Success Stories: Is “Good Enough” Compromising Your Success?
Written by Jay McGarry on June 19, 2010 at 12:16 pm
So often we make do with the saddles we have even if they are not a perfect fit. This can be due to many of factors, such as riding a variety of horses, financial constraints, or simply not understanding what constitutes a “good” fit.
One can use pads and such to modify the fit, and this can be successful… or not. Recently, two of our upper level event riders that are in the Black Country Quantums have had some interesting observations.
Ariel Grald stated that she struggled with finding her position in her jump saddle, and as a result, her horse was refusing fences. She said she felt she wasn’t as effective as she could be with her leg aids. When she started riding in the Quantum, she was able to find her correct leg position and she feels that has had a huge impact on her successes lately.
Sue Berrill, riding in her usual jump saddle, felt the fit wasn’t optimum, but padding it up made it passable. She felt that her horse was jumping well, yet she noted that Lexi wasn’t as soft as she would like. Sue observed the following when she tried riding Lexi in the Black Country Quantum: “She would get a bit tense and braced. While she basculed still, she did so with a tight back. With the new saddle, her jump is fluid and soft and the half halts go through since she’s not bracing her back.”
Little things can go a long way. A balanced, well fitting saddle may not turn you into the winning event riders that these women are, but it very likely allow both you and your horse to do your jobs more effectively.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to purchase a new saddle, but it may suggest that a saddle fit assessment would be a good option. Sometimes, “good enough” really isn’t!
Find this useful? Help us by spreading the word! |
||
|
|
Tweet | |
Extremely well said! I can’t begin to tell you how many times i’ve had to bite my tounge at shows and clinics or in lessons over the years. I could always go down the line of pairs and pick out the ones who knew about good saddle fit and those that simply hadn’t a clue or just didn’t care. I resently had one of the trainers at our boarding stable tell me that “any kind of wide saddle should work for my abnormally large mare”. My mare is a percheron/pinto and far from abnormal when it comes to a draft cross,she’s actually small(only 15hh)I have found that Duett makes a lovely line of saddles for the pleasently plump horses out there and am in total favor of not settling for whatever comes close. I love my horse and would never knowingly hurt her. It’s like a pair of jeans, one size 12 might fit like a 16 and another might be a 10. Narrow,medium,wide,extra wide are not always a good repersentation of how a saddle will actually fit said horse. And just because you ride in a 17 in most saddles does not always mean that a 17 will work. Bottom line some times we horse people just have to suck it up and get over the sticker shock because not all saddles are made equal. Trust me I’ve got the saddle sores to prove it!