KEN'S COLUMN - the diary and thoughts of a Saddle Fitter
This month: extreme contrasts tell the story
I have been involved with horses for so long that I always think I have seen everything – not once, but several times over. I have witnessed contrasting situations varying from almost breadline poverty – some brought on by horse ownership – to not having to bother about money at all. I can personally recall keeping my horses well fed and having to go hungry myself. It is such situations that confound the theory that all horse-owners are wealthy – far from it.
Some years back I was invited to a quite large yard to check a number of saddles for a number of owners. About halfway through the exercise a young woman presented a very attractive Arabian gelding. He really was a nice animal – chestnut with plenty of substance, a beautifully set on head and neck and a wonderful eye. As the rugs were being taken off, a large patch of white hair was revealed around his withers and several smaller patches along either side of the spine. When the young woman went to put on the saddle he rolled eyes, shied as far away as the headcollar rope would allow and dipped his back to the point it looked as though he must sit down. I think that was the worst fitting saddle I have ever seen. I pointed out that it was quite obviously pressing on the animal’s withers – I couldn’t get even my small finger under the arch. There was absolutely no clearance along the gullet and the saddle was too long for the quite closely coupled animal.
The young woman made no comment other than to say she would get another of her horses. She brought out a Warmblood x. Apparently she had given the mare a home when, after twelve foals, the stud owners decided they would no longer breed from her. Some sixteen/seventeen years of age, the time as a brood mare had left her with a somewhat dippy back but she was otherwise in quite good shape. Much to my amazement, the young woman brought out the same saddle and tacked the mare up. It actually fitted the mare quite a bit better than it did the Arabian - but it was still far from good. I pointed out all the obvious problems and said the mare really should not be ridden in the saddle.
Can you imagine my amazement when the young woman then produced a pony – and yet again, the same saddle! Astute readers won’t be too surprised to hear that on the pony the saddle was far, far too large! Despite everything, it was pretty obvious to me that the owner was very fond of all three animals and it was noticeable that none was thin and they were all well groomed. I suggested we had a chat about the one and only saddle - and what might be done so that it provided an adequate fit for the Warmblood mare. Then I heard the story. The young woman kept all three animals DIY in the yard in exchange for working over the weekends and for a couple of hours each evening after she finished her day job. Almost all her earnings, she told me, were taken up buying feed, hay and bedding. She admitted she only had lunch on Sundays and managed with just a cup of coffee for breakfast (she was thin rather than slim!). She had been given some rugs by one of the clients in the yard but she only had one saddle and two bridles. A long-time client of mine who kept her horse at livery in the same yard was paying for the saddle-fitting checks.
Cutting a long story short, the young woman was persuaded to allow the mare to go to friends of mine where she would be used to accompany their children out on hacks. Through some other friends of mine we found a child to have the pony on lease. That way the young woman got a small sum of money every month whilst knowing the pony would be really well looked after. She traded in the one saddle and I fitted the Arabian with a really nice second-hand, fairly straight cut GP saddle recently traded in by another client.
As I said, this all happened some years ago and the young woman is now married and has a small daughter whose lead rein pony seems to have every feasible piece of tack and clothing!
About the same time I first encountered the young woman with her three ponies and one saddle I was called out by a rather grand lady who lived in an absolutely lovely manor house surrounded by immaculate gardens and grounds. She was the owner of what she described as ‘a rather nice county-level riding horse’ and ‘needed his saddles checked’ – note the plural! The horse was as elegant as she had suggested with manners to match. She first produced a show saddle and I was able to tell her it fitted very well. Then came a GP saddle that was used for hacking – again it fitted well. Last the client came out with an event type saddle that she had used on ‘only a couple of occasions - for jumping in when we entered best-trained horse classes’. That saddle did need a small adjustment but I suggested it might now be superfluous if she wasn’t entering any similar classes. She told me she was uncertain and would like the saddle adjusted anyway and I arranged for my saddler to do the work.
Two contrasting stories about widely differing situations: I don’t think there is any doubt that, over the years, I have seen far more owners struggling to keep their horse to the point of going without necessities themselves. However laudable, it is important to keep things in proportion and have a sensible perspective!
KEN LYNDON DYKES is a Society of Master Saddlers’ Qualified Saddle Fitter who specialises in fitting competition and problem horses. He is available to give demonstrations and talks and has recently returned to after-dinner speaking on a wide variety of subjects. Telephone: 01622 844440 (office) or 07973 501873 (mobile).
