April 2001

Serving Horse Owners Across the State

Articles

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SADDLEFIT  AND  MASSAGE 
A   FAIR  DEAL  FOR  YOUR  HORSE
By Ray Morris

So many times I hear people say that getting a horse’s saddle fitted or having it massaged are ‘treats’ or ‘pampering’. 

     Instead, they can make such a difference to a horse when correctly done, that they should be considered to be a part of the normal ‘ maintenance work ’ for any horse just as a regular shoeing, worming, and dentistry are. 

     I have been a qualified saddler since 1979. Over the last 7 or 8  years I have specialised in saddle fitting, and during that period I have packed over 5,ooo saddles in Australia, the United States and New Zealand. Many of my customers now get their saddles packed on a regular basis, and have seen huge improvements in their horses’ performances and more importantly, attitudes, which they can directly relate to getting their saddles fitted correctly, and following up with regular massage to keep their horses supple and flexible. 

     In addition to working with horses and their saddles, I was an invited speaker on these topics at Equitana Asia Pacific 1999(in Melbourne, Australia), and Equitana USA 2000 (in Louisville, Kentucky). I am returning shortly to North Carolina to do an equine massage clinic at Little T. I am then going on to speak at the Carolina Classic Horse Expo, where I am doing a combined presentation with Dr Christine King, the author of books on horse health, and  farrier, Mike Stine. I have also done a couple of interviews with Rick Lamb, for “The Horse Show”, which you can listen to on the Net. 

       My aim, in working with a horse and its saddle, is to get the saddle fitting the horse so that it is able to work comfortably, with a nicely rounded back, which will result in good muscle development, easier collection and improved performance, as well as a happier horse. Over the years that I have been fitting saddles, with horses of all breeds and disciplines, I have found that a good 75% of horses I work with have muscle damage, resulting from saddle fitting problems, which will not simply disappear when the saddle is fitted correctly. This means that a program of remedial massage is really needed, to repair the damage done to the horse’s muscles by a poorly fitting saddle, before I would see what I would call any major improvement in the condition and muscling of the horse’s back.    

     Many people ask why a horse should be massaged all over, and how a badly fitting saddle can make the horse sore anywhere other than his back.   

     Quite simply, just like humans, all the muscles on a horse are inter-related. As many people know from their own experience, if a person has a sore back ( for any reason ) , then it affects the way they move their whole body, how they cope with day to day work, how tired they get, and their moods. EXACTLY  the same things happen to a horse with a sore back – they get sore all over, lose stamina and develop bad attitudes, especially to anything that involves a saddle going on their backs. 

     A poorly fitting saddle can lead to a huge number of problems for the horse,e.g. 

FRONT END :- soreness at poll, poor vertical flexion, poor lateral flexion, high head carriage, poor extensions, dropping front legs over jumps 

HIND END :- not coming through from behind, uneven movement, poor flexion in hocks, dropping hind legs over jumps  

OVERALL :- unstraight movement, swinging leg lamenesses, tendon strains, abnormal muscle development / wasting 

TRAINING / ATTITUDE PROBLEMS :- reluctance to work on one or the other rein, reluctance to canter / lope, disuniting at a canter / lope, poor lead changes, poor transitions, reluctance to collect, poor extension / impulsion, girthiness (ranging from simply laying ears back to falling down), poor lateral work, rearing, bucking, “cold back”, disobedience / “not listening”, “running away” under saddle, behaviour problems when jumping, poor jumping style

     Of course all of these problems may also be caused by other things as well, but in a huge number of cases the initial problem has been a poorly fitting saddle. Over time a physical or mental habit has developed in the horse, because of his experience or expectation of pain when being ridden. If the saddle is fitted correctly, and the horse is made more comfortable over all, then often an improvement occurs in many other areas as well, as the horse learns that being ridden is not such a raw deal after all. I have seen some cases where horses have been in agony from their saddles, have still tried to do their best, and have been disciplined for showing discomfort. Their owners have come to me as a last resort (often with an “unmanageable” horse), after trying all sorts of other options, and in the end a combination of fixing the saddle and massage work has been the answer. A few years ago I demonstrated the effectiveness of this strategy, in Western Australia, on a horse called Red (who’s next stop was the dog food man), for the Australian TV program “ A Current Affair”, in association with one of the top West Australian equine vets, Dr Warwick Vale. 

