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Q: How much of your day/week is related to horses? A: The awesome thing about this question is there is rarely a day that goes by let alone a week that isn’t related to horses in one way or another. I can be on the road working as a Certified Saddle fit Technician for Schleese Saddlery from early mornings till late at night. Still somehow I end up at the barn where I board my horse even if it is just for a quick brush or ride. I am also a Registered Equine Massage Therapist. When I am not fitting saddles or with my own horse, I might just be found at another barn treating a horse. Q: What is it exactly that you do? A: Being a Certified Saddle Fit Technician, my role is creating the optimal saddle fit for horse and also rider. So there are certain territories that I travel along with a client success manager…

As was mentioned in a recent article in California Riding Magazine (Nov. 2016) concerning gullet channel width, the issue of kissing spine is something that is of concern to many riders – and is very closely related to this saddle fit issue. I have recently come across an inordinate amount of horses where this issue occurred and was, of course, not helped – indeed exacerbated – by poorly fitting saddles. There are still differing opinions as to whether kissing spines is a disease with predilection already present at birth, or whether it is caused by “something” (poor saddle fit, poor riding, etc.) during the course of the horse’s life. Dr. Carol Vischer, a DVM in New York, with whom I work occasionally, (and who has kindly written an insert for my book Suffering in Silence) has done extensive research and come to the conclusion that kissing spine is a disease that some horses are just prone to, but whatever you believe – the fact is that it can definitely be caused and impacted by poor riding and bad saddle fit…

A horse is not able to lie, to ‘act’ like he’s feeling comfortable, happy, or relaxed when he’s not. Watch for the feedback your horse gives you and it’s easy to see what his state of mind is. We all know the usual signs; the eyes, the ears, the tail. In nature, the horse – a ‘flight’ animal – can run full out at a moment’s notice. There is no necessity for the thought process “Okay, I’m being chased by a wolf, I’m going to have to run fast in about 3 seconds, so perhaps I should warm up a bit so that I can go full tilt”. By that time, the horse would be lunch. You know your horse better than anyone – instinctively, you know immediately when something is amiss,

Saddle fitting is a term with various meanings. As the interface between horse and rider, the saddle should allow the rider to sit and balance comfortably (in a gender correct saddle) in order to give proper aids without clamping the thighs, relying on hands, or being unbalanced on the back. The saddle needs to provide freedom of movement without restriction so the back muscles come up, move freely and accommodate the horse’s changing conformation. Sometimes saddle fitting is analogous to buying shoes – selecting which are comfortable, perhaps adding orthotics or inserts to ‘improve’ the fit. With a non-adjustable saddle (wood or plastic tree), the saddle fitter assesses whether a narrow, medium or wide tree provides the ‘best’ (not necessarily optimal) fit. Improvements are made through …

We have been blessed. Truly blessed – the statistics state that most businesses barely last the first five years of their existence, and here we are, celebrating 30 years of achievement and success. Although initially it was just Jochen and myself, over the past four decades we have grown globally to employ over 100 people worldwide – supporting 100 families. We have our wonderful and loyal clients to thank; we have our skilled and dedicated staff to thank. But we also have publications such as California Riding Magazine to thank for working with us and being willing to showcase what it is that we do – for the eighth year now. A lot has changed since we first opened shop in our little 100 square-foot workshop in the quarantine zone of the World Dressage Championships locale – held for the first time outside of Europe in 1986. The Pracht family (including Olympians Eva Maria Pracht – daughter of Josef Neckermann, the first ever World Dressage Champion in 1966 – and her daughter Martina) were instrumental in allowing us to establish ourselves in Canada. Although Jochen had been recently certified as the youngest ever master saddler in Europe at the time (1985), and was a successful internationally qualified event rider, coming over to North America was probably the luckiest decision we could have made…

The question was put to me recently whether or not it was harmful to jump in your dressage saddle or ride dressage in your jumping saddle. Theoretically at least—presuming that these are not necessarily regular activities but rather just occasional ones—there should be no problem and there are no long-term ramifications. However, if you plan to make a particular discipline a regular activity, there are many good reasons to choose a saddle specific to that discipline, both for your benefit and your horse’s. Understanding the Differences …

I’d like to introduce you to my oldest equine friend. He was a 48 year old (as confirmed by the vet!) thoroughbred X, living in FLA and no longer ridden, although he was active until just a few years ago. His name was Lucky (which he truly was!) and in human years he was apparently the equivalent of 96 years old (based on the calculation that apparently one horse year = 2 human years). I was gratified to see that his owner’s diligence in always using a properly fitting saddle on him paid off with regards to protecting him against long term back damage, lameness, and other physiological problems but unfortunately he passed away just his week – died peacefully in his sleep. He always used to watch me when I adjusted the saddles for our clients at his barn. He ran free all around the farm and made sure everything was in order. He did the due diligence for the other members of his herd and watched that I didn’t make any mistakes. This horse seemed to approve when we fitted saddles, which brings tears to my eyes. I find horses very spiritual beings; very intuitive – and they seem to know when …

There are many opinions and theories on saddle fitting. Occasionally we have even heard riders say “I have been using my saddle for x number of years. It fits me perfectly and fits every horse I use.” I have to really bite my tongue on that one but usually just manage to smile and say. “Lucky you”. Some people are unfortunately just not open to being educated on the facts that have been substantiated in recent years through MRIs, thermography, and fibreoptic cameras, and do not realize the possible damage they are doing to themselves and their horses. I am going to deal with two main theories on how to fit saddles properly, but there are probably several other variations on this theme…

This is a fitting article (no pun intended!) to tie in with this issue’s theme of foals. Too often we hear of people not wanting to spend the money on a good (i.e. adjustable) saddle for a young horse until they are actually starting to show with them — but the truth is that you may end up doing more damage to the horse’s back by using a saddle that hasn’t been (or can’t be) fitted properly from the get go! It’s almost as bad as putting shoes on your toddler that are much too big (“she’ll grow into them”) or starting the horse off with piaffe before they’re ready. The damage may not be obvious at first, but trust me — it will manifest itself in later years! Let’s speak to the elephant in the room for starters: horses were never meant to be ridden. This is an artificial construct we have subjected them to over the years and really goes totally against their nature. Horses are flight animals…