KEN'S COLUMN
‘Crookedness’ is horribly contagious!
Some time ago I published a booklet* examining the ways in which the rider’s position influences the saddle. ‘Crookedness’ in one inevitably has knock-on effects – in fact, it’s true to say that
A crooked horse makes a crooked saddle makes a crooked rider!
A crooked saddle makes a crooked rider makes a crooked horse!
A crooked rider makes a crooked horse makes a crooked saddle!
Avid readers of books concerned with schooling horses will know they all contain one particular piece of advice about which there is complete consensus. Namely – the horse must be ridden forward – and it must be ridden straight. When I was eventing – which I did up to international level – I was hooked on reading books about schooling methods and other means of achieving success. I never remember reading – anywhere – about how much influence the saddle has on the rider’s position and the horse’s way of going – and vice versa.
The saddles produced in the UK are, with few exceptions, very, very good. They are well designed, employ top-class materials, demonstrate world-class standard craftsmanship – and most represent quite remarkable value which it is difficult to match. Even so, there will be instances – albeit a very few – when a ‘crooked’ saddle – by that, I mean one with asymmetric panels – inadvertently passes through the quality control processes.
It isn’t too surprising that this happens, however occasionally, because the manufacturing processes involved remain largely hands-on and carried out by craftsmen – and all the better for that! In any case, nothing in life is infallible. Fortunately, all saddles go through further ‘health checks’ when a Society of Master Saddlers’ qualified saddle fitter is involved. Each and every saddle he – or she – handles will go through a series of checks and any saddle failing to meet the highest standards will be returned to the manufacturer for exchange.
Despite a system that should, in effect, be fail safe, ‘crooked’ saddles do put in an appearance. I come across them with a minor degree of frequency in relation to part-exchange – when a client buying a new saddle wants to trade in a used one. When the deficiency is pointed out, the client often expresses surprise – and I generally have no reason to believe their reaction isn’t genuine. Occasionally the flocking in the saddle has been adapted to comply with the idiosyncratic contours and musculature of a horse with a chronic – that is, irreversible – veterinary problem. In such cases, it is possible to remodel the saddle to comply with ‘normal’ physique – although I personally am not in favour of this and, in the majority of cases, refuse to offer part-exchange.
The problems I come across in relation to ‘crooked’ new and second-hand saddles aside, what I am witnessing – more and more frequently – are saddles made ‘crooked’ by the rider. It’s a fact that, just as no horse is entirely ‘straight’ and ‘symmetric’, most definitely no rider is either! What is surprising is how tiny a degree of ‘crookedness’ can impact – which brings me back to -
A crooked horse makes a crooked saddle makes a crooked rider!
A crooked saddle makes a crooked rider makes a crooked horse!
A crooked rider makes a crooked horse makes a crooked saddle!
Put another way; how much time and effort does a crooked rider put into trying to ‘straighten’ a horse? How difficult is it for a rider to adopt a correct position on an asymmetric, substantially one-sided horse? Can a rider sit correctly if the saddle is lop sided and asymmetric? It doesn’t take a physicist to provide correct responses to these rhetorical questions!
I am quite often called in by vets as a consultant in what we will simply define as cases of ‘crookedness’. Often such cases apply to horses that have developed extreme one-sidedness for which the vet cannot establish any underlying cause. In most cases the difficulty lies in attempting to solve a chicken-and-egg situation. Yes – the saddle is not located centrally – thus neither is the rider! Where did the crookedness originate? Perhaps a while ago the horse suffered a minor acute injury that resulted in an idiosyncratic way of going that, not identified sufficiently early, thus became chronic? Maybe the rider has always had position-related problems? Possibly the saddle has an inherent defect or hasn’t been fitted correctly – or needs re-flocking?
In such situations, analysing potential causes of the ‘crookedness’ can be painstaking, time consuming - and difficult. By their very nature, such investigations are not ‘cheap’ because they involve the time of two or more professionals. Finding the right solution could necessitate seeing the rider perform on different horses to eliminate any ‘problem’ originating with their position. It always involves tracing the horse’s veterinary history carefully – and taking into consideration any accidents which, at the time, have not appeared to warrant calling on the services of the vet. (Being cast in the stable, falling across country, banging a hip badly when entering a stable or when being loaded to travel - these are all fairly typical examples of accidents that sometimes result in undetected injuries.) It has to involve seeing any other saddles in which the horse has been ridden. It obviously embraces consideration of the schooling and training methods used.
As a Society of Master Saddlers’ qualified saddle fitter, I am constantly advocating the need for regular saddle fitting checks commensurate to changes in the horse’s shape. By the same token, I advise all riders to check their position diligently. ‘Crookedness’ is horribly contagious!
KEN LYNDON DYKES is a Society of Master Saddlers’ qualified saddle fitter who specialises in fitting competition horses. He is also available to give talks and demonstrations for any type of equestrian group. KEN can be contacted on 07973 501873 (mobile) or at SADDLEWORLD’S head office – 01622 844440.
*A copy of ‘How Your Riding Position Influences the Fit of Your Saddle’ can be obtained by sending a cheque for £3 payable to Saddleworld to Pat Crawford, Hop Garland, Rock Farm Oast, Gibbs Hill, Nettlestead, Kent ME18 5HT.
