BOOM WIDTH AND BOOM ANGLE
Signs of incorrect boom width:
- The horse does not want to move forward
- The horse sways with its back
– Pressure sores and white hairs
Beam widths on saddles usually have the size Narrow, Normal or Wide. But if the width is not correct on the horse, how is it affected? The saddle bar must be wide enough for the horse's shoulder to rotate freely under the saddle bar.
Boom too narrow:
The most common is that horses have too narrow withers. This means that the horse cannot move its shoulders freely under such a saddle. The saddle can also be pushed forward over the shoulders when the horse is ridden and result in all sorts of problems which you can read about here.
If the bar width is too narrow, the points of the saddle bar will dig into the muscle directly above the ribs. And when the rider asks for activity of the hindquarters, the back will lift and cause an opposite pressure point, thus causing discomfort to the horse.
For at boom:
If the beam width is too wide, the saddle may rock from side to side or the rear half of the saddle may twist to one side or the other when the horse is ridden. A properly fitted saddle has a boom that is wide enough and an angle that is properly adjusted to avoid hitting the Spinalis muscle.
This is also a reflex point that inhibits or completely stops the forward invitation.
When you adjust the boom width on the horse, you must also adjust the boom angle. If the width of the bar is correct but the angle of the bar is incorrect, the saddle will not fit the horse. This can cause permanent damage.
THE BALANCE ON THE SADDLE
Signs of improper saddle balance:
- You struggle with your position
- You tip forward or backward in the saddle
- The horse loses performance capacity
- The horse gets sore behind the saddle
- The horse develops kissing spines
- Difficult to get activity in the hind legs
- The horse has a back problem
Once we have the correct beam width, we need to check the balance of the saddle so that the rider sits centered in the deepest part of the saddle with the most weight where the horse's body can bear weight, from T13-T18 of the spine. When a rider sits balanced, the weight is evenly distributed across the panels and the legs hang straight under the body.
If the legs hang behind the rider, it causes the rider to fall forward. This feels like riding downhill and this puts more pressure behind the bow. To correct it, the saddle needs to be lifted in the front arch.
If the legs hang forward, it puts the rider in a chair seat that puts most of the weight on the back of the saddle. Over time, the horse may become sore behind the saddle due to overexertion of the back muscles. (In more serious cases, the horse can get what we call "kissing spines" when the horse loses its back and the spines touch each other and can fuse together over time). To correct this and balance the rider, the rear arch of the saddle needs to be lifted.
Too high in the front arch:
If you feel like you struggle to balance in the saddle or are tipped backwards, your saddle may be too high in the front arch. If the saddle is too high from the horse's withers or too low at the back, it causes extra uneven pressure on the horse's back. It becomes difficult for the horse to engage the hindquarters because it cannot come through over the back and step under itself. It also puts you in the wrong position.
Too low in the front arch:
You feel that you tip forward and the horse can give resistance in the ride. If the saddle is too low in front, it pinches the horse's shoulder, which really restricts the horse's movement. It causes discomfort and pain to the horse and forces you to sit in an unnatural position which affects your riding and the lumbar discs.
When balancing the saddle, the back arch will be higher than the front arch/saddle button and the panels should make even contact with the horse's back and either be like a bridge (no contact in the middle) or swing back and forth. A rocking saddle causes the rider to move more, which makes the rider heavier and more unbalanced, and it makes the horse uncomfortable.
FREEDOM OF BOOKS
Signs of insufficient book freedom:
- The horse is unwilling to move forward
- The horse has strange bumps, wounds or white hairs around the withers
Even if you've recommended three fingers' freedom of movement, you may not have enough space on all sides, which is crucial. Many times the concept of bow freedom is misunderstood to only mean that the saddle does not push against the top of the withers, but it is equally important that there is at least three fingers of space along the sides around the withers as well.
