KEN'S COLUMN - the experiences and thoughts of a Saddle Fitter
This month: I wonder how many people believe...
......that isn't necessary to have a pony saddle fitted?
I couldn't say how many people believe this to be true - but it's certainly a considerable number. No rhyme, no reason - just one of those things that is handed down from rider to rider as though it were a gold nugget of information. In fact, ponies can be more difficult to fit than horses. Many of our native breeds have broad, flat withers that make careful fitting especially important. Some - and I do repeat 'some' - Dales, Fells and Welsh sections C and D animals have big shoulders and a lack of back definition, a combination that demands special attention when a saddle is fitted. In my experience, the Welsh section A and B and Connemara ponies are generally relatively easy to fit because they generally have more 'shape'. Possibly most difficult of all are the Shetlands.
In their natural environment, native ponies graze and browse most of the day. Food isn't plentiful and it's necessary to keep moving from one place to another. When ponies are 'domesticated' they don't change in the sense that they will eat all the time food is available. The big difference is that most paddocks have far more nutritious grasses in greater abundance than are generally found in the ponies' natural environment. Add to this that ponies generally don't have need to be on constant move in search of food. The result is too many ponies get far too fat - the biggest problem by far for the saddle fitter. Flat, broad withers, a tendency to big shoulders - and 'fat' - is not the easiest of combinations! (Incidentally, how many 'wild' ponies ever get fat)
I have painted a particular scene to illustrate the point, however, every now and then I do pass fields eaten bare with just a few docks, nettles - and worst of all - ragwort -breaking the barren conditions. Ponies standing around, heads hanging, back bones and ribs clearly defined. Not surprisingly, I have never been called out to fit a saddle for a pony kept in such circumstances. In fact, very few horses and ponies in this country suffer from underfeeding. On the other hand, fairly substantial numbers of our horses and ponies are fed far too much. One of the most basic rules, and probably the most ignored, is to feed in relation to the amount of work undertaken!
This brings me to a story I was repeated by a friend - and she swears it is true, told to her by a well known equine vet. A family with absolutely no previous experience of horses and ponies moved to a house standing in luscious lawned grounds. They decided something was missing and they needed the final ornament, a pony, to complete the picture. Apparently the pony was bought and, in order that the lawns weren't spoilt, tethered. A circular bare patch soon disfigured the lawn where the pony had munched his way through the very unsuitable grasses. The family then decided the pony needed feeding. A few days later, they called on the services of the vet. 'Our pony won't eat' they said. Vet arrived to examine the pony. 'What have you been feeding him?', he asked. 'Only the very best.' 'No, we don't stint - the very best.' 'Yes, but what exactly are you feeding him?' 'We only buy the very best Scotch beef and he won't touch it.' My friend assures me this is not an apocryphal story but a true account! What do you think?
How many people who buy a horse or pony 'complete with tack' assume that it fits well? The answer is likely to be 'very rarely' if the new owner is experienced and 'almost always' if a first-time owner is involved. Never assume that the tack provided is that which has been used on the animal. Sometimes it's merely an old saddle and equally old bridle dug out from somewhere and included as an enticement to buy - and it's an enticement that is particularly attractive to the new, unwary owner. One particular new owner decided to call me in to check the fit of the tack supplied with the pony she had bought for her daughter. The pony was a little under fourteen hands. The saddle was an 18'' broad fitting, sagging monstrosity - with a broken tree. The bridle 'fitted' in the sense that new holes had been made to reduce its size leaving yards of excess leather flapping around. The browband gaped and the cavesson noseband was missing. The reins were the thickness a man might favour out hunting - and so long they practically trailed on the ground. A running martingale had been attached - I have no idea why - without stops, of course, and suitable in size for the average large cob. 'Rugs' consisted of one for outdoors that was worthy of a place in a museum. I placed it on the pony to illustrate that it trailed on the ground round the animal's feet. The 'indoor rug' - completely unnecessary clothing for this New Forest pony anyway - was made of some sort of slippery synthetic material that I could visualise would cause the wearer to sweat and would almost undoubtedly pull forward and rub at the withers.
Fortunately, although that particular parent didn't know anything about ponies, she had common-sense to seek advice. The pony had been bought with the help of the child's instructor - and a super little animal he was too. After the purchase had been agreed on the telephone, the vendor offered the tack at a 'bargain price' and it didn't occur to the lady to query if it was in good condition and fitted well. The vendor obviously hadn't been concerned if the pony and its new little rider were endangered by ill-fitting tack - and certainly had no scruples about entrapping a family new to the equestrian world. One way and another, an unsavoury business
KEN LYNDON-DYKES can be contacted on 01622 844440 (head office) or 07973 501873 (mobile). Ken is available to give lecture, talks and demonstrations for any type of equestrian group.
