<<
The saddle doesn't slip forward on the typical horse because the withers act as
a stop.>>
Actually
it is the shoulders that stop the saddle from going forward in many cases. If it were the wither,
you’d have contact and that is something people try very hard to avoid. Most people don’t worry about
pressure on the shoulder until they have problems because many horses don’t
really complain in an obvious way.
I
was lucky to have a horse that was very strong in her reaction to shoulder
interference.She had a huge
shoulder rotation so even custom fit and properly placed saddles bugged her in
motion.Never mind going down hills,
she’d fight going forward until I found a saddle that relieved shoulder
pressure.Yep, definitely had to
get a crupper for the downhills, but that allowed me
to loosen the girth and boy did her stride increase!Her walk stride increased from 4mph to
over 5mph almost overnight – I’m too afraid even look at the GPS to
figure out how fast she can now trot at the top end.Those hollows behind the shoulder that
develop from pressure disappeared too.
In
England
the breeching has been used more than a crupper, but cruppers are becoming more
popular. I think the breeching
would be better in the case of an emergency, but the crupper is much easier to
deal with if the horse accepts it.And introduced correctly, most horses don’t have the slightest
problem with it.
