Optimal clearance of three inches
from your horse’s wither/spine up to the topside of the gullet
(vertical clearance)
is necessary for comfort and safety.
I personally like to see both tree panels sit at no less than 2.5 inches
(horizontally) down from the spine.
A saddle that is too wide will slip from side to side.
You might try to fix this problem by tightening the girth...
so this is where I will ask you to re-read the section on girths.
(wink)
You might also determine that you can fix this problem by simply adding more padding.
Yes, you are half right. But half right also means you are half wrong.
Just suppose this saddle is too wide at the front, fits nicely along the center
but is too tight at the back.
There are many saddles that fit exactly like this.
Now what do you think the scenario might be?
Let’s explore it.
So you add an extra thick pad to stop it from slipping side to side.
I understand your logic.
So lets assume that you have indeed solved this one problem.
But the fact is, you have now created two very serious problems.
Remember that the saddle had fit nicely in the center?
Well, now it doesn’t.
You have, by adding padding to the whole saddle,
tightened up the center that once had a nice fit.
Second problem...
the tight area at the rear of the saddle, is now tighter than ever before.
You have successfully created two pressure points.
And those two pressure points will create
a handful of physical and physiological issues elsewhere.
SADDLE TOO NARROW
Does the saddle seem perched on the horse’s back?
Does the pommel seem higher than the cantle?
When you attach the girth, check the tree points...
are the points digging in to the shoulder?
These are all very important saddle fit questions.
If the points of the tree dig into the horse’s shoulder...
the saddle might be too narrow.
You need to check this from the ground and again when you are mounted.
Keep in mind that besides being too narrow,
points also dig into the shoulder when the saddle is placed to far forward
or even when the girth is too tight.
There is much to keep in mind.
But for now, let’s assume the saddle is too narrow.
Now let’s inspect the pommel.
If the pommel is higher than the cantle
then it stands to reason that this saddle is too narrow at the wither.
And too narrow makes for TIGHTER,
and that saddle is going to be even TIGHTER
when you climb into the saddle.
To understand this as the horse does, I ask you to,
in a sitting position try on a pair of shoes that are a size or two,
smaller than you normally wear,
please remain seated for a few minutes.
What do you think? Rather uncomfortable isn’t it?
Okay, now stand up and walk.
Did those shoes suddenly get tighter?
You bet they did.
And they are going to get tighter the more you move about,
aren’t you glad I am not going to ask for a trot.
That, my friends, is the experience of our beloved horses.
But there is still one last thing I wish you to experience,
it’s a psychological experience of sorts, from the horses prospective of course.
With shoes FIRMLY in place, I want you to be eager and happy to work for me.
Smiles everyone smiles!
Now, now, shame on you!
Put those ears back up and stop that tail swishing!
SADDLE PLACEMENT
Saddles are positioned behind the wither
not on top of the wither.
The panels of the saddle should clear the point of the shoulder by at least two inches.
The horse’s shoulder should be able to move unencumbered by the front of the saddle panels.
You want a shoulder that is free to move, not restricted.
After all, are you not going to ask your horse to perform eloquently?
Well, this is simply not possible if he is not able to move with...
full and free rotation of his joints and muscles.
You should also be able to lay the flat of your hand
between the horse’s elbow and the front edge of the girth.
His elbow is a joint as well, correct?
And so, shouldn’t it be free to move forward and back
and not bump into or be restricted in movement by ill-placed tack?
The center of the saddle when viewed from the ground,
should line up with the center of the horse’s barrel.
The deepest part of the saddle should be the center of the saddle,
not at the pommel, not at the cantle.
If the deepest part is nearer the pommel, try sliding the saddle back.
If the deepest part is the cantle, try sliding it forward.
Keep adjusting it so that the deepest part of the saddle is the center at the saddle.
Too far forward, too far back, both have serious consequences.
A properly fitted and positioned saddle brings comfort and grace to a horse.
He will lower his head, and round his back.
He is more capable of engaging his hindquarters.
He is extremely more athletic and eager to work.
Many riders believe that they can mechanically lift the horse's shoulder.
But lifting of the shoulder can only REALLY come with 'true collection'.
When a horse is benefited the gift of moving freely and without pain...
he is capable of developing through proper NATURAL training
the techniques required for beautiful hind end engagement.
Correct Engagement of the hind end, lightens the forehand...
and with the lightening of the forehand the shoulder
WILL NATURALLY LIFT!!
Not a half lift of the shoulder ... a complete lift.
This is the only true natural lifting of the shoulder.
Merrill Equine Solutions