Moira Knowles Remedial Saddle Fitter

This. If you’re riding in a girth what elastic only at one side then you are asking for asymmetry and saddle slip. I do own a girth with elastic only on one side though and I keep it in my fitting kit… any guesses as to why?

One-sided elastic girths. Why do they belong in the bin? 🗑️

Because your horse’s physio spends their life trying to make your horse straight.

Your saddle fitter spends their life making your saddle symmetrical.

Your farrier spends their life balancing your horse’s feet.

Your EDT spends their life making your horse’s teeth even.

Your vet spends their life investigating why your horse isn’t moving evenly.

Your instructor spends every lesson telling you to sit in the middle and stop collapsing to one side.

You get the picture…

So why would you then put a girth on that stretches on one side but not the other?

It doesn’t make sense.

If you’re trying to create straightness, symmetry and even pressure, a one-sided elastic girth is working against everything everyone else is trying to achieve.

My preference? A girth with strong, thick, short elastic on BOTH ends. Even better if the elastic crosses over, as it tends to distribute the pressure/force/load more evenly. That said, every horse is an individual and, very occasionally, I come across one that genuinely goes better in a girth with no elastic at all.

But one-sided elastic?

That’s a hard no from me.

Feel free to disagree in the comments… but bring snacks if you’re going to argue. 🍿 And buckle up!

Another day, another second hand saddle with issues… anyone want to guess what the problem is with this one? I was given this one to sell but it’s going to need some work…

Absolutely… like everything with horses- what came first? It’s all part of a system of compensation that needs to be untangled and changed gradually.

What if it's not the farrier's fault?

Can we just talk about feet for a moment?

After looking at these two photos side by side, it really got me thinking about feet (not in a fe**sh way 😂) and the forces being placed upon them from higher up in the body. I think these pictures illustrate it perfectly.

At our first appointment, we discussed the angles of her feet and how underrun they were. This wasn't a criticism of the farrier, just an observation of where she was at and something we hoped to improve over time.

In the top image, you can see how the directional force through her body is sending weight into the back of her heels in the front feet.

Now look at the hind legs. The way she had to stand to find some degree of comfort meant she was effectively sitting back onto her heels there too.

So how can we expect to develop a more upright hoof capsule when the body is continually directing force in a way that encourages the opposite?

If we had added wedges or pads at that stage, my concern is that we would simply have increased the directional force and stress on an already compromised system.

The changes would have had nowhere to go. Her body was stuck in that pattern and wouldn't have allowed meaningful adaptation. We can't force posture.

Now look at the second image. We still have work to do, but the body is beginning to find more balance. The directional forces are more evenly distributed (the right hind is still further forward as that limb had its own issues), but to me there is noticeably less crushing force from above, she appears more lifted and soft, than strapped down. The white arrows represent the direction of fascial pull ( this is how my brain functions 🤓)

Of course, feet don't change overnight. It takes around 6–9 months to grow a new hoof capsule, so I'll be fascinated to see how her feet continue to develop over the coming months now that the force patterns are changing.

I think hoof care professionals sometimes get a hard time for not "fixing" feet, but if the feet don't have the space or freedom to adapt, how can we expect them to?

This is a team effort. Free the body, work with the feet, assess the saddle, address dental balance, improve biomechanics and then repeat the cycle. We leapfrog each other, with every professional contributing to the overall change.

But first, the body needs the space within the system to change.

The joys of buying second hand… lovely saddle in beautiful condition but panels felt very over flocked and had weird lumps. I say weird because one of the things I love about Harry Dabbs saddles is the felt lined panels which I find means they need a full re-flock less often as they soften any lumps a little. Had a poke about and eeeeeeew! Those lumps are the hardest cheapest synthetic flock ever. A mixture of three kinda of ‘wool’ in this saddle
So no wonder it was lumpy! Re-flock imminent!

This posture/ compensation has a huge effect on saddle fitting. A horse who is essentially dipping away from their rider/saddle makes their back shorter and is more likely to have a saddle that bridges and goes past the 18th rib, causing lumbar pain. They are also likely to have less clearance in the channel at the rear of the saddle.
It’s always best to address issues before fitting a saddle or the cycle continues. A horse who is unable to lift through their back statically is likely to be unable to lift while ridden. Another warning sign is if they falter when asked to rein back correctly because this can show up disconnect and tension in the back. All pointing towards something going on that requires further investigation.
This posture can also be CAUSED by the saddle issues I mentioned above- a saddle that is too long, bridging or that doesn’t have enough clearance in the channel. Often it’s hard to tell what came first!

The area behind the saddle tells you so much about the horse’s body.

One area I think is really important to learn to look at is the section from the back of the saddle through to the croup.

It’s an area that can get overlooked, because often people are drawn to the more obvious things. The neck, the shoulders, the hind legs, whether the horse looks downhill, whether the horse is stepping under, whether the horse is moving freely. But that area behind the saddle gives us a huge amount of information about what is happening through the spine, how well the hind end is connecting to the front end, and how much ability the horse currently has to carry itself — and ultimately to carry the rider.

For me, this area is one of those places that tells you about the long-term picture. Not in a dramatic, doom-and-gloom way, and not because we can look at one photo and decide everything about a horse. But because the shape and function of that area gives us a really good clue as to whether the body is working as one connected system, or whether it is already living in a level of compensation.

