Would you lightly hack a horse in a saddle that might not be a perfect fit?

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ghostie

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Please don't eat me, but I'm at a loss as to what to do. New horse coming this weekend with no saddle. Having called round all the saddlers near to me I can't get an appointment for nearly a month. Clearly not ideal, particuarly as he has to be stabled in isolation for three weeks according to yard policy, and can only come out to be ridden or walked in hand so absolutely zero turnout during that time. Now, my worry is that walking in hand isn't going to be enough as there are relatively few places to do it without him coming into contact with other horses (which he isn't allowed to do). I worry the poor thing will go mad through boredom and frustration and will be a nightmare when I get on him - not ideal for the first ride on a new horse!

I have been offered a saddle as a temporary measure which I think is going to be about half an inch too long. Now obviously I will check it and get some second opinions from yard owner etc and wouldn't dream of using it if it looked like a very bad fit, but is it a total no no to do a light hack in a saddle you know probably needs adjusting/ultimately replacing?

I don't mind the not riding part of it - I just want to do the best for him and I'm worried that three weeks with just a limited bit of in hand walking is going to send the poor thing mad. Even if I could just take him out for half an hour on flat ground that might help keep him sane. Opinions really welcome, and please don't flame me, just trying to work out the best thing for my new boy. Thank you :)
 
In all honesty I probably would yes. As long as the saddle wasn't a horrendous fit and it was suitably padded if needed then I would.

Some horses will really object if a saddle doesn't fit perfectly, others will not bat an eyelid.
 
Personally I would obsess about it, but the reality is that most people's saddles are not a perfect fit. I would worry more about the horse not objecting to an uncomfortable saddle than one who reacts to it, as that is more likely to cause a problem longer term. I don't think you can really decide until you've seen the saddle on the horse, and then make your judgement based on that/the opinion of someone you respect.

Is there nowhere you could lunge him until your saddle fitter comes out? I can certainly see your dilemma, and obviously you want to ride your new horse asap - that's what you got him for :)
 
Stencilface said:
In all honesty I probably would yes. As long as the saddle wasn't a horrendous fit and it was suitably padded if needed then I would.

Some horses will really object if a saddle doesn't fit perfectly, others will not bat an eyelid.
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I agree. While having my horses saddle made (2 week turnaround) I borrowed a spare saddle off a friend so I could still ride him, fitted ok-ish so I padded it out as needed and carried on his work as normal, he was no different to ride and didnt even seem to notice, that was nearly 3 years ago and it certainly never did him any harm!
 
Rowreach said:
Personally I would obsess about it, but the reality is that most people's saddles are not a perfect fit. I would worry more about the horse not objecting to an uncomfortable saddle than one who reacts to it, as that is more likely to cause a problem longer term. I don't think you can really decide until you've seen the saddle on the horse, and then make your judgement based on that/the opinion of someone you respect.

Is there nowhere you could lunge him until your saddle fitter comes out? I can certainly see your dilemma, and obviously you want to ride your new horse asap - that's what you got him for :)
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I agree with this.
 
I would. As long as it isn't pinching anywhere I would happily hack in walk for a couple of weeks. Better that than cooped up in stable for that long! You would be better with one slightly too wide than too narrow. A few years ago I had real trouble finding a saddle to fit my Arab and for over a month rode him in my mum's 12.2 pony's saddle! It was ridiculously short on him but we only walked and difnt go far and he was fine - this was on advice of my saddler!
 
Thanks everyone - opinions are really gratefully received. I think it's going to just be a touch too long, so will see how it looks when I get it on him. I can't see it will be massively out as it previously belonged to a 16.3hh TB and he's a 16.2hh TB - as I said I think his back is shorter, but hopefully not so much shorter that a temporary measure won't work. I'll try it on and get some opinions and as long as it doesn't look like it's going to pinch or cause him discomfort I think I'll take him out on some nice walking hacks.

If nothing else I think it will be better for him to get out and stretch his legs and have a change of scenery. He's used to being turned out during the day and ridden 4/5 times a week, so I think shutting him in a box for three weeks with nothing but a little walk around in hand isn't very fair.

If it comes to it I can lunge him but it's been 15 years since I lunged anything and I'm not massively confident about it - perhaps I can persuade someone to come and boss me around whilst I do it ;)
 
As long as its not sitting behind his last rib you should be ok, agree with the person who said too wide should be ok padded out but don't use if it's too narrow. Enjoy your new horse x
 
Hi Ghostie,

We've probably all faced the same sort of problems at one time or another!

What I've done in the past is to arm myself with riser pads, sheepskins and anything else my pals have lying around (or sitting in my tack room) to see what I can "make do" with til the saddle fitter arrives. Necessity is the mother of invention ....
 
a ½" too long is not going to be a problem - a pony in an 12hh pony in a 17" saddle might be a concern but the majority of horses can carry a saddle up to 18" with no problem.

The fit across the wither is far more important - a saddle too tight will pinch and too wide will press on the sensitive wither.

Make sure that you sit into the centre and lowest part of the saddle and you should be fine. At th emoment I am having to deal with a fat horse and a saddle that is slightly too narrow. We do heaps of lunging to remove the weight and fitten the muscles and then I ride her for about 15 minutes so that she gets some schooling.
 
Ghostie - another brief word of encouragement (I hope!). Very often a horse is out of work for a while, for one reason or another, and I've often been amazed at how the muscle loss affects saddle fit, so fast - at least in my experience. That's when odds and ends like gel pads, sheepskins, risers etc can tide us over, so hopefully it will do the same for you.

Only a couple of days 'til the great arrival! ALL the best and hope it goes smoothly.
 
As long as its not too narrow, I'd rather pad it than it be too narrow, if its just the length I would have thought it would be ok
 
Depends if the horse is going to go mental or not!!

My pony would be fine, my big mare, after having saddle issues in previous eventing career with a pro, goes mental up in the air with anything slightly out.

Loads of horses at pro yards/ hunt yards share saddles which probably don't fit perfectly. Just make sure you don't do any long term damage
 
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