KEN'S COLUMN
Leave it to the specialists!
Recently I have been involved in filming – a series relating to saddles and saddle fitting - and thoroughly enjoyable it was too. It caused me to recall the time I was offered some presenting work by the BBC in connection with their midday business programme – a series that is no longer running. My equestrian-related commitments didn’t allow me to take up the offer – but I must say I was attracted to the buzzy, fast-moving atmosphere. That was all a few years back – since when online videos have moved filming into a new dimension. One of the beneficiaries has to be distance learning: once largely restricted to hard-copy material, there are now a number of options that make this form of studying so very much easier.
The World Wide Web has made a difference – makes differences – to all our lives. It is wonderful to be able to Google a subject and browse through a vast number of informative sites. The only problem is that we sometimes take for Gospel anything we see online – I would suggest much more so than when we read a newspaper or a magazine. Then, generally speaking, we are usually more discriminating!
Recently I had reason to browse through several sites relating to saddles and saddle fitting. Some were very good - and I particularly commend the Society of Master Saddlers’ site –www.mastersaddlers.co.uk. As you would expect, the information it contains is accurate and it also has the advantage of being well presented and easy to understand. Some others were not so good – and a few I looked at were disastrously bad.
The immediacy with which we can now obtain information is brilliant – but in the sense that we have to discriminate, the World Wide Web is no different from books, magazines, newspapers, television, videos, radio – and any other form of communication. The information available can only be as good as its provider. If it came from an ill-informed – or insufficiently informed – source, the adequacy of the material is obviously questionable. Then we come back to a familiar situation: inadequacies and inaccuracies will be recognised – and discarded – by experienced horse owners. Those who are less experienced will be the ones who are caught out – and it is worth bearing in mind that ‘mistakes’ in relation to saddlery can be expensive in terms of money – and even more importantly – in relation to the welfare and safety of horse and rider.
This leads me on neatly to other sources of information. The support service available to a horse owner these days is wide, diverse and has never been greater. Vets who are only involved in horses, never even seeing farm livestock or small animals. Equine dentists. Chiropractors. Behaviourists. Farriers and remedial farriers. Back specialists. Nutritionists – and many, many more. The list is now so extensive that it is almost demanding of its own compendium! Each service is highly specialised – and few would assume the provider of one service could adequately carry out the work of another. Why is it, then, that so many people dabble in saddle fitting?
I have known saddles to be ‘fitted’ (often the last description that should be applied!) by: ‘my best friend who has been riding ages’ (interpret this as not necessarily more than several months in a riding school!) or words to that effect. ‘My instructor – she’s an AI’. ‘My mother’ ‘Brother’. Sister’. ‘Father’.’Husband’. ‘Wife’. ‘The farmer who brings our hay’ (yes, this one really did happen!). You might just as well say Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
We need far greater holism in the equestrian industry. This has to begin with every specialist having a basic understanding of what other specialists are offering. The overlap is often considerable – and this can be a big advantage – but it does not extend to asking the saddle fitter to file the horse’s teeth. Or the back specialist to put on a set of shoes!
Saddle fitting has become more complicated – and it becomes more complex all the time. The reasons for this are simple. Firstly, the numbers of specialist disciplines and sports has extended – and continues to extend. Saddles have been designed specifically to fulfil the needs of the major, and quite a few of the minor, disciplines and interests. It doesn’t take much common-sense to recognise that a saddle fitter today must have huge product knowledge and keep fully abreast of new designs and innovative techniques.
A further point: how can the saddle fitter judge the effectiveness of a particular saddle design if he hasn’t first acquired an understanding of what the discipline or sport entails? This is a rhetorical question to which the answer is very simple – he can’t!
Furthermore, in recent years we have witnessed a large expansion of the breeds and types of horses we own and use in this country. Thus, the saddle fitter must have a good understanding of the idiosyncrasies of each and every breed which he must align to knowing which brands and designs of saddles are most suitable.
I began saddle fitting thirty-five-plus years ago, during which time I have seen huge changes that involve many, many advances as well as just the odd backward step. During my time in the industry – and also reflecting on the fact that I evented at international level – I have assimilated a very wide breadth of knowledge. Even so, I can promise there isn’t a day goes by but what I learn something new!
Saddle fitting requires highly specialised knowledge! Saddle fitting should only be undertaken by those with specialist knowledge! Leave it to the specialists!
KEN LYNDON DYKES is an SMS Qualified Saddle Fitter who specialises in fitting competition horses, remedial fittings and horses with ‘difficult’ conformation. He can be obtained at Saddleworld head office (01622 844440) or on his mobile (07973 501873)
