KEN'S COLUMN
a resolution that should always be fulfilled!
The vast majority of horse owners have commitments – work and school for example – that make it very difficult to maintain a well structured and systematic schooling and exercise programme when the days are short. Even those sufficiently fortunate to have access to an indoor school - or an outdoor manege that has the benefit of lights - can still find it difficult to arrange use of the facilities to fit in with their own limited time. Inevitably a lot of horses change shape, sometimes quite drastically, at this time of year. For example, many lose muscle but gain fat. Thus, the saddle that afforded a good fit when the animal was in condition may require quite substantial alteration. What is disheartening for the saddle fitter is that even regular clients – owners who pay a lot of attention to their horse’s welfare – frequently fail to recognise the importance of getting the saddle checked.
Then the days begin to draw out – the season is approaching and it’s time to get the horse fit again. The horse is in relatively soft condition, the saddle pinches – or exerts other nasty pressure points – and the horse develops sensitive areas. In the early stages, these can go unnoticed until the animal’s behaviour demonstrates quite clearly that it is uncomfortable, sore and maybe even in considerable pain!
Panic stations! The horse may have to be taken out of work while the ‘cause’ is diagnosed – or at least out of ridden work. Hopefully the saddle fitter is the first to be consulted – but not always because even now the root cause of the problem may go unrecognised! Then the ‘diagnosis’ may involve the vet and several other consultants and, what was a simple matter, can become very complicated. Meanwhile the bills mount up!
A client asked me, referring to situations of this type, if I wasn’t pleased because ‘after all, they must result in more work for you’! The answer is categorically ‘no’! As a Society of Master Saddlers’ qualified saddle fitter – and as an individual who genuinely likes horses and is concerned for their welfare – I would far rather be called in at the appropriate time, in other words much earlier on!
The Society of Master Saddlers has undertaken exemplary work informing and advising horse owners about the importance of saddle fitting – so much so that UK owners are probably the most knowledgeable in the world. Even so, it is extraordinary how often only lip service is paid to the business of monitoring the horse’s shape. It is almost as though some owners perceive checking the horse’s shape as relating to an examination question. Something they should know about - but which they don’t need to put into practice! Talk the talk – forget the walk!
I take issue with that! Despite most owners understanding that the fit of the saddle is fundamental to their horse’s wellbeing, a relatively small number seem to have any idea of how an ill-fitting saddle can impact on the animal’s temperament. Or of how it can be the root cause of unwanted behaviour that can quickly become chronic. Performance can be affected too. The horse that was willing and exhibited talent may, in extreme circumstances, never fulfil his potential.
I would like to suggest all horse owners adopt a sensible resolution for 2011 – and thereafter. Monitor the horse’s shape on a weekly basis. Book the saddle fitter automatically when it is apparent changes are taking place. Yes – it will cost money because we saddle fitters need to make a living! But it will be far less expensive than allowing ‘problems’ - some of which may be difficult to eradicate – to develop as a result of an ill-fitting saddle!
I was researching the history of saddles the other day (fascinating it was, too!). One of the facts I gleaned related to the numbers of British army horses that had to be shot during the Boer War – 326,000! Not as a result of being injured in action but on compassionate grounds as a result of the terrible state of their backs! Ill-fitting saddles combined with inadequate riding took a terrible toll! An even greater percentage of French army horses suffered a similar fate during the Napoleon era – and at one point during the First World War, the German cavalry was rendered almost non-operational as a result of the vast numbers of horses that were the casualties of disastrously inadequate horse management!
Some New Year resolutions only last for a day or two before they are well and truly broken! Most don’t matter too much because breaking them probably means the ‘resolver’ carries on eating chocolate..or smoking..or spending more money than is wise. Thus they bear the consequences of breaking their own resolutions. I would suggest the resolution I am advocating should remain operational throughout horse ownership! Breaking it could impact directly on the horse (most important) and indirectly on the owner (less important in welfare terms but potentially serious in many other ways!).
FOOTNOTE: KEN LYNDON DYKES is a Society of Master Saddlers qualified saddle fitter. He specialises in fitting competition and ‘difficult’ horses. He is the author of what is considered the best-ever book about saddle fitting (‘Practical Saddle Fitting’ published J.A.Allen) and is much in demand to give talks and demonstrations. Mobile: 07973 501873.
