Alliance Saddle Fitting

A busy weekend! A variety of saddle fits including Mabel who is returning to work after Kissing Spine surgery.
Saddle fit is super important in these cases as often the horses are very sensitive and need to be encouraged to lift and use the muscles in their back to help recovery. 💪🏻

Along with some routine flocking in an older saddle which didn’t seem to ever have been topped up and was flat as a pancake, all ready for its new horse!

If you have a tricky horse or a rehab case, I am happy to work alongside vets and physios to get the best outcomes 🐎

Test your eye 👀 and spot the problem!

Just another example of why saddle soundness and symmetry checks are a completely vital part of a fitting appointment.

This wintec had a whopping extra 32mm of rear shims added to one side only, unsurprisingly the horse was sore under one side!

Whipped them out and a gullet width change and the saddle sitting spot on and horse much happier 🐎

Space filled 🙂

‼️Last minute cancellation! ‼️

I have just had a space pop up last minute in the Northumberland area so I can fit another fit in this area pictured!
It would be early afternoon timing

PM to book 📩

Holy bridge-roni! 😱

When we talk about a “bridge” when it comes to saddle panel contact, sometimes it is much more subtle than this - but I couldn’t not get a picture of this - Daylight & the rest! ☀️

Safe to say this isn’t the right fit for this horse, it would be possible to help the bridge in some cases it can be caused by a too narrow saddle! But with a fixed tree there was no options to widen.
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Preach! Often saddle slip can be helped out, but persistent slip can be a sign of hindlimb issues

The Great Saddle Slip Mystery🔍

Your saddle slips to the left.

So naturally, you buy a new girth.

It still slips.🤨

So you buy a fancy anatomical girth, a non-slip saddle pad, and perhaps a breastplate with enough straps to secure a small aircraft.

It still slips.😠

So you call a saddle fitter.

Then another saddle fitter.

Then one recommended by a friend who swears they transformed her horse's life.

It still slips.😖

At this point, many horse owners begin to suspect that they're somehow destined to spend the rest of their life searching for the mythical saddle setup that stays exactly where it should.

But before you spend another dollar on tack or lose respect for your latest saddle-fitter, let me tell you about some fascinating research by Line Greve and Sue Dyson.🤓

Because what they discovered put some very important information on the table to consider when you have a saddle slip issue.

The researchers investigated horses with persistent saddle slip and found that many of them had underlying hindlimb lameness.

Now, stay with me if you just rolled your eyes and think this isn't you case because your horse is clearly NOT lame....

The type of lameness identified was not the obvious kind where the horse is hopping around on three legs.

The subtle kind.🤔

The sort of issue that can quietly affect performance, behaviour, balance, and movement long before anyone recognises it as a soundness problem.

Why?

Because horses with discomfort or dysfunction or weakness in a hind leg often alter the way they move. They redistribute load, change how they push off the ground, and compensate through their body. Those altered forces travel through the horse's back and can gradually push the saddle off centre.

This doesn't just apply to horses with obvious injuries. It can occur in horses with mild lameness, asymmetries, weakness, developmental immaturity, or conditions affecting structures such as the stifle, sacroiliac region, suspensory apparatus, or other parts of the hind limb.

Now here's the part that many people find surprising.

The researchers found that saddle slip was actually associated with well-balanced saddles that had even contact and good flocking.😲

In other words, a saddle that slips isn't necessarily poorly fitted.

In fact, if you've had the saddle checked, adjusted, reflocked, replaced, and the problem keeps returning, there may be something else worth investigating.

The most compelling finding came when the researchers identified the source of the hindlimb pain and used diagnostic nerve blocks to remove the discomfort.

The saddle slip disappeared in 97% of cases.😱

Read that again.

Ninety-seven percent.😱

The saddle didn't change.

The girth didn't change.

The saddle pad didn't change.

The horse's movement changed.🤯

That's a pretty powerful clue.😎

One of the biggest challenges with horses is that we often focus on the symptom we can see rather than the cause we can't.

The slipping saddle becomes the problem.

The canter transition becomes the problem.

The spooky behaviour becomes the problem.

The horse drifting through the shoulder becomes the problem.

But sometimes these things are not separate problems at all.

Sometimes they are all clues pointing towards the same underlying issue.

So if your saddle consistently slips despite multiple fitting assessments and equipment changes, it may be worth considering whether your horse is trying to tell you something.

And if that saddle slip is accompanied by things like:
- Canter difficulties
- Resistance under saddle
- Reactive or spooky behaviour
- Struggles with engagement
then the possibility of an underlying soundness issue becomes even more important to investigate.⚠️

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned working with horses is that behaviour, performance, and movement are often connected in ways that aren't immediately obvious.

A slipping saddle may not always indicate a soundness issue...sometimes it can be a YOU issue, but that is for another article another day.

But if it keeps happening despite your best efforts to fix it, it might be worth looking beyond the saddle.💡

Sometimes the saddle is not the problem.

It's the clue.

References
Greve, L., & Dyson, S. J. (2013). An Investigation of the Relationship Between Hindlimb Lameness and Saddle Slip. Equine Veterinary Journal, 45(5), 570-577.
Greve, L., & Dyson, S. J. (2014). The Interrelationship of Lameness, Saddle Slip and Back Shape in the General Sports Horse Population. Equine Veterinary Journal, 46(6), 687-694.

Collectable Advice 226/365. Please SHARE or hit SAVE. Please no copy and pasting.

🐎May is nearly over, and June is already looking very busy!🐎

I’ll be heading off on a long overdue holiday to 🇮🇹 for 3 weeks in July, so if you think you may need an appointment before then, please get in touch as soon as possible so I can try to fit you in before I go away ✈️

Ensuring your horse’s comfort and helping you both perform at your very best is always my priority
Pictured is Leona & Hardy getting their dressage saddle checked - and a new jump saddle fitted! A glorious summer evening in remote Yorkshire!
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☣️BIOSECURITY NOTICE☣️

Please, please, please — if your horse is showing any symptoms of illness or disease, let me know prior to your appointment so we can rearrange if needed.

Including but not limited to:

👉 High temperature
👉 Abnormal lethargy
👉 Nasal discharge
👉 Respiratory distress (coughing etc)
👉 Loss of appetite
👉 New skin lesions

Equine Flu is becoming far too close for comfort to the Durham area.

I do my part by disinfecting myself and my kit wherever possible, but diseases such as Equine Flu are highly contagious and can spread incredibly quickly between yards and horses.

Protecting everyone’s horses has to be a team effort, so please be honest about any symptoms or recent exposure before your appointment. Thank you for helping keep our equine community safe 🐴