Icelandic ponies

[marmalade76]

Absolutely more authentic. Makes a nice change.

 

[marmalade76]

I think that’s way more than they should and normally do carry. However, new research underway on this, and it’s pointing to chest width/ width of back and other factors rather than height to be the determining factors for weight carrying capabilities. The obsession with the height of horse in relation to the weight of the rider is bordering on the ridiculous in the UK in my opinion.

Pound for pound, smaller must be stronger. Aren't arabs supposed to be the strongest?

 

[Kirstineridesagain]

Apologies for my ignorance! I was watching thinking how I'd love to ride one. Are there any in the UK?

There are about a thousand of them registered in the UK. Only Shetland has a small trekking centre where you can ride them, but if you ask on the Icelandic Horse Chat UK Facebook page someone will probably offer you a ride.

There are many things, especially saddle fit, that are done to, or said about, Icies, that do my head in. They shouldn't be carrying the weight they often do imo, and fitting a saddle to them should NOT be about sitting saddle and rider back to somehow help shoulder freedom.and the tolt.

They should have the rider loaded close to the wither and not in the chair seat that is so often seen. This applies to all horses, their anatomy means this is where they carry us most easily, without compromising their bodies.

I have a few saddle fit customers with them

Interestingly, I’ve been given an old, British made Icelandic saddle. I haven’t tried it on and will of course get it checked/fitted and if no good I will give it away. It’s called a Trapezius and the idea behind it is to give the shoulder (and trapezius muscle) a lot of freedom to move. Is this misguided in your opinion?

 

[eahotson]

There are about a thousand of them registered in the UK. Only Shetland has a small trekking centre where you can ride them, but if you ask on the Icelandic Horse Chat UK Facebook page someone will probably offer you a ride.



Interestingly, I’ve been given an old, British made Icelandic saddle. I haven’t tried it on and will of course get it checked/fitted and if no good I will give it away. It’s called a Trapezius and the idea behind it is to give the shoulder (and trapezius muscle) a lot of freedom to move. Is this misguided in your opinion?

Slightly off topic but I have a heavyweight traditional cob mare.I have invested in an AH supercob saddle from this small producer.It is the first saddle that I have had for her that gives her very large shoulders room to move.

 

[sbloom]

Interestingly, I’ve been given an old, British made Icelandic saddle. I haven’t tried it on and will of course get it checked/fitted and if no good I will give it away. It’s called a Trapezius and the idea behind it is to give the shoulder (and trapezius muscle) a lot of freedom to move. Is this misguided in your opinion?

I'd need to know more, see photos etc, but shoulder freedom seldom originates with some clever trick at the front of the saddle. Shoulder relief panels of various kinds have been a modern attempt, but making sure the horse can push up at the base of the wither (thoracic sling), and sitting the rider there with a neutral pelvis at rest, and more or less over their feet is, to me, the basis of saddle fit and should always give shoulder freedom

 

[sbloom]

Slightly off topic but I have a heavyweight traditional cob mare.I have invested in an AH supercob saddle from this small producer.It is the first saddle that I have had for her that gives her very large shoulders room to move.

Saddles shouldn't be on the shoulder....it'll be other aspects of the fit that are playing a bigger part in allowing the shoulder to move than just the fit at the front. Only a very forward GP or a jump flap might interfere with the shoulder, others when fitted correctly won't, and as I say a good fit is much more about the shape through the middle of the saddle.

The AH Supercob tree is flat and wide throughout and the panels are flat and short at the rear. It does have rear swept points which is rare in these sorts of saddles and so gives a little more room as to where to sit the saddle which might help on the margins with some fits and resulting shoulder freedom.

 

[eahotson]

Saddles shouldn't be on the shoulder....it'll be other aspects of the fit that are playing a bigger part in allowing the shoulder to move than just the fit at the front. Only a very forward GP or a jump flap might interfere with the shoulder, others when fitted correctly won't, and as I say a good fit is much more about the shape through the middle of the saddle.

The AH Supercob tree is flat and wide throughout and the panels are flat and short at the rear. It does have rear swept points which is rare spot gives a little more room as to where to sit the saddle which might help on the margins with some fits and shoulder freedom.

I am sure you are right as you have hugely more experience than me. She was fitted with a saddle by the saddle fitter that rapidly became very uncomfortable for her.She was then ridden in an interim messure in a Prestige on a hoop tree which was much better.The AH is better again though although this one was made to measure for her.I have no idea how it works,just that it does.

 

[Kirstineridesagain]

This is it. The panels are movable.

 

[sbloom]

I am sure you are right as you have hugely more experience than me. She was fitted with a saddle by the saddle fitter that rapidly became very uncomfortable for her.She was then ridden in an interim messure in a Prestige on a hoop tree which was much better.The AH is better again though although this one was made to measure for her.I have no idea how it works,just that it does.

Prestige has a hoop tree? Interesting...mind you what hoop tree is is not agreed upon...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw-oMAl6_04. Generally AH are standard pretty much off the peg saddles but can be customised.

This is it. The panels are movable.

A flexible panel saddle. I actually got into saddle fitting because of flexi panel saddles (I rode in a ReactorPanel for a few years and started out fitting them), they might call it the Trapezius and make it sounds like it's all about shoulder freedom but it's kind of not that AND more than that. The whole flexi panel concept is to spread weight further, to allow some flex for the horse but a tree and stability for the rider, adjustability and then it's also places over the shoulder blade supposedly allowing it to move smoothly under it, instead of having that tricky "front of saddle-shoulder blade" relationship issue. There was also Free'n'Easy and Orthoflex and probably other teeny brands/models such as this Icelandic one, all based on the same principle but with different materials and articulation/connection.

Generally the tree still needs to be a good shape, and width, for the horse for it to work at all.

