"It goes in it, so I ride in it"

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Gypley

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Does anyone ride their horse in a saddle which, as far as the saddlers concerned, does not fit, for one reason or another?

Ive had the same saddle on my girl for a number of years with absolutely no problems, but as far as the saddlers concerned it's too long and generally just not the right shape for her.

But she goes like a dream and shows no sign of pain, discomfort or any dislike towards it. So if it ain't broke, don't fix it is my way of thinking !

i remember the days (I sound old, I'm not!) when you would buy a saddle, fit it yourself with your own limited but practical knowledge and see how it goes, if you were having real problems you would call the saddler but for the most part, if the horse went in it , you would ride in it!

Do you think we rely on them too much? Or is it a case of there being so much more to know these days, with so many different types of saddle ie adjustable, heat adjustable, fish systems, treeless etc etc that we now need an expert to tell us if something fits or doesn't fit?

(I even heard of someone calling out the 'bit lady' the other day! I've never heard of this in my life! Perhaps I've been living under a rock somewhere! But really ?!? A lady to suggest what bit is best? Buy a book, search the net and take from it what you will, do your own research, educate yourself, learn the shape of your horses mouth etc . Sometimes I feel that it's almost a lazy way of horse ownership these day and I think it's pretty sad :( )
 
Yep, she has a check up and massage every 6 months or so, never anything untoward found. Perhaps I'm just lucky , but I can't help but feel we rely too much on these people sometimes.
 
Have to agree with this tbh. See so many more problems with horses now than in days gone by. Still tend to do saddle fitting myself as having seen a load of saddles fitted by 'professionals' that aren't even close to fitting the horse in question I don't see the point. Different if you have a horse that is very difficult to fit of course. Bitting wise- it's not rocket science is it? Years ago horses went in a snaffle (single joint), a double or a proper gag. They all seemed to manage just fine and could do a perfectly nice dressage test! Some changes I like however- like much lighter rugs!
 
Times change, knowledge and understanding becomes more open to people and I think with so much more research done in equine care its good to look for the best possible for you and your horse.
I have a new horse (six months) and was lucky my Y/O's saddle fit very well! I'm now in a finacial position to buy my own saddle so ive opted for a master saddler to come out and fit us both with a suitable saddle.
 
I think that many people nowadays are perhaps not as "practical" as was the case amongst horsey types in years gone by. I've always known pretty much instantly if the saddle wasn't right, and managed without the services of a "professional" (what's that, BTW?) saddle fitter. I have a more delicate friend who paid an absolute fortune to have a saddle made especially to fit her not-difficult-to-fit horse. It was an absolute disaster, didn't fit anywhere, made her horse miserable, and she refused to change it because it was "custom made" and therefore obviously fitted. I have one saddle that seems to fit most horses; one horse who is quite an odd shape and has an adjustable tree, one saddle that was slightly readjusted (to my specifications) to fit a very sensitive diva horse, and everything else just goes happily along with their off-the-peg saddles. It isn't actually Rocket Science.................
 
I don't think it is rocket science, but neither would I ride a horse in an ill fitting saddle just because they didn't buck me off.

My mare would put up with a hell of a lot before she told me, it's my job not to make her have to!
 
I can see this from both side. Until recently I have been more than happy to ft saddles myself. If it looks correct, pony is comfortable and working well and I feel good in it, then that is good enough for us. However, my pony now has suffered terribly in the past (before I got him) from ill fitting saddles to the point he wouldn't be caught to avoid being ridden, then if you did manage to get a saddle on him you risked your life trying to get on!

I had to have the saddler out to him many many times but now we are sorted and he comes to call and stands still for mounting. As soon as he starts to be unhappy mounted I get the saddler out again. So I think for some horses its fine, for others you are better leaving it to the experts.
 
I'm pretty confident that I can see if a saddle looks more or less ok. Our local saddler is very good in letting me take a few away to try and then coming out to check - so far I have always picked the one that fits best, so am somewhat reassured that i can more or less judge. However I would call the saddler for two reasons - firstly to test this, and secondly in case there is anything fundamentally wrong with the saddle other than fit (tree, crookedness etc). I don't think I am qualified to tell on the latter. It's a small price for peace of mind and to avoid the risk of causing bigger problems.
 
