Could a slipping saddle cause this?

[canteron]

Gave me horse a bit of a 'pony club' kick to stop him falling out of canter and next thing I know is the horse was off in no uncertain terms (hesitate to call it a bolt, but he was clearly very worried and took a bit of stopping).

Now, this is a really nice natured animal, so he is clearly trying to tell me something. We ended up with the saddle and me on his shoulder, where I made a quick exit. I don't know if this was cause or effect, but if the saddle did move and land on his shoulder, would that be enough to cause a horse to 'bolt'?

Have physio lady on her way to see whether there is pain, etc, but grateful for any thoughts?

 

[YasandCrystal]

I don't know about the saddle causing him to bolt, but I know that my mare would absolutely go into orbit if I ever gave her a 'pony club style kick' She did it once with a novicey friend who asked for trot with a kick. Poor friend had a bottom like a baboon where she hit the deck

 

[sbloom]

It sounds like the kick caused the explosion which caused the saddle to slip? If the saddle is slipping in fairly normal useage then yes, some horses can get very upset if it is on their shoulders.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

was your girth tight? most saddles that fit dont move to any degree when the girth is done up? most saddles that fit dont shift much even if the girth hasnt been tightened up either! unless you add a wobbly unbalanced rider into the equation?

 

[canteron]

Yep, I agree the pony club style kick wasn't my finest moment, and I suspect that I wasn't riding at my best and I guess the girth wasn't tight enough so the whole thing shifted forward.

Just wanted to see whether you thought that would explain why he was so upset.

As I say I have the physio coming out to check that there isn't any underlying cause (saddle checked recently) and I have booked myself in for some lessons at a riding school to work on my cantering with an established schoolmaster.

Fingers crossed that is was a combination of bad luck and momentary bad riding that caused the problem.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[sbloom]

Do assess the saddle yourself - if it moves in normal useage then as has been said it really doesn't fit. It might only be girthing but it may be more to do with tree or panel (eg saddle balance, low at the back) - sometimes I hear of fitters who think that slippage is inevitable on certain shapes eg roly polies, but I beg to differ.

 

[PolarSkye]

In a word, yes. When we first bought Kal, his saddle didn't fit him overly well (also didn't really fit me) . . . he NEVER bucks but one day I was getting on and had only just swung my right leg over when he took off broncing until I ended up on the floor. First and only time he has done such a thing. I got his saddle checked, found it didn't fit and bought him a new one.

P

 

[zaminda]

One of mine lets you know in no uncertain terms if the saddle isn't quite fitting properly, and it only has to be minor, I'd only worry about it if back and saddle are given the ok