Saddle fitting

[Myfellpony]

Does the horse need to be ridden when checking the fit for a saddle?
she lunges well in walk trot and canter, but I currently only ride her in walk - for several reasons - so really don’t want to do first trot and canter in a trial saddle.
would like to get a saddle fitted ready for full steam ahead in Spring.

 

[carthorse]

Ideally yes, since what may look ok when stood may not be when moving with a rider on.

Is there a problem with her saddle at the moment? To be honest even if you get it checked now it'll probably need checking again come spring. Best bet may be to ring your fitter and ask if they're happy to do a limited fitting, but if it isn't right when you increase what you're doing then don't blame them and be prepared to get them back out again.

 

[Myfellpony]

I am currently riding in a treeless saddle which isn’t the best fit for either of us.
I need more support from the saddle before starting any faster work as she is very, very sharp!
I have messaged my saddle fitter to see what she thinks, but she is usually very busy and can take a few days to get back to me.
a re-fit is the Spring wouldn’t be a problem, as I usually have a saddle check twice a year anyway.

 

[carthorse]

Then surely, for your own safety, you'll have to do your first trot and canter in a trial saddle? If she's sharp and you don't feel safe in the treeless then you really need to do something about it. Could you at least ride in trot for the fitter? Or you ride in walk and ask someone else to ride in trot and maybe canter? Not perfect, but better than nothing.

 

[Doodle92]

Yes you will need to ride. When I bought my new saddle the fitter saw us riding in walk trot and canter on each saddle. If I had wanted to jump in it I would have had to show her. However the next checks she only saw in the stable and so I changed fitter as that shows very little.

I had a saddle fitter come out at the start of our issues. When we started to walk him inhand it showed he was ever so slightly off. So I just rode in walk to give her an idea. For various reasons I then had a different saddle fitter! She was coming out anyway and I asked if she could have a look but I had just started walk with him. I knew it probably fitted from previous fitter and I know enough to know it wasn’t awful. She said there was no point as you can’t tell much from just saddle just sat on the horse in the stable. Riding on walk would show a little bit actually it wasn’t worth it and she would come back when he was at least trotting and preferably canter too. However I would add that she would be happy to lunge first before riding.

 

[Jessey]

Ideally you want to do as much as possible but there’s occasions you can’t (think young horses before backing). I’d probably aim to have her as calm as can be (good long ride the day before, perhaps lunge the day of, book for late in the day so she’s been turned out before etc) and at least aim to trot but obviously if it’s not meant to be on the day don’t push it. Though at some point you’re going to have to do the first trot/canter in it so no point putting it off unnecessarily.

 

[PePo]

Speak to your saddle fitter, as it's more than likely they can come up with a compromise. If they can't, I'd be more concerned TBH. Yes, riding in all gaits is the ideal but it may not always be possible for a host of reasons.

I recall not riding P out of walk for a saddle fitting appointment (possibly a few?) when he was going through a sharper than a sharp thing phase, was still working through his issues and generally needed some extra support in life. He did take it upon himself to show some shapes so we definitely ended up doing more than walk but it wasn't planned

I did speak to saddle fitter before hand and they knew him & his history, so it was fine - I said I won't get on unless P gives me a green light too, which I didn't always get and wasn't going to necessarily risk it for a fitting. Remember, they don't want you to go splat on their books, anymore than you do! Too much paperwork for them for a start

From memory, the fitting was done assessing the fit without a rider, then on the lunge and then with me onboard and they saw what they could.

I think we probably booked appointments to come back & check more frequeny than normal but couldn't swear to it? It was a few years ago now.

Yes, we obviously had to trot and canter at some point - but back then, his reactions were hugely day to day dependent and with a sensitive horse with 'history' we cracked it at our own pace without the pressure of needing to do X on X day.

I'm sure there will be ways round it - the saddle fitter might just caveat a few more things too.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

When I bought Ziggy's saddle I didn't dare trot and canter him (we hacked out a walk for about a year!). We tested the saddle in walk, and I did a few strides of trot. It fitted him well for the rest of his life.