I would also say that we focus SO much on shoulder freedom, if you free up the front end without developing posture, which is kind of what we're saying about fitting a saddle for shoulder freedom (as a new saddle happens suddenly, postural development of course does not) then we can compromise the horse further. We need saddles that help horses move with less compromise and carry us as a load similarly. It's just much more complex to talk about!

 

[eahotson]

Prestige has a hoop tree? Interesting...mind you what hoop tree is is not agreed upon...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw-oMAl6_04. Generally AH are standard pretty much off the peg saddles but can be customised.



A flexible panel saddle. I actually got into saddle fitting because of flexi panel saddles (I rode in a ReactorPanel for a few years and started out fitting them), they might call it the Trapezius and make it sounds like it's all about shoulder freedom but it's kind of not that AND more than that. The whole flexi panel concept is to spread weight further, to allow some flex for the horse but a tree and stability for the rider, adjustability and then it's also places over the shoulder blade supposedly allowing it to move smoothly under it, instead of having that tricky "front of saddle-shoulder blade" relationship issue. There was also Free'n'Easy and Orthoflex and probably other teeny brands/models such as this Icelandic one, all based on the same principle but with different materials and articulation/connection.

Generally the tree still needs to be a good shape, and width, for the horse for it to work at all.

I would also say that we focus SO much on shoulder freedom, if you free up the front end without developing posture, which is kind of what we're saying about fitting a saddle for shoulder freedom (as a new saddle happens suddenly, postural development of course does not) then we can compromise the horse further. We need saddles that help horses move with less compromise and carry us as a load similarly. It's just much more complex to talk about!

Well I am talking about my personal experience only.Fitter tried to persuade us that badly fitting saddle actually fit well and the horse was lame She had only been seen by a very experienced equine physiotherapist with eyes like a hawk about three days earlier
Experienced trainer who had also ridden her in a saddle pad insisted that she was not lame at all and borrowed her sisters prestige to prove her point which she did.All the mysterious lamenesses vanished. I had her measured for an AH and spoke to Andrea later .She told me that she needed a 2xw now but would eventually need a 3 xw as her back broadened.She could see the damage on the photos from the badly fitting saddle.
Her back started to recover with the prestige a d is coming along very nicely under the AH.I was told the prestige did have a hoop tree but it was not for sale in any event and I wanted an AH.

 

[sbloom]

Just glad the AH is working well for you, a saddle I fitted for many years , all good!

 

[Caol Ila]

This is it. The panels are movable.

When it comes time to fit it to your horse, you may have to DIY it or look hard for someone familiar with that system. Saddle fitters trained on traditional treed saddles won't touch ones like that with a bargepole. I had an Ortho-Flex (same principle as that) for many years and assorted alternative saddles after that. Still do, 'cause I find traditional treed saddles frustrating for other reasons. Unless you can find someone trained on that type of non-traditional saddle, you have to learn how to fit it yourself.

Good Google skills are useful. I have one at the moment made by an obscure German company that deleted itself from the UK internet. Google turns up nothing (my German friend confirmed it still exists on the German internet). I was feeling really stuck with refitting it when my horse changed shape, but then realised it was an offshoot of a bigger, more well-known saddle company, and they're not particularly popular here, either, but there's lots of English language search results because they seem to have caught on a wee bit in the US and Australia. I searched for 'Fitting Hidalgo saddles" and it came up with many helpful websites and YouTube videos explaining the underlying theory of how the thing works, and how to readjust it when your horse changes.

I say all this, because I Googled your saddle, and found pure hee-haw. So you'll need to look at the mechanics of your panels - how they work, how they are attached - and then find more popular brands that work on the same principles. Not all paneled saddles are the same. My Ortho-flex had kind of a ball joint between the panel and the saddle, but other ones have shims, which you can adjust to the horse. There may be other ways of doing it.

 

[Kirstineridesagain]

When it comes time to fit it to your horse, you may have to DIY it or look hard for someone familiar with that system. Saddle fitters trained on traditional treed saddles won't touch ones like that with a bargepole. I had an Ortho-Flex (same principle as that) for many years and assorted alternative saddles after that. Still do, 'cause I find traditional treed saddles frustrating for other reasons. Unless you can find someone trained on that type of non-traditional saddle, you have to learn how to fit it yourself.

Good Google skills are useful. I have one at the moment made by an obscure German company that deleted itself from the UK internet. Google turns up nothing (my German friend confirmed it still exists on the German internet). I was feeling really stuck with refitting it when my horse changed shape, but then realised it was an offshoot of a bigger, more well-known saddle company, and they're not particularly popular here, either, but there's lots of English language search results because they seem to have caught on a wee bit in the US and Australia. I searched for 'Fitting Hidalgo saddles" and it came up with many helpful websites and YouTube videos explaining the underlying theory of how the thing works, and how to readjust it when your horse changes.

I say all this, because I Googled your saddle, and found pure hee-haw. So you'll need to look at the mechanics of your panels - how they work, how they are attached - and then find more popular brands that work on the same principles. Not all paneled saddles are the same. My Ortho-flex had kind of a ball joint between the panel and the saddle, but other ones have shims, which you can adjust to the horse. There may be other ways of doing it.

Thank you - you’re right. I’ve found a few posts on Facebook mentioning them (as in “I have a Trapezius” and the like) but nothing really about them. They were made by Janet Hutchinson and her husband in Cumbria and were quite popular ten plus years ago. I similarly have an old Diddi Special Icelandic treeless pad that I probably overpaid for - it has knee blocks but no tree and is just a saddle pad. That one I tried on my old share horse and he went well in it, but if I do use that one I will get a good pad underneath.

I am not the slightest bit good at saddle fitting so will have to see how I fit the Trapezius. Hopefully Google will be my friend!