Having just dealt with my mares view of her saddle (broncing and simply dangerous) im happy to call on the experts but this time round i was very careful (last time (less than 6 months ago) her saddle was checked and adjusted at my livery, without me being there) who i got and made sure i watched exactly what she was doing, why, what was a good fit and what wasnt etc. We can all read what's right and wrong but first hand experience from someone who does this day in day out has to be a good thing. I echo what people have aid that horses will put up with a lot and will adjust to saddles that dont necessarily fit properly.
 
some horses are better at getting on with it than others though too, Frank's previous saddle was technically too long and too narrow (not me who fitted it). But he went fine in it for quite some time, then I spotted some tell tale white hairs (after a couple of years use and no particular change in shape/condition- so likely it had never really fitted that well).
 
I agree with those who say that some fitters aren't great either. I had a master saddler out to fit a saddle to my mare that I am still convinced wasnt right and several saddles later I am now a treeless convert. I cant really get my head around treed saddles anymore
 
I took on a share a few months back. The first time I tried him out I didn't take too much notice of the saddle fit. I'd assumed it was ok seeing as owner had an eventer school and exercise him on it. 2nd time out I did a few checks and found that it was pressing right down on his withers. I asked her about it and it had never been checked although she had a back woman out to see to him. Not only was it right into his withers but when I got off I found that it was tipping back and forth. Same horse had serious mounting issues which owner claimed had nothing to do with the saddle. He was also in a bit which was far too big and was held in place with a grackle. Personally I find it very strange that no one had noticed how badly his saddle and bit fitted him as these were people who were supposedly experienced horse people. I'm new to horses and riding but I've made an effort to learn the basics about saddle fitting and tack. It's not rocket science and I've now learned to do my own checks and not rely on or assume that someone else has bothered to do if.
 
I would question anyone or anything to be honest just beause they are qualified they can still be wrong, I had two master saddlers tell me that my horses saddle was too wide when I knew they were trying to fit it to a muscle damaged back, neither of them made a single comment about the hollows he had behind the wither like it was normal, I knew he hd changed shape and not for the better.
 
I had a master saddler fit a new saddle on my horse. It was an inch too long for his back and I rode him in it for months. When I had it checked by another fitter, she pointed this out immediately, as well as the fact that the flocking was lumpy on one side and digging in on his back. I trusted the fitter to do a proper job and he didn't; as with doctors, you think 'oh, this guy is trained, he's a professional, he must know best'. I was furious - but the second fitter was AMAZING and I will certainly be getting her again.

Take your point re the bit lady a bit more - I think with that, you try it, if it doesn't work you change it - it's probably not going to do the harm that a badly fitted saddle could do.
 
I think it's a tough one, its a controversial subject, years ago there wasn't so much faff and many horses were 'ok'. However, horses react differently, some are more sensitive than others, if you were to put a saddle of op's description on my old mare ebony, you would be on the floor very quickly, on the other hand, If you were to do the same with Ben or our old cob annie, they would go in it fine. This does not mean that the saddle is fine, nor does it mean its not doing damage or isn't uncomfortable.

I think that assuming that because a badly fitting saddle is fine because the horse goes well in it is negligent and somewhat ignorant. That said, saddles that are longer than the normal fit are sometimes used with good effect for a specific purpose, to distribute the riders weight over a larger surface area (for example with kissing spines) but caution must be used because of the other areas that may be negatively affected with such use.

It's a bit of a minefield and good judgement does come into it, but I certainly would not be plonking a badly fitting saddle, or a saddle that is too long on my horses back when there was no real justification for it. Why shouldn't every horse have the benefit of a correctly fitting and comfortable saddle relative to its needs irrespective of how well it goes in a badly fitting one? My only reason for keeping using such a saddle would be if I had had a full workup on the horse to ensure he was ok and then sought out other saddles that did fit and the horse went badly in them - only then would I be content to use a saddle that didn't fit him, but that he went well in.

