KATE BALLARD: So saddle fitting and the correct saddle
fit is very important in our horse mastership.
We are the advocate for our horse.
A correctly fitting saddle will give your horse
longevity with muscles and joints.
If you are to imagine wearing a pair of shoes two
sizes too big or too small you would experience discomfort.
So it is essential that we do our very best to ensure
that the saddle fits the horse's back.
We're here with Casimo,
who is a 15-hand German Riding Pony.
I'm going to show you the parameters
of where the saddle should sit on the horse's back.
The saddle sits between the eighth
thoracic vertebrae and the 18th.
The eighth thoracic vertebrae is found two fingers
behind the back of the scapula so we can see the scapula here.
So we go two fingers directly upwards.
Two fingers. This is the eighth. The 18th is the last rib.
So if you feel your horse's side working your way back
you come to the last rib and they come up at this angle.
They don't go straight up. They come up this way. So,
this is our bearing surface; 8th to the 18th.
So we're going to take just a quick look at some
different saddles on Casimo to give you an idea
of what's right, what's not right.
When you're trying the saddles at home,
have your horse on as level ground as possible.
Here we can see we have T8 and 18 when we put the saddle
on the horse's back. Good boy. We do it without a saddle pad.
So the dots are covered up.
The tree of the saddle is actually the points
of the tree are buried under here.
But you can locate them by these two nails.
These two nails go straight through the point of the tree.
That wants to sit at T8. So if we lift up we can see —
the sticker is underneath there.
So the saddle is behind the back of the scapula allowing
the motion of the scapula to swing. As you can see,
this is actually too long for him.
We've gone past the green dot.
So this would could potentially cause discomfort here
in this area with the rider's weight on it,
which is where the horse's kidneys are.
Another example of what we're looking
for when we are fitting our horses with saddles
is the width. Locate T8.
The points of the tree located where the two nails are.
This comes right on the money at T18.
However if you draw imaginary line between my two fingers,
it's running downhill.
So when we come and stand at the withers and look
this saddle is actually too wide.
We want to get three fingers stacked on top of each other
between the wither and the lowest
point under the gullet. So I can just barely get two.
So, it's too low in front, too high in the back,
and it will cause a rocking motion.
So that is a sample that's too wide for your horse.
Another saddle.
The point of the tree located where the nail
is right underneath at T8 sits nicely behind the scapula.
What we don't want to do is have the saddle too far forward.
We have great clearance here at the wither.
Three fingers stacked on top.
So the wither to the lowest point of the gullet
and two fingers either side to allow for your horse to turn.
Come to the last rib and go up.
And there we are right on the money where
the green dot is.
The last thing we want to check is to lift the sweat
flap and look under here or feel.
You want to make sure that that panel is bearing
all the way along the contours of the horse's back.
The deepest part of the seat is in the middle over
the center of gravity which is usually
between the 12th and 13th rib.
So the rider would be nicely balanced.
It's a great balance this way. With a close contact saddle,
a mono,
a jumping saddle the flaps are more forward
cut but this is just here for the rider and it moves.
This is completely flexible.
This is where the bearing surface starts is the where
the point of the tree.
So point of the tree locate the nails.
What we see here is the saddle is too
short and it's sitting uphill.
This will create the rider to sit at the back
of the cantle and cause pressure here at the back.
And what usually happens is the saddle will ride
forward because the rider's weight
is not in the middle of the seat.
When we look at the front of the saddle too
it is very high.
We can almost drive a bus down the front.
I can literally get my whole hand down the front
so because it's high and it's low in the back,
if we lift the sweat flaps and look under here,
what we actually have is bridging.
Bridging is where the panel in the middle of the saddle
doesn't make contact with the horse's back
and we get something called four-point contact.
Where we have contact here at the front and at the back
and nothing under the middle.
Again we're looking where the points of the tree are.
Feel to the last rib, follow it up,
and this saddle is way too long. It's actually nicely balanced.
The seat —
the deepest part is in the middle of the seat
but we are we're too long here. Last jumping saddle locate T8.
You can always slide the saddle back till it doesn't
want to slide anymore.
The nails go straight through the point of the tree.
We locate it here behind the scapula,
come to the last rib,
follow that rib up right on the money at T18.
This is a nice little fit for this horse.
Three fingers clearance.
We have two fingers either side and the deepest part
of the seat is in the middle. And that's a nice balance.
So I hope that these small guidelines and tips have helped
you assess your saddle at home on the horse's
back without pads.
The next step would be to watch the horse and rider
together as a pair.
If you need more information or have more saddle questions,
SmartPak's Customer Care team is always willing to help.
Give them a call anytime or visit SmartPak.com.
Have a great ride.