Post KS Saddle Fitting

[HopOnTrot]

How do you do it? I don't want to ride in her usual saddle before it is checked, but I don't want a saddle fitting to be the first time I get back on! (We are months away from this stage).

Horse has had the same saddle for years, it has been regularly checked by 3 different SMS fitters (with great reputations) who have all been happy with the fit so I'm cautiously optimistic that it will be fine (and if it's not that's a whole new conversation with DH!). Having spoken with someone recently I am terrified at the cost of a new saddle, am I really looking at little change from £2-3k?

 

[Lamehorses]

If you have a regular saddle fitter they would normally be happy to do a stationery fit, then return in a couple if weeks once you have had a few rides for a proper fitting.
New saddles are expensive, but the likes of saddle bank / sheepham saddles have a wide variety of 2nd hand. Working with your fitter getting a good 2nd hand should be possible if yours doesn't fit

 

[AandK]

Why would you need a brand new saddle? I got a new (to me) second hand one for my horse August last year, it was about £900. I did sit on him for the first time in a few months with the new saddle on, I was happy it fitted well enough for me to try. Once my horse had declared he was happy with it too, I got the saddler out to sanity check the fit.

 

[Abacus]

There are a couple of specific considerations here beyond the normal fitting - one is whether she is reactive to any saddle having experienced pain from the KS, and the other is that her back may well have changed shape with the time off - has she had any rehab yet or is she post-op... etc.

Either way it seems sensible to start with the saddle you have and see if it fits well from the ground before you get on. If a saddler can check this for you I would proceed to ride in it, otherwise look for a second hand saddle that does fit her now. You should get something decent for under 4 figures (and perhaps keep the original one as she may change shape again as she comes back into work).

 

[HopOnTrot]

She was never reactive to the saddle but she has such a good nature that’s not much of an indicator. We are post-op (start physio Friday) so a long way off saddle being needed I will see if I can find someone to do a non-ridden check first. Thank you

 

[sbloom]

If you're rehabbing her with a focus on posture and movement patterns, rather than generic fittening and strengthening then she will change shape and that has implications for choice of saddle, and checks etc needed going forwards.

Hard though it is to face (and so often there's little to no blame on the owner, we don't know what we don't know), when we get these issues with horses we have to look at whether how we worked them, managed them etc, contributed to the issues, because they don't come out of nowhere. The saddle may have been part of that and yes, I hear you that it's been checked by well regarded fitters. A saddle needs to stabilise the rider, help them to carry their own weight and help the horse to "push up" in front, and allow the horse to stabilise itself as well as allowing it to have freedom of movement. Quite a tall order...so it might just be that it ticked boxes but wasn't facilitating all those things. Equally it might have been perfect, though a saddle that fits a horse moving well, before showing clinical signs, won't fit once the horse is moving differently because of discomfort.

I would first read around on these new approaches to saddle fitting, on posture, on why and how KS comes about and how it can cause patterns through the body (ie other issues that show up later), and be sure what approach you want to take going forwards. A static fit is always a good start, and then a proper ridden fitting when you can ride for at least 20 mins, ideally 30+, and can show a reasonable amount of trot. Many saddles have enough scope/space underneath them to shim while the horse is changing shape through rehab, but definitely improve the posture and musculature as much as you can from the ground first.