When saddle fit collides with logic

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Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | saddle fitting

Maggie and Fergus addressing the issues of logic, fact, and gardening.

“Logic and fact keep interfering with the easy flow of conversation.” - Mason Cooley

Before I was a saddle fitter, I was a career Foreign Service Officer, trained in international economics. Since almost nothing ever works as it theoretically should in economics, and since no one seriously expects that it will, economists are rarely blamed when they don’t get it right. This is not so with saddle fitting. People who seek help from saddle fitters expect that they know what they are doing. They generally expect that the experience will result in something positive, a lasting solution for themselves and their horses, notwithstanding the fact that saddle fitting, even at its most successful, is fundamentally an exercise in damage control.

A significant complication in this process is that equus and homo sapien are two quite disparate species, each with its own particular set of ergonomic requirements. Yet they must share the same piece of equipment, share the same bearing structure from opposite sides, and — however improbable this might be sometimes — it has to fit them both.

Narrow twist, wide horse, wishful thinking

An example of a total mismatch between shape of horse and shape of tree

Riders of wide horses may not like the shape of saddles that really fit them

Riders of wide horses may not always like the shape of saddles that really fit them

I won’t understate how frustrating it can be for a saddle fitter to find a saddle -– or several saddles –- that are an excellent fit for a hard to fit horse shaped like a melon on legs, only to have the tiny lady rider who owns this equine beer barrel reject every single saddle that fits her horse because she prefers a saddle that is completely unsuitable for his actual shape. The conversation often goes like this:

Horse Owner: “I’ve tried quite a few saddles, and this is the first time something has really fit Bon Bon without surfing up his neck.”

Saddle Fitter: “Yes, well, typically trees designed for Highland and Cob body types do fit butterballs like Bon Bon pretty well.”

Horse Owner: “So I’m glad your job is that easy.”

Saddle Fitter, nodding agreeably but muttering sotto voce: “Yeah, easy. And for my next trick, I will balance the federal budget, solve the credit crisis, and bring about world peace.”

Horse Owner, plowing on without a pause: “But you can see I’m just swimming in these size 2 breeches (faux self-effacing giggle), and Bon Bon is so wide; obviously I can only ride him comfortably in a saddle with a narrow twist.” (Translation: “I am a very small person who has bought a spherical horse that is entirely unsuitable in body type for my requirements, and I’m only willing to ride him in a saddle that makes me feel like I’m on a narrow, slab-sided horse instead of the shape he really is.”)

I encounter this sort of dilemma ridiculously often, and I have found that suggesting to the rider that she should perhaps find a more suitably shaped horse is almost never appreciated.

Tags: horse fit rider fit, narrow twist wide horse, saddle fit challenges, saddle fitting

2 Comments to When saddle fit collides with logic

Firedrake
October 19, 2008

Great blog. And thank you for even thinking about the rider fit. I have never in 30 years sat on any saddle that did not rub me in the crotch, except one. It was so many years ago I can’t count, back when I rode lesson horses and would arrive at the barn an hour early to make sure I could grab this one saddle that didn’t hurt me. I wish I knew what it was about that saddle that worked!

A couple of months ago I bought a used Albion. Lovely lovely saddle. My horse instantly went better and I felt great. For the first week. I don’t know–was I only doing rising trot that week? While my horse continued to do fine, I realized that after I sat the trot for about 5 minutes I was in serious pain from rubbing in the crotch. I could not get into a position that this didn’t happen–once I focused on it, I could feel it begin to happen as soon as he moved. So I reluctantly decided it was too small for me. I’m a somewhat heavy rider–I was determined to lose some personal padding but in my heart I knew it wouldn’t really help. The shape of the seat was pressing me into a position and place that just hurt.

Fast forward to the present. Horse retired, long search, new horse arrived last week. Some weight lost but not yet at goal. The dream was the Albion would magically fit me and new horse. Doh. Of course not. But not only “of course not”–I now have a lovely, fit, professionally trained warmblood dressage horse that appears to be too well-muscled in the withers for every saddle in the barn and the local tack shop. My beautiful Albion perches about 5 inches up above his back in front. A “wide” trial saddle from local shop doesn’t perch but seems to pinch at his shoulder muscles and then hang free at his sides. My old pre-Albion saddle appears to sit on him reasonably well but then slides all over his back when we move. My trainer said that’s because it’s too narrow. This seems counter-intuitive to me.

I fear I’m looking at months of not being able to ride my new horse while I look for a saddle to fit not only him but me! I want to weep. I’m sure you’ve heard this story so many times you have it by heart.

On top of this I live in the hinterlands. Saddle fitters? What are those? I think one might come by every two years or so.

In hindsight, I should have left the horse on the east coast, where I bought him, flown up there and stayed to work with a fitter until I got a saddle before I even brought him home. Too late for that now, we are in the mountain west.

Sorry for this cry of despair. After reading all your entries I just couldn’t help myself.

Colleen
October 21, 2008

Dear Firedrake:

Of course it is ridiculous to say “don’t fret,” but there may be much more hope than you realize. Because you are not near a fitter who can come out and bring a dozen different saddles to try at once, the process is likely to take some patience, but it is possible you could hit it lucky on the very first try.

First you need a plan, and I would say that the plan should start with trying to figure out what will work for the horse and go forward from there to what will work for you. As I am fond of saying, you may have to kiss a few saddle frogs before finding that prince, but in all likelihood it is out there.

You have inspired me to do a new entry today to address the issue you raise, so I will answer in more detail in today’s entry.

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