Saddle fit 'problems'.....your advice please

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I've had trouble with landing on the correct leg with my horse on one rein when jumping. Video analysis also shows in walk and trot he is straight but in canter is going quarters in and tipping me and the saddle over to the outside (even as far as the panel over onto his spine!)

His physio has obviously found him very saddle sore at the back of the saddle area and he went even worse after treatment which was before we did the videoing - after seeing the videos, physio says she's made his poor bruised back even sorer!

He's been seen by the vet who says he is sound.

Saddle fitter assures me the saddle fits however when I've got home tonight and had a really good look the back panels are slightly odd in both size and shape (you can tell by looking at the seams especially...)

So, plan is a fortnight off to let his back settle down and then go on from there.

Questions I have in my mind though are.....

If the saddle fits so perfectly even if he's going quarters in should he be able to push it as far over as his spine??

Could my horse have altered the way the panels are shaped? (Wool stuffed saddle with nice soft flocking) or is it the other way round? Horse is going crooked due to being uncomfy with his saddle?

It's a total conundrum. I for one am glad he is having a fortnight off as he was so very very sore when the physio came to see him today :-/
 
Did your physio look at the saddle, mine always does if she finds any sore areas that may be caused by the saddle, I would trust her judgement more than most saddle fitters although the saddler I now use will come out and reflock on site with the physio involved if required.
It can be hard to tell where the primary issue is, if the vet thinks the horse is sound, therefore not using itself unevenly to compensate for injury somewhere, then it is either the saddle, the rider or a schooling problem but if the saddle flocking is uneven or the gullet, by this I mean the whole length not just the front where they can be altered in some saddles, is too narrow for his back then the saddle is causing the problem however well it appears to fit.
Has the saddler seen you ride in it recently? if not I don't know how they can say it fits perfectly or otherwise.
 
It was the physio who noticed the differences in the back panels....

Both vet and physio agree the horse is sound and evenly muscled.

The saddle fitter was adamant the saddle fits and that it's 'the horses fault'

There's no denying his quarters are coming in in canter and loading rider/saddle down the outside.

The question is why? He is making himself very sore in the process.
 
Have you another saddle you can try once he is back in work, it may well be a schooling issue but you need to rule out the saddle being the cause before you try and correct the horse otherwise you will end up with him even more sore, the difference in the panels would concern me yes if the flocking is soft he could be making it appear uneven but if he is level why should he if it fits.
I don't like people blaming the horse when they are stuck for an answer, horses don't set out to be awkward they respond to what is happening and in this case I think he is saying the saddle may fit but does not suit him, although it may just require some tweaking if he has changed shape.
 
Is this happening on both reins? Ie it doesn't always slip to the right or the left but always to the outside?

I would get a second opinion on the saddle fit.

My saddler was adamant my saddle fit, we had several checks, several alterations but the crux was it didn't fit and made my horse sore. The saddles gone and so has the saddler!!
 
I have just had the same problem. The saddle was fitted too far forward and it was the shoulder pushing the saddle off. I had a different saddler and he fitted it farther back, tweaked the saddle and the problem is solved. The horse's ribs are not even but he is evenly muscled, a McTimoney chiropractor had a look at him and the offside ribs are approximately half an inch lower. the saddler put a piece of saddlers felt between the panel and the gullet which has levelled it up and it does not move. the horse straightened up in two sessions. I hope that his back will level up a bit but he had a fall as a youngster so am advised that whilst it will improve he may never be totally level. The horse is much happier and I do not have to tighten the girth as much. in fact, it stays in place with it quite loose. Wish I had the second one fit it in the first place!
 
Might be worth getting another saddler to have a good look at the saddle whilst not on the horse, then come and see watt they think to the fit of it?
 
I would think if the vet and physio say the horse is sound, moving evenly and is correctly muscled it's probably the saddle or you are wonky?!
If it's not you then it has to be the saddle. Does it have a gullet that is wide enough for him? How does it look when viewed from behind (have to stand on a chair behind his bum if he's ok with that), if it's sitting wonky then it's not right. It should sit evenly with a nice wide gullet over his spine and panels that sit flush and follow the lines of his body. I think you should get a second opinion on the saddle. I can't count the amount of times a saddler said my saddle fitted when I knew it didn't!
 
Yes it happens on both reins in canter only but one way is worse than the other.

It's clear from the videos he is definately cantering quarters in but it's scary that that could cause the saddle to move so much and make him so sore.
 
Chicken and egg. Maybe the saddle is moving which makes him sore rather than the other way around. What's he like cantering straight on hacks? What's he like if you canter in the school in jump position or light seat rather than sitting?
 
A tricky one. A lot of horses will canter quarters in but I wouldn't expect the saddle to slide so far across their back. Recent studies have shown that saddle slip is often the first indication of hind limb lameness before there are any other indicators.

I second getting a different saddler out whilst recognizing that a fair few will tell you a saddle fitted by someone else doesn't fit! Try and get someone who is a Qualified Saddle Fitter

http://www.mastersaddlers.co.uk/
 
Is your physio an ACAPT physio? If so perhaps worth getting her to look at you (or the rider).

If the horse is presenting as sound, not compromising and symetrical then it would be a fair assumption that it's a relatively new issue. When was the saddle fitted/last checked by the fitter?

Both horse and/or rider can affect the panels however if your horse is assessed as straight, level and even by both the vet and physio then I'd look at what else could be impacting on the saddle.

It is really tricky as you have to be an expert in just about everything. You know your horse better than vet or physio; does s/he seem "off" to you and/or have you felt or noticed anything different? Vets, farriers, saddlers, therapists etc can all miss thing; do you have a gut feel about anything that could be causing this?
 
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