     I strongly suggest, when problems such as those listed above occur, that one of the first things any owner / trainer ought to do is look at the saddle. In the long run, making sure that the horse is wearing a saddle that fits him correctly saves time, frustration, and often quite a lot of money. 

     If you are experiencing problems with a horse ask yourself these questions :- 

  # 1  Does the problem still occur when your horse is without both the saddle and the rider (e.g. on the lunge or in the paddock)

  # 2  If the problem only occurs when the horse is being ridden, does it still occur when he is ridden bareback ?

  # 3  Does this problem always occur when the horse is ridden, regardless of whether he is being ridden saddled or bareback ?

     If things are better without the saddle, then that clearly indicates a saddle problem. 

     If the problem still remains when the horse is ridden bareback, then it could be either a weight bearing problem (horse has a sore back, possibly caused by the saddle), or a rider problem e.g. poor hands, poor balance, bouncing on the horse’s back (which can also cause a sore back!).

     The reason that horses really benefit from a massage is that they are not naturally a weight bearing animal, and  are  carrying riders (and all their gear) on their backs. The horse is forced to move unnaturally, with a rider on its back, to maintain its balance. It is a learnt skill. We experience the same sorts of problems when we are carrying a weight on our backs, and it is much worse when that weight is moving around independently (as a rider does on a horse’s back). In addition to the strain imposed on the whole of the horse’s body by having to cope with this, the pressure of the saddle on the smallish area of the horse’s back causes more problems. A correctly fitting saddle will cut out about 60% of natural blood circulation to the saddle area on a horse’s back – this is a “ best case” scenario, and even in this situation regular massaging of a horse’s back is obviously going to have huge benefits for that horse. 

      Imagine how much worse the situation is for a horse with a badly fitting saddle – in some cases so much of the circulation gets shut down that the hair follicles die (causing white patches), and in really severe cases the muscle tissue under the skin can die or be permanently damaged. When the saddle does not fit well the horse will also tend to become stiff and hollow in his back, in his effort to “get away from” the pain. As I explained before stress imposed on one part of the horse’s (or person’s) body will lead to a kind of domino effect, where that stress / soreness extends into other parts of his body as well. 

     This brings me back to my original premise – that  big improvements are possible in a horses performance and attitude by taking two basic steps.

  -  Firstly, ensure that the horse’s saddle is fitting him correctly, and allowing him to work comfortably, with a rounded back.

  -  Secondly put in place a program of massage and stretching exercises to help alleviate any previous problems, and prevent new ones developing.

     Saddle fitting is a specialist skill, although riders should have much more basic knowledge than most do at the moment. I conduct saddle fitting clinics, where I can explain the basics of saddle fitting and the biomechanics of the horse to people, so that they can see where they may be having problems with their current saddles, or know what to look for in a new saddle. Many people find that they don’t necessarily need a new saddle – the one they own maybe perfectly o.k. It may just be balanced wrongly, need repacking or shimming, or be positioned wrongly (extremely common)

     However I am a firm believer that most people are capable of giving their horses an effective basic maintenance massage themselves and that it ought to be considered “background knowledge” for riders.

-     massaging your horse’s back and hind-quarters will allow him to round up more easily, engage his hind-quarters correctly, and lighten his forehand

-     massaging his shoulders, neck, upper forelegs and girthline will allow him to breathe more easily, take a longer stride, work more evenly on both reins and be more flexible 

All of this can be relatively easily done by the average horse owner. 

     I conduct many hands-on massage clinics, teaching basic sporthorse massage to horse owners / riders, on their own horses. This is a technique I have developed, which applies to any horse, ridden or driven, and is useful for day to day maintenance work.

      I have also produced a video, which shows people the same technique. This is available directly from me, or comes as part of the package when you bring a horse to one of my massage clinics. (Also available through nchorsenews.com. E-mail info@nchorsenews.com for information).

     My aim is to encourage horse owners and riders everywhere to incorporate saddle fitting and massage as a basic part of their horse maintenance program, to help improve their horses’ comfort levels and performances, and make riding an enjoyable experience for both the rider and the horse.