A common thing we see is quite a steep slope down from the croup towards the back of the saddle. So instead of that area looking connected and supported, it drops away. It can almost look like a ski slope running down into the back of the saddle area.

When I see that, I am not just looking at the shape itself. I am thinking about what that shape suggests about the function underneath it.

Often, that kind of shape tells us that the spine is sitting more in extension. The pelvis is not really able to organise itself well underneath the body, the back is not functioning as a strong, adaptable bridge, and the horse is having to find another way to move and carry itself. Very often, that means the horse ends up dropping forwards and loading the front end more than it should.

That can show up in lots of different ways. Some horses feel heavy in the hand. Some feel downhill. Some push from behind, but without actually carrying. Some brace through the base of the neck. Some look like they are moving well because there is plenty of activity, but when you look more closely, the back is not really part of the conversation. The hind end is doing something, the front end is doing something, but the connection through the middle is not really there.

And this is where I think we have to be careful, because a horse can carry on like that for a long time.

They can still be ridden. They can still go out hacking. They can still do schooling sessions. They can still look relatively “normal” to a lot of people. But if the body is repeatedly working from that disconnected, extended, dropped pattern, then over time that has consequences.

The spine is not meant to be stuck in one position. It needs the ability to move between flexion and extension. It needs adaptability. The pelvis needs to be able to contribute to the movement. The back needs to be able to transmit force and support the rider. The abdominal system, thoracic sling, hindquarters, shoulders and neck all need to be part of the same functional system.

When that bridge through the body is not working, other areas have to take over.

That might mean the front end takes too much load. It might mean the neck braces to hold the body together. It might mean the hind end pushes without truly supporting. It might mean the back becomes tight, weak, sore, or restricted. Over time, that sort of function can leave the horse more vulnerable to issues through the spine, soft tissue, muscles, ligaments, hind end, front end, or neck.

So no, I am not saying that every horse with a slope behind the saddle has a specific problem.

But I am saying it is worth paying attention to.

Because that area is telling you something.

What I would like to see, ideally, is a more connected area from the croup to the back of the saddle. Not rigid. Not braced. Not artificially held. But supported. A back that looks like it has the potential to lift. A spine that looks like it has the ability to move. A pelvis that looks like it can be involved in the movement, rather than sitting behind the horse while the rest of the body carries on without it.

When that area is more connected, the horse has far more options. The hind end can contribute more effectively. The back can participate. The front end does not have to carry quite so much of the load. The neck does not have to become the place where everything is held together. The horse has a better chance of developing strength that is actually useful, rather than just adding more power on top of poor function.

And this is really the point.

We are not just trying to make horses do exercises.

We are trying to improve the way the body is functioning.

Because a horse can do all the “right” exercises and still do them in a form that reinforces the same compensations. But when the body begins to connect better, the same exercises can suddenly become much more valuable, because the horse is using them in a way that supports comfort, strength and long-term soundness.

So I think this area behind the saddle is something we should all get better at looking at.

Look at it when the horse is stood still. Look at it in the field. Look at it before you ride. Look at it during training. Look at how it changes over time. Is the area becoming more connected, more supported, more functional? Or is the horse staying in that same dropped, extended pattern?

Because the line from the croup to the back of the saddle tells you more than just what the back looks like.

It tells you about the health of the spine.

It tells you about the connection between the hind end and the front end.

It tells you how the horse is currently organising itself.

And it gives you a really valuable insight into how sustainable that body is likely to be if nothing changes.

I would strongly recommend this free webinar to anyone who owns horses or works with them. So many valid points that are relevant to all horses and their owners. This webinar talks about vaccinations, rehab, injuries, joint injections, boots, mechanical loading, ulcers and more. A very good watch/listen.

You can now access the FREE Performance Horse Management webinar replay with equine sports medicine veterinarian Dr. Chris White.

Learn practical, easy-to-understand strategies to support your horse's health, optimize performance, prevent common issues, and help them stay sound, healthy, and ready to perform.

Watch the replay today and join our private horse owners community to keep learning from trusted equine experts.

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Upcoming Area Visits- Fife and Perth

Hi everyone,

I will be fitting near Perth on Tuesday 14th of July and have spaces if anyone is looking. It could be in Perth or between Carnoustie and Perth.

I will be fitting in North East Fife and Glenrothes area on Tuesday 21st of July and have space for other clients if anyone is looking in the area.

Please share ☺️

Bittersweet day today finishing off some of our NC students who have been with us for two years. It’s also been my last day teaching students with Elaine now that I’m coordinating the courses instead. We’ll still work together, just in a different way but I’ll defo miss days like today. Well done to all of our NC students who are now getting a wee break for the summer. The courses are still continuing at Leys with Elaine after the break. Today our students had to prepare 3 horses for a show and finish off some bandaging assessments. The horses certainly enjoyed a good pampering 🥰

These are great pictures to highlight some red flags of poor posture. I have one that stands camped out as her go to and one that stands camped under. Both have some long standing issues and both are better at the start of their trim cycles (4weekly) and after bodywork. They are both about as good as they can be which takes work to manage their conformation and old injuries. Knowing what is normal and what is workable and what needs attention is really important and different for every horse.