I think it's a good idea to try for the few strides of trot if you can. Could you give her some calmer? I've had good results with V-Calm. But I really do feel your pain.

 

[carthorse]

Also when in walk do plenty of turns, some fairly tight, in both directions.

 

[Myfellpony]

well the first few replies had me deciding to put off the fitting until Spring….but then some of you have actually been in the same position and have managed a saddle fit.
The problem I have above all is a gammy knee, so trotting actually hurts at the moment. Physios reckon between 3 to 6 months for me to get full use back, so trotting a sharp pony, in a treeless saddle which may slip if she spots badly isn’t high on my list of activities to try.

I will wait for my saddle fitter to get back to me and continue short sessions of trotting on Mylo, who finds it too much effort to spook, in the hope of gradually building up the muscles which will stop my knee cap slipping out of place which is causing the pain.

in the meantime, I will see if I can find some HUGE knee blocks to fit the treeless……..

 

[Jessey]

well the first few replies had me deciding to put off the fitting until Spring….but then some of you have actually been in the same position and have managed a saddle fit.
The problem I have above all is a gammy knee, so trotting actually hurts at the moment. Physios reckon between 3 to 6 months for me to get full use back, so trotting a sharp pony, in a treeless saddle which may slip if she spots badly isn’t high on my list of activities to try.

I will wait for my saddle fitter to get back to me and continue short sessions of trotting on Mylo, who finds it too much effort to spook, in the hope of gradually building up the muscles which will stop my knee cap slipping out of place which is causing the pain.

in the meantime, I will see if I can find some HUGE knee blocks to fit the treeless……..

Do you tape your knee cap in place? Mine starts jumping out every once in a while and taping it really helps

 

[carthorse]

@Myfellpony could you use an antislip pad under the saddle to minimise slipping, and maybe a breastplate so if it does slip it doesn't slip as far? And sometimes a shaped girth such as a Prolite or Fairfax will help too.

 

[Trewsers]

When I bought Storm's saddle I daren't canter her! I told the saddle fitter and he just watched me ride her in walk and trot. I was too nervous to canter (for lots of reasons) and it worked out fine, I did have the saddle adjusted at a later date.

 

[Myfellpony]

Do you tape your knee cap in place? Mine starts jumping out every once in a while and taping it really helps

Physio mentioned that as a short term fix, but not something they regularly recommend and he had no tape.
I have no idea what type of tape to buy, nor how to use it. You Tube I suppose?

 

[Jessey]

Physio mentioned that as a short term fix, but not something they regularly recommend and he had no tape.
I have no idea what type of tape to buy, nor how to use it. You Tube I suppose?

I like the stiff old fashioned strapping tape (like sticky canvas) for this, but kinesiology tape is pretty good too. I was taught to make a diamond around my kneecap with 2 pieces of tape. Tape starts over the centerline under knee, swerves around the kneecap and goes back to the center above the knee, another piece mirrors it, so it creates a gentle guide to help the knee caps stay in place. I find when mine is bad, 5-7 days like that has it settled down, equally if I know I am going to be doing extra exercise and it's likely to irritate it, I use it as a preventative.

 

[Myfellpony]

I like the stiff old fashioned strapping tape (like sticky canvas) for this, but kinesiology tape is pretty good too. I was taught to make a diamond around my kneecap with 2 pieces of tape. Tape starts over the centerline under knee, swerves around the kneecap and goes back to the center above the knee, another piece mirrors it, so it creates a gentle guide to help the knee caps stay in place. I find when mine is bad, 5-7 days like that has it settled down, equally if I know I am going to be doing extra exercise and it's likely to irritate it, I use it as a preventative.

Brilliant. Will definitely give this a go, useful to know that it really works for you.
Apart from the pain, it’s also a horrible feeling and even the thought of my knee cap slipping gives me the ‘ick’.

 

[Jane&Ziggy]

Well, quite.

I'm a great proponent of kinesiology tape. My chiro uses it on all my riding injuries (except my head, ho ho) and it is such a help and relief. I think the old fashioned strapping tape is stronger but the kinesiology tape is comfortable and easy to fit - and to remove without an hour long bath!