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Home » Pets And Animals Articles » Does Your Horses Saddle Fit

Does Your Horse's Saddle Fit?

Is your horse exhibiting uncharacteristic performance or behavior issues? Well then, check his saddle. Badly fitting saddles account for a vast array of issues in the horse. Yet they often go undetected, either because people don't recognize the signs and symptoms of an improperly fitting saddle, or because they have no idea how to fix the problem.

This lack of knowledge can hurt our horses physically, diminish their ability to reach their full potential, and even label them as unpleasant or dangerous characters. Of course, saddle fit can't be blamed for all behavior and performance issues in the horse, but it is something that should always be considered. If you don't have the knowledge to determine whether your horse's saddle fits, enlist the help of a competent saddle fitter right away.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

How do you know if your horse's saddle is uncomfortable? Easy. What does he have to say about it? Sure, your horse won't be able to communicate with you verbally. But his body language should tell you all you need to know if you take the time to listen. Ask yourself the following questions:

* Are the muscles in the top loin overly developed?

* Is the lower part of your horse's neck thicker than the top part because he hollows his back?

* Are the muscles in the hollow region behind my horse's shoulder diminished or atrophied from the nerves and muscles being pinched?

* When relaxing, does my horse have a dropped or sway back?

* Is there swelling or heat under the saddle area upon removal of the saddle?

* Is there raw or rubbed skin anywhere in the saddle area?

* Are there any white marks or bare patches on his back?

Once you've taken a good look at your horse, ask yourself the following questions about his behavior:

* Does he seem stiff?

* Does he hold his head high and stiff, and does he seem unwilling to accept the bit or rider's aids?

* Does he seem unwilling?

* Is he hard to catch?

* Does he jump around when being groomed, especially when you are grooming the back area?

* Does he hollow his back, buck, or move away when saddled?

* Does he dislike being girthed?

* Does he jig when being mounted?

* Does he toss his head while under saddle?

* Does he refuse to walk calmly on a long rein?

* Is he irritable in general?

* Does he have a hard time walking up or down hills?

* Are his gaits uneven?

* Does he have difficulty with one lead over another?

* Is he stiff on corners, bends, or circles?

* Does he have trouble getting down and back up again?

If you answered yes to more than one or two questions do your horse a big favor. Don't ride him under saddle again until a qualified vet or chiropractor has evaluated him. If your horse is diagnosed with back problems it is important to note that the saddle is not always to blame. However, taking a good constructive look at your saddle and how it fits your horse is a good place to start.

Good Saddle Fit

A saddle should fit both horse and rider, but don't think that just because you find it comfy your horse does too. How do you know if your horse's saddle fits? Check out the following tips:

* Sitting in the saddle with a relaxed seat and legs, check to make sure you have enough room to put your hand on your thigh between your legs and the pommel. You should also be able to fit the width of your hand between the back of your body and the rear arch. With the stirrups at the normal length, there should be an imaginary line gong through your shoulder, to your hip, to the center of your horse's balance, and finally, to your heel. So now we know the saddle fits you!

* But does it fit your horse? First of all, it should never interfere with your horse's movement in any way. There must be no contact between the saddle and the spine, which means you should see a clear channel of daylight down the spine from withers to loins.

* Check the width and length. With your weight in the saddle you should be able to fit two-and-a-half or three fingers between the pommel and the horse's withers. If there is space for four fingers the tree is too narrow. If there is space for two, it is too wide. Check to see how far the saddle goes toward your horse's hip bone. It should not be so long that it rubs the hip.

* The saddle should be stable and should never rock back and forth.

* Never commit to a saddle before taking it on a lengthy ride. There is no substitute for riding in it when it comes to finding a saddle that fits well

A comfortable saddle keeps your horse healthy in both mind and body. Now watch how far the two of you go!

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Four Ways To Achieve Great Results ... CONTINUALLY

Leaders live and die by results. For almost a quarter of a century, I've been teaching leaders of all ranks and functions worldwide to achieve not just average results but "more results faster continually." And "continually" is maybe the most important factor.

