DAN: So the first question was asked by Megan Finlayson.
And Megan, if I butchered your last name, I'm really sorry.
But Megan asked this question on YouTube.
"How do you know if your saddle fits properly?"
So this is a question we saw a lot of people
kind of submit and ask.
KATE BALLARD: Yes.
DAN: Because not all of them have access to a saddle fitter.
KATE BALLARD: Yes.
DAN: So how do you generally kind of give
guidelines for people to check their own saddles?
KATE BALLARD: It's a very good question.
Here are some very simple guidelines
of what to look for when you have
your saddle on your horse's back in the barn on as level ground
as possible.
We want the saddle to sit between the 8th
and the 18th thoracic vertebrae.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: OK?
The 8th is two fingers behind the back of the scapula.
DAN: OK.
Good.
We can do that.
OK.
KATE BALLARD: And the 18th is the last rib.
DAN: All right.
KATE BALLARD: So your weight-- when you sit in the saddle,
your weight is carried around the rib cage.
OK?
DAN: So two behind the scapula, and then to the last rib.
OK.
KATE BALLARD: To the last rib.
If you go beyond the last rib, you're on the kidneys.
And you can cause discomfort.
DAN: You do not want to be there.
KATE BALLARD: So it is very important
to stick within our parameters.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: The 8th and 18th thoracic vertebrae.
OK?
The saddle should sit balanced.
You want the deepest part of the seat in the middle.
We like to have three fingers' clearance between the wither
and the underneath side of the gullet area here.
DAN: And when you'd be doing that portion of it,
would you have a saddle pad or would
you just have the saddle on the back?
KATE BALLARD: No, I would take--
have the saddle just on the horse's back.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: Sometimes the saddle pads
can disguise how the saddle is fitting.
So have your horse naked.
Another good guide is to have two fingers either side
of the wither here so when your horse is
turning his head and the shoulders, he has room to--
he or she has room to move.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: OK.
So three fingers.
Two fingers either side of the wither.
Saddle balanced with the deepest part in the middle.
And then another good tip is to look--
I should come around here.
DAN: Yeah, we can lean right over here.
KATE BALLARD: We can come around here,
because he's a small pony.
We can lift up and make sure that the panel here
bears all the way along.
So this is not bearing all the way along.
See that?
DAN: Yeah.
KATE BALLARD: So this guy needs some groceries perhaps.
So you want that panel to bear and conform
to the shape of the horse all the way.
DAN: So this part should be making
contact all the way through.
KATE BALLARD: Correct.
Correct.
You want as much bearing surface around the ribs as possible.
DAN: OK.
So when you were saying as far as like leveling,
are you talking about like the pommel or the cantle
should be like--
KATE BALLARD: Yes.
It will vary with different types of saddles.
The all-purpose or a close contact saddle
will sit perhaps more level.
If you put your thumb here and then draw a line,
it will be more level than a dressage saddle,
because that's going to have a deeper seat.
DAN: Yeah.
KATE BALLARD: So really, you want
to look for the deepest part in the middle of the saddle.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: OK.
DAN: So our key takeaway if we were just
to do it generally at home is, first,
we would want to make sure between the--
KATE BALLARD: 8th.
DAN: 8th vertebra and 18th.
KATE BALLARD: Correct.
DAN: Yes!
Awesome!
KATE BALLARD: And you can put sticky dots.
DAN: Oh, I'm definitely going to need sticky dots.
KATE BALLARD: Sticky dots, and that
will give you your parameter.
DAN: And then without the saddle pad on,
we would make sure we can fit three fingers underneath.
KATE BALLARD: Yes.
DAN: And then we want to make sure
that we have two fingers' clearance on either side.
KATE BALLARD: This way.
Yeah.
Three fingers stacked.
Not this way.
Stacked.
DAN: OK.
KATE BALLARD: Here.
And then two fingers either side.
DAN: And then make sure we're having
contact all the way around.
KATE BALLARD: All the way along, yes.
DAN: Perfect.
But you probably would still recommend-- because every horse
can be different.
Every saddle can be different.
KATE BALLARD: They're all so different and so individual,
as are we as riders.
DAN: Yes!
KATE BALLARD: So I would always recommend
having a professional come out and do a check in case
it needs work or needs to be rebalanced, et cetera.
DAN: Is there anything you could tell
in the horse's movement that might indicate to you,
like, hmm, there might be something
with the saddle going on here.
KATE BALLARD: A lot of the time it could be behavioral.
And the horses get girthy.
DAN: Yes.
KATE BALLARD: And they don't--
they object to the girth being tightened.
A big tell sign is they don't want to go forwards,
or they start stopping at the fences,
swishing their tails, ears pinned back,
lots of behavioral issues.
DAN: Which are signs, I think, all of us
have seen from time to time.
KATE BALLARD: Yeah.
DAN: Let's be honest with ourselves.
KATE BALLARD: Spooking.
DAN: Yeah.
Oh, really?
KATE BALLARD: Yes.
Yes.
DAN: I'm going to have to go home and check my saddle
apparently after this.
Well, that was awesome.
I think that's a great place for people to get started.
And hopefully, Megan, that gives you a great place to get
started in your saddle fitting.