One of the reasons for this is that the horse's scapula rotates upwards and backwards when the horse moves. If you draw a mark with a chalk at the tip of the bow blade and ask someone to lift the front leg of the horse, and now mark the new position, you will see that the bow blade is now significantly further back. The saddle must have opening/space on the sides of the withers to accommodate the bow rotation.
If there is no clearance (or space) on the sides of the withers, the horse's movements will be restricted. It will be impossible for it to have free range of motion through the shoulders.
A horse whose saddle pinches its withers may be reluctant to move forward. Other more extreme signs of insufficient bow freedom are patches of white hair (unscattered individual white hairs) or sores on the top or on one or both sides of the withers.
BACK CANAL WIDTH
Signs that you have the wrong width of the panel channel on the saddle:
- The horse cannot use its back properly
- You need to take out the chiropractor often
- The horse is reluctant to bend sideways
A saddle with too narrow back channel can cause permanent damage to the horse's back! There is no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to boom channel. The width of each horse's spine determines how wide its panel channel must be. A saddle with too narrow a channel will sit on the horse's back and/or ligaments.
This is especially noticeable when the horse moves around a corner: if the horse tracks to the left, you see the saddle shift to the right, so that the left side panel rests on the horse's back / ligaments. This is something that we must avoid at all costs!
In the short term, a saddle that sits on the horse's back/ligaments will cause the horse to tense its back muscles and sway its back. The straight opposite of the rounded back we want to see, especially in dressage. In the long term, a saddle with an overly narrow and narrow boom channel will cause permanent, irreversible damage to the horse's back that means career-ending.
The most serious forms of such injuries are spinal stenosis (compression and narrowing of the spinal canal) and spondylosis (degeneration of the vertebrae).
However, it is only rarely that we find a saddle that is too wide for the horse's back channel. But such a saddle will have insufficient weight-bearing surface and may begin to peel the muscle away from the top of the ribs and the back of the bar may actually come to rest on the spine.
FULL SADDLE CONTACT
Signs of uneven saddle contact:
- The horse is reluctant to raise its back
– Uneven pressure points behind the saddle
Once you have established that your saddle has the correct width of the dorsal channel (the channel between the panels/bosses) of the saddle and that the panels rest on the longissimus dorci muscles and not on the spine or ligaments, you next need to ensure that the panels/bosses of the saddle have an even contact with the horse's back. The saddle should sit on the optimal weight-bearing surface of the horse's back, and distribute the rider's weight evenly.
If the front and back of the panels make contact with the horse's back but not the middle, the saddle is like a bow. When the rider's weight is in the saddle, it results in pressure on the front and back of the saddle. When a saddle rocks, the panels at the front and/or back of the saddle do not make smooth contact with the horse's back. Like a rocking horse.
In this case, there is excessive pressure in the center of the saddle and the rider's entire weight is concentrated in this one area. It is therefore important that the saddle does not rock or arch like a bow in this way.
SADDLE LENGTH
Signs of incorrect saddle length:
- The horse has a forty gallop
- The horse has difficulty or is unwilling to go into a gallop
- The horse has tense back muscles with reduced mobility
- The horse staggers and loses its back
- The horse bucks
Correct saddle length is important so that the saddle does not lie and press on the kidney area. Saddle length is about installation area. The horse may have a long back or a short back for example, but a horse that appears to have a normal length of back may actually have a very short saddle area. The length of the installation surface where the saddle is to lie determines how long saddle panels the horse should have on the saddle.
Horse breeds that usually have a short enclosure are Arabians, Andalusians, Lusitanos, Lippizans and PREs. The panels on dressage saddles are often too long for these horses. So then maybe we think that we should generally choose a short saddle with the shortest possible installation surface? Wrong! The shorter the installation surface, (where the saddle has contact with the horse) the more pressure is put on that surface, so the stronger the pressure.
The pressure becomes higher and more concentrated on a smaller surface. On a larger surface, the pressure will be less. Therefore, it is not the solution to just choose a saddle length as short as possible. A longer saddle gives less pressure on the horse because it is distributed over a larger surface.