I would also consider that if the horse went like a 'dream' in a badly fitting saddle, it would probably go even better in a well fitting saddle and only then would I notice how poorly the horse went in a badly fitting saddle.
 
I think there's a fine line between a "badly fitting saddle" and a saddle which does not fulfil the standard fitting ideals. The former will probably be unpleasant for the horse and cause long term issues, both performance and physical. The latter may well not - my old cob has never had a saddle which fits according to some saddlers and some of the general standards. I could have had one made for him, but I didn't have the finances as a teenager, and since he changed shape a lot over the course of the year (differing levels of work) it wouldn't have been very sensible to anyway. We picked a saddle he was happy in, that was a good compromise in fit - not perfect, but not "bad" either. He's never had an issue with it in 15 years. I generally apply the same logic to my highlands too - if they're happy in it, show no reluctance or change in performance and it doesn't "not fit" in any concerning way, I'll use it.
 
Both my boy have been a nightmare to fit, my haffy has had 6 saddles in 5 years and having seen the damage done by one of them that supposedly fit I'm very aware when somethings not right. My welsh has a forward girth grove, flat wide back but is bum heigh and he's quite narrow at the front and croup high, he's had 3 saddles and I haven't even got on his back yet, everything rides forwards on him, so I'll have to get a saddler yet again as I don't have the answer myself. Oh to have a horse that's easy to fit
 
Ive pretty much lost faith in saddle fitters, think i've tried so many now, and had terrible problems. They all can talk the talk but my horses talk it better thank god. Maybe one day, i'll find a good one.
 
JJones said:
Ive pretty much lost faith in saddle fitters, think i've tried so many now, and had terrible problems. They all can talk the talk but my horses talk it better thank god. Maybe one day, i'll find a good one.
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Or maybe you'll just go with your own knowledge of your own horse and do it yourself, like wot it used to be...........
 
Having experienced a few problem when doubting my own ability, I am back to trusting myself, and listening to our horses.
I think you can learn quite a lot about how a saddle fits, with experience, although you obviously can't, say, flock it yourself.
There must be many of you who can recall that years ago, we often had one or two saddles on a yard,and just adjusted the amount of saddle pads under them! We did not very often, if at all, see horses with back issues!
 
I got an opinion from a few people on my saddle, which I also thought was fine, then got the saddler to check when she was at the yard anyway... I did get a "bit lady" out though, just because I was at my wits' end with my boy, had tried all the bits we had and nothing was suitable. Getting her out meant I could try several in one go, whereas buying/loaning that many different ones would have cost a fortune and taken weeks.
 
I have never, in 45 years + of training horses, made a horse sore in his back, although I have bought a few who were when they arrived (recently, I may add). If people were just willing to learn the basic principles of saddle fit (and they are not difficult, just common sense and knowing what to look at), then so much faffing about with "fitters" and "master" saddlers would be unnecessary. But then, so many lucrative opportunities and saddle sales would be lost too..................
 
Cheiro1 said:
I don't think it is rocket science, but neither would I ride a horse in an ill fitting saddle just because they didn't buck me off.

My mare would put up with a hell of a lot before she told me, it's my job not to make her have to!
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Ditto this.

If I rode my horse with a bit, I'd probably use a bit lady to help choose the best bit for my horse. He might appear to cope just fine, but why should he cope when he could thrive?!

I'm sure some people would think I'm soft, but I expect I'd find some people's attitudes to horse care cavalier. Each to their own :)
 
Times have certainly changed! From the many horses I've owned over decades I have never had any back problems and all have retired with me well into their twenties. Now I'm trying to decide on a saddle for my 4yo Sec D. Even after ruling out cheap imports and those that are too expensive it becomes a bit bewildering.
Threads like this remind me that I am probably the best judge of what fits and what doesn't. It's rather like feed - too many choices/options/marketing and companies telling you that their feed is better for your horse.
May have to dig out my old string girth too ;)
 
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