Re: RC: new SS query

[Mickie Newnam <akelakhan@earthlink.net>]

Tamara,
I can't give you any adice on the majority of this, but as to the rigging, are
you using the original girth?  My horse hates that too.  Get one from Teddy;
they are wonderful!  Just get it a few inches shorter than the one that came
with the saddle because of the elastic.  We have 7 sportssaddles at our barn and
they all have Teddy's girths.
Mickie

Tamara Jane Habberley wrote:

> I had  a SS imported at great expense to here in the Uk. My horse seemed
> happy enough with the saddle when ridden but hated the rigging. It sat about
> five inches back from his elbow ( his girth line is set back furhte than
> normal), what he hated was the western cinch being tightened as he hates
> girthing up. He also used to 'hide' at the back of the stable when I
> appeared with the saddle so somethign obviously upset him. Dosnt do this
> with his current saddle a cheapo Wintec GP.
>
>  Anyway I had two problems:
>
> 1. he usually tended to strech his neck down to the ground when trotting fat
> as though he had a shoulder/ wither problem. the Chiro found tightness in
> the withers when his back was checked at the end of last season.
>
> 2.  I had awful hip problems which lead me to sell the problem. Literally
> collapsed after one ride, dont have this problem with a normal GP.
>
>  I hadnt considered that this may have been caused by my horses action,
> rather than the saddle. Due to a previous back injury my horse tends to
> travel almost in shoulder in with his right shoulder leading and left hind
> pushing. I suspect with a treeless saddle the torque this caused generated
> my hip problem.  With a normal GP I have no such problem. BUT and its a big
> but, the Gp slips to the right due to my horses movement and muscle
> development. So whilst the Gp suits me it will probalby end up damaging him,
> and vise versa with the sports!
>
> I honestly didnt realise this movement problem affected my saddles fit
>  think I knew it subconsciously) but a classic trainer was on the same  ride
> as me yesterday and pointed this out , and it ties in with my saddlers
> measurements of my horse.
>
> Anyone else had similair problem with the sports, or with their horse for
> that matter? If so how did you ovecome it?
>
>  I really subscribe to the idea of a treeless saddle but am to poor at the
> moment to do mcuh. Am seriously considering developing a GP pad saddle for
> myself out of desperation.
>
> Tamara
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Snodgrass, Bonnie <snodgrab@ncr.disa.mil>
> To: <lb@nismat.org>; <ridecamp@endurance.net>
> Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 6:37 PM
> Subject: RC: RE: (Fwd) Placement of Sport Saddle
>
> > Yes, the forward placement may not work for your horse. I would venture to
> > say that all horses would be better off with saddles placed about 2"
> behind
> > the shoulders. However, western style saddles (and western style endurance
> > saddles" evolved from a design that sat up over the shoulders. Look at a
> > well designed stock saddle and you will see that the front of the saddle
> > flares outward to give more room to the muscles. I don't care for all the
> > "saddle" that is in front of you in a western style saddle. A horse's back
> > can support the riders weight best when it is placed right behind the
> > withers. A well designed english saddle enables the rider to sit fairly
> > close to the withers while the bars of the saddle are small and placed
> just
> > back of the shoulders. Some english saddle have bars that point somewhat
> > forward and these can cause shoulder problems as they tend to poke the
> > muscles as the front legs move back.
> >
> > By the way, I sold my SS after it wouldn't work on two horses in a row
> > because of their conformation and because of the placement of the cinch
> > rigging. So this type of saddle may not work for your horse. The rigging
> > change to further back may help but I'd rather not constrict the
> ribs/lungs
> > by binding them with a cinch. JMHO.
> >
> > Bonnie Snodgrass
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Beth Glace [mailto:lb@nismat.org]
> > Sent: Monday, March 20, 2000 8:08 AM
> > To: ridecamp@endurance.net
> > Subject: RC: (Fwd) Placement of Sport Saddle
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi Jeri,
> > well, you could be right about where I am placing it.  I have been
> > placing it just behind her shoulder blades.  You are supposed to
> > place it over the shoulder blades??  This might be an even worse
> > problem for her.  She is half Standarbred, with big shoulders and a
> > big stride.  Wouldn't placing the saddle on the shoulder blades
> > result in tenderness, or limit their way of going?
> > Thanks for your help, everyone!
> > Beth
> > .  The sport saddles I've seen fit like a western
> > > saddle, with the front of the saddle going over the horse's shoulder
> > blade.
> > > Maybe you are trying to position it like an english saddle, and placing
> it
> >
> > > too far back.  Good luck, jeri
> >
> > Beth Glace, MS, CDN
> > Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma
> > Lenox Hill Hospital
> > New York, NY
> >
> >
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