A saddle that is too long is often pushed forward into the shoulder. This can build up scar tissue on the scapula (shoulder blade) and over time, the scapula can actually chip away at the wood of the saddle. A saddle must not reach past the last floating rib.
If a saddle is too long for a particular horse, the back of the panels will reach past the horse's saddle support area and this is extremely uncomfortable for the horse, as it puts pressure on the lumbar spine.
A horse ridden in a saddle that is too long will often strain its lower back muscles and in some cases, you can even see the horse sway and drop its back in an attempt to get away from the pressure of the saddle. The horse may try to buck in an attempt to get the weight off the lower back. Finally, the horse may have difficulty moving forward at the canter, or may simply be persistently reluctant for no apparent reason.
SADDLE STRAIGHTNESS
Signs that the saddle is crooked:
- The rider sits crooked
- The rider often needs to step down on one of the stirrups while riding to center the saddle
- The horse has unevenly developed shoulders
It is common for the rider to sit sideways on the horse, which we can easily see from behind. It is important to ensure that the saddle sits straight on the back so that the middle part of the saddle is in line with the horse's spine. A saddle that tips or twists to one side can lead to problems with the horse's joint (Sacroiliac).
If the saddle shifts to such an extent that the panels rest against the horse's spine, it can lead to the same irreversible and long-term damage as for incorrect dorsal canal width. A saddle may look straight when the horse is tied up in the stall, but shift to the right or left side during riding.
The reason why a saddle tips to one side of the horse's back is that horses are uneven and unequal/asymmetrical by nature. The majority of horses are not symmetrically built through the shoulders. About 20% of horses have a right shoulder/bow that is larger and more developed than the other.
About 70% of horses have a left shoulder/bow that is larger and more developed and only 10% have evenly developed shoulders. The larger shoulder, tips over the saddle to the other side. Whether a horse is more right- or left-dominant, i.e. "right-handed" or "left-handed", can depend on several different things such as how the horse was placed in the womb, how it has been trained and which foreleg is the most forward when grazing.
Sometimes the saddle falls to the side because the boom channel is too narrow or the boom width and boom angle are wrong for the horse. A rider sitting sideways on the horse presses the padding on the saddle unevenly and pulls it over to one side. The reason may be that one of the rider's hips is lower than the other or that one stirrup has more weight than the other. It is important to determine the cause to avoid long-term damage to your horse.
SADDLE BELT STRAPS LOCATION
Signs of incorrect position of the saddle straps:
– The saddle slides forward regardless of which saddle girth or saddle pad is used
This is a common problem. If the girth straps are not in proper alignment, the saddle will not stay in place on the horse's back. Maybe you've had to stop and jump off countless times to put the saddle in place but the saddle keeps sliding forward no matter what saddle girth or pad you use.
When properly positioned, the girth straps should hang perpendicular to the ground and in the girth area.
Hanging too far back:
If the straps hang too far back, gravity will pull the straps forward in the girth area. The straps will pull the saddle girth and the entire saddle along with it. The girth will always find its position at the narrowest point of the ribcage behind your horse's elbow, and the unfortunate result is that the saddle is either pushed forward into the horse's shoulders, or pushed up onto the top of its shoulders.
When a saddle is pulled forward over the shoulders it acts like a straitjacket with the result that the horse cannot move freely through the shoulders and the horse's entire range of motion can be severely impeded.
A saddle that is constantly driven into the horse's shoulders will produce a build-up of scar tissue on the shoulder blade. If the problem persists long-term, the wooden points of the saddle will actually gnaw bone and cartilage. Horses with this type of irreversible damage often have telltale "holes", particularly on their left scapula, and are often retired early.
Hanging too far forward:
If the straps hang too far forward at your horse's elbow, it can make the horse's elbows sore. And again gravity will pull them and the girth with saddle back to the girth area. This is actually a problem because even if the horse's shoulders are free, there will be too much pressure on the panels on the back of the saddle. Too much of the rider's weight will be on the horse's loin and kidney area.