BOTTOMS UPAs
we all know "Bottoms Up" is another expression for "drink up", usually
used when we are toasting someone. However you will see from the
attached picture that I am referring to the rider's bottom coming up
off the seat of the saddle as the rider adopts the "forward seat" over
a jump. This picture is a particularly good example of what happens as
the rider's weight leaves the seat of the saddle and is transferred to
the stirrup bars and knee pads as the rider adopts the forward seat,
causing the saddle to pivot forwards. This happens because the stirrup
bars are fixed to the front of the tree and the girth straps are also
fitted towards the front of the tree rather than centrally. This can
clearly be seen from the position of the girth in the photograph.I
am not suggesting that this is a defect, simply to establish that this
happens and why. In any event as the horse bascules over a jump and
rounds its back it would be wrong to attempt to fix the saddle solidly
to the back since this would restrict the horse's freedom of movement.Strangely,
many people are unaware that this happens, even those who are
instructors. This may be because it happens so quickly it is difficult
to spot, particularly with a numnah in place and because the instructor
will be looking at the rider rather than the saddle, and it is only if
the camera clicks at the precise moment that it happens that it becomes
evident. However there is another aspect to this phenomenon which I
would draw to your attention since I am often questioned by customers
taking delivery of a saddle, either new or a used one from which we
have removed all the old flocking and then re-stuffed it. As the girth
is tightened the flocking in the front of the panel will obviously
compress, whereas the flocking in the centre of the panel remains
uncompressed, causing the saddle to pivot, since as you pull the front
down, the back tends to lift and the panel appears not to be completely
bearing on the back under the cantle. Of course as the rider sits in
the saddle the panel will bear evenly from front to back and obviously
saddles are designed to be sat in. However when the rider rides in the
saddle and goes into the rising trot where Bottoms Up occurs, as the
rider's weight leaves the seat it will be evident that the rear of the
panel is lifting to some extent, similar but to a far lesser extent to
what happens when jumping.Put simply,
it can be likened to a see saw which rocks about a central point or
fulcrum. Think of the centre of the panel as the fulcrum and it will be
easy to understand that the saddle will rock forwards as weight is
concentrated on one side of the centre of the fulcrum. It is a basic
principle of mechanics that when something is fixed and pulled down at
one end it will have the effect of lifting the opposite end. Naturally
the person buying the saddle is sometimes concerned by this phenomenon,
which will become less evident as the flocking is ridden into its
working form and also when a numnah is used. It is however NOT a defect
and the purpose of this article is to emphasise that this does happen
and why it happens so that people are not misled into believing that
there is a problem where none exists.
