With £130,000 plus in prize money...

AdorableAlice

AdorableAlice

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The brave lad has earnt enough to be bought a decent set of work tack. Or is this the normal in racing yards ? Where is EKW she will tell us I am sure. This picture was on facebook and caught my eye.

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Following lol - though I'm sure it's just because he's comfortable in this. Not sure anyone would risk damaging a horse that had won £130k with sub standard tack!
 
Am guessing this is a successful racehorse (don't follow racing so clueless) but goes to show that conformation isn't everything....when he has retired from racing he could give beach rides - you could.get half a dozen kids on that back at once! ��
 
That's normal though why his saddle is so far forward is anyones guess! It will probably have slipped back to where it needs to be by the time he got to the mounting block. At least there is plenty of padding under the saddle, the plastic girth sleeve is disposable and changed between horses and it's nice to see mud in the mane which means the pony got to play in the field and was probably still minging when he came in.

There is much debate about full and half tree exercise saddles. The full tree are in theory designed to fit any thoroughbred but most don't. They sit too high over the whither and push down at the back. Half trees fit much better but they aren't good for the back (like pony pads aren't great) But for the length of time you are actually down in the saddle for it makes this argument quite entertaining between trainers and saddle makers. Stirlingshire made us a prototype exercise saddle with a gp style seat but exercise sides. It didn't work on a number of levels - the cantle was too high and smacked you up the backside, the moveable knee blocks were pointless - they annoyed you if you had them in place for galloping when you were walking but you wouldn't be able to put them where you wanted whilst galloping.
 
Fun Times said:
Am guessing this is a successful racehorse (don't follow racing so clueless) but goes to show that conformation isn't everything....when he has retired from racing he could give beach rides - you could.get half a dozen kids on that back at once! ��
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It's deceptive because the saddle is perched so far forwards on top of his whithers.
 
Looks normal to me and better than some of the utterly hideous full tree jobs I have ridden out in on various yards!! Tack fitting isn't really something anyone pays much attention to I have found. The attitude is does it move and does it rub, although it quite often has to be really bad before they will do anything! A lot of lads buy there own saddles, although not all yards allow this.
 
zaminda said:
Looks normal to me and better than some of the utterly hideous full tree jobs I have ridden out in on various yards!! Tack fitting isn't really something anyone pays much attention to I have found. The attitude is does it move and does it rub, although it quite often has to be really bad before they will do anything! A lot of lads buy there own saddles, although not all yards allow this.
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I have a Zilco full tree saddle - synthetic which I love being in Scotland! Most of the yard have Old Mill full trees but I don't like them. I feel very perched on top in them.

I am also very vein and have sheepskin cheek pieces on my reins so my horses don't get rubs on their necks.
 
Good grief; how awful is the muscling on that horse? As far as saddle "fit" is concerned, since no-one is actually going to be sitting on it anyway I'd guess that as long as it doesn't make him sore, it's fine?
 
Cortez said:
Good grief; how awful is the muscling on that horse? As far as saddle "fit" is concerned, since no-one is actually going to be sitting on it anyway I'd guess that as long as it doesn't make him sore, it's fine?
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Goes to show that it's all about power to weight ratio in a racehorse, doesn't it. In any other environment you'd say it was a welfare case, not a winning racehorse!
 
Cortez said:
No, not a welfare case at all - it's not thin, it's just got godawful muscling: must have the heart of a lion!
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He's not got the best bum in the world but it clearly has an engine there somewhere.

I do think people are seeing the horse differently because of where the saddle is. He wouldn't look quite as weird if he was stripped and stood up not walking with his head at an angle.
 
The camera certainly didn't do this horse any favours that is for sure. It is interesting to read that work riders buy their own saddles, there was me thinking each horse would have a bracket in the tackroom with his own tack, a freshly washed saddle cloth and a choice of rugs. I shall remind my bonkers carthorse just how spoilt he is !

The horse, who I will not name, certainly has an engine and endless stamina. He is a successful long distance chaser.
 
Work riders tend to have their own saddles and bridles - we don't have to buy our own, they should be provided by they yard but many do. Some yards have bridles for each horse, others just wash the bit between horses. In most yards each horse will have their own girth sleeve and towel to go under their saddles so that everything else can go from horse to horse without passing on anything.

We have a HUGE selection of rugs of varying weights and each horse will keep generally the same rugs all season, adding or taking off as necessary. We have spares so we can keep washing the manky ones. Same with bandages, wraps etc. They aren't as spoilt as peoples own horses but they don't want for anything.
 
The pointers got spoiled in terms of tack.
Haha- when I started riding out, and as I was the new one I was given a bridle and saddle. It had no noseband and a little snaffle, had to make it fot 4 or 5 different horses from 15.1 to 17.1hh.
To be fair when I worked at a show jumping dealing yard I had to bring my own saddle to work too. Each horse its own bridle though.
 
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