A lot of leaders live by having people get more results. They live by having them get more results on a faster basis. But they die when trying to get "more, faster" CONTINUALLY.

Here are four ways to make CONTINUALLY happen.

1. Deep Expectations. Clearly, expectations are a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you commit yourself to the expectations that achieving anything less than "more results faster continually" is unacceptable, you've created new contours for success.

I call those expectations "deep expectations" because they involve the five results-drivers that go deeply into your organization. The results drivers are: the strategies that marshal functions around central, organizing concepts; the tactics to execute those strategies; the resources to support the tactics; the people skills to promote great execution; and the motivational leadership to have the people be ardently committed to the execution.

The strategies, tactics, resources, people skills, and motivational leadership must be viewed within the context of and tested by "more results faster continually."

2. Deep relationships. To promote CONTINUALLY, you must champion deep, human, emotional relationships with the people you lead. This means going beyond the relatively shallow relationships involved in order-giving environments. The relationships cultivated in such environments don't go much deeper, in terms of their human bonding, than those involved with the giving, receiving, and carrying out of orders. When you order people to do a job, you may get more and faster results, but I submit that you won't get more/faster CONTINUALLY.

The power of deep relationships has been demonstrated since the dawn of history. In all cultures, whenever people needed to do great things, one thing had to take place: A leader had to gather those people together and speak from the heart. Profound, heartfelt relationships had to be established for great things to be accomplished.

Today, many leaders miss out on deep relationships that can lead to great results. They may know such relationships are important, but they don't know how to consistently create them, maintain them and enrich them.

Think of a time when you've experienced a deep, bonding with somebody -- not sexual as in a significant-other relationship -- but a bonding to achieve certain organizational accomplishments. It might have been with a boss, a friend, a colleague ... doesn't matter who, the important thing is the WHAT, the relationship.

Now, picture yourself interacting with that person on one or more occasions. What was the physical setting? What was said? What was done? Recall what you felt. Recall the bonding that took place. What were the physical facts that gave you those emotions, that bonding? What were the actions you took as a result of that bonding? What were the results that came from those actions?

You may conclude that those relationships led to better results â€" and provided necessary environment for CONTINUALLY.

3. Deep processes. How do we create and sustain those relationships? One answer is through processes. Processes, which are systematic series of mental or physical steps directed toward specific ends, cultivate clarity of purpose and repeatability of outcomes.

A proven, robust process to advance CONTINUALLY is the Leadership Talk. The Leadership Talk is not about having leaders order people to do tasks, but having those people badly want to do those tasks. The ability to have others "want to" separates average leaders from great leaders. Hence, the Leadership Talk is a key driver of CONTINUALLY. (See my website for more information.) In fact, without employing Leadership Talks, leaders fail to create and sustain results-producing bonding between the leader and the people.

4. Deep results. If Leadership Talks are a key process in achieving the deep relationships needed to advance CONTINUALLY, what kind of results should CONTINUALLY encompass?

You can begin to get great results CONTINUALLY by having them flow through the prism of the Leadership Imperative.

The Leadership Imperative is: I WILL LEAD PEOPLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE TOGETHER NOT ONLY ACHIEVE THE RESULTS WE NEED BUT WE ALSO BECOME BETTER AS LEADERS AND AS PEOPLE.

You are never more effective as a leader as when, in getting more results faster continually, you are helping others be better than they are -- even better than thought they could be.

Guided by the Leadership Imperative, you'll find yourself realizing deep results. Furthermore, those deep results will advance CONTINUALLY. After all, if people know that in working with you, they will improve their job performance, boost their career, and enrich their lives, won't they want to work with you ... CONTINUALLY?

Results, of course, come in many forms and are measured and evaluated in many ways. I've discovered that most leaders are getting the wrong results, or the right results in the wrong ways. When you aim to start achieving "more results faster continually" you are on the right road to achieving the right results. Be guided by the four ways to make CONTINUALLY happen -- deep expectations, deep relationships, deep processes, deep results -- and you'll insure you'll be getting them in the right ways.

2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com