SHORT, WIDE AND HANDSOMEby Keith Jenkin, SMSQF of Minster Saddlery
Are you I wonder of
sufficient seniority to remember when it was only possible to buy
saddles in widths restricted to "narrow", "medium" or "wide"? These
days one wonders how it was possible to accommodate all the various
riding horses restricted to such a limited range. The reason why is
simply explained because the vast majority of horses selected to be
ridden were of a type that could be accommodated by these widths.
Before the twentieth century the vast majority of horses were used in
harness, certainly far more than those used for riding. This was
because riding for pleasure was restricted to the gentry and the
military. Certainly, working class people could not afford the expense
of a horse and were obliged to travel by shanks's pony. However since
the middle of the twentieth century a huge change has taken place.
Riding for pleasure is no longer the exclusive preserve of the gentry
and while they are still very much engaged in equestrian sport, for
example, every member of the Royal Family are expert riders, the fact
is that these days most horses are owned by middle and working class
people. However, unlike the gentry who are sat on a pony almost from
birth many people come to the pastime later in life and therefore are
not as confident as someone who started as a child. This is of course
true of any sport; to be really good, it is essential to start really
young.
Possibly because they lack confidence to some extent horses are chosen
that years ago would be used in harness, namely cobs and other heavy
breeds. These animals are without exception extremely wide, mostly
without withers and are round like barrels. This type of horse presents
very challenging problems for the saddle fitter. Firstly it is
virtually impossible to buy a saddle from stock that is wide enough to
fit such a horse. Since all our saddles are made to measure we are
constantly being contacted by people who, having acquired such a horse,
find it virtually impossible to obtain a saddle which is wide enough to
fit. While it is not a problem to persuade the Walsall saddlers to make
a saddle on a tree that matches the very, very wide template taken from
the horse which we send them, when they are delivered, despite the fact
that they fit perfectly, the problem sometimes arises whereby the
saddle slides over to one side, usually to the right. .
Providing the saddle is symmetrical, i.e. the tree is not out of
alignment, or the panel unevenly stuffed, a very rare occurance This is
NEVER the fault of the saddle or the way it fits and can always be
traced to the particular conformation of the horse or the riders
inability to ride centrally and in balance and very many riders have a
tendency to favour one side or another. Additionally of course few
horses are completely symmetrical. Therefore years ago, when virtually
all horses selected to be ridden were narrow, medium or wide, saddles
would slot on the back rather like a clothes peg and had no tendency to
move from side to side, whereas with a horse that is shaped like a
barrel, the only thing to guarantee the saddle remaining central is the
rider's ability to ride centrally and in balance and any tendency to
sit off-centre will result in the saddle moving the same way as the
rider is sitting. We employ several devices to rectify the problem but
depend very much on the rider's co-operation.
Some riders, but happily not too many, refuse to accept that the
problem could possibly be the shape of the horse or the way they ride.
It is easier to blame the saddle, particularly if it has been made to
measure. If it moves to one side they will claim that it does not fit
properly, which is not true. All we can do as saddle fitters is to fit
a saddle that is symmetrical and with the arch of the tree the same
shape as the horse. Normally, when the saddle is delivered and is
ridden in, the customer is very happy with the fit and the comfort of
the saddle and it is only when the saddle begins to go over to one side
that some will claim that it does not fit properly. Normally they move
to the right side. I am not certain why this should be, but it could be
because most people are right-handed, or because horses are mounted and
led from the left side. In any event there are various stratagems we
can employ to correct the problem. Firstly we always fit point and
balancing straps on very wide saddles. We also use Stubben 5" wide cord
girths which grip the belly and help to prevent the saddle from
slipping. Certainly an elasticated girth must never be used. Stay pads
are available and can help. In extremis we remove all the original
flocking from the panel and re-stuff it very softly so that it will
flatten and spread over the back to give maximum contact. Unlike
thoroughbred types a cob normally has very little wither, neither does
it have a prominent vertebra like a thoroughbred. Therefore a
relatively thin or close contact panel will not cause any part of the
tree to come into contact with the back, and in 90% of cases the
problem is in this way cured. Of course the longer you use the saddle
so that it beds into and has taken up the shape of the horse's back,
the less likelihood there is of the saddle moving.
Having regard to the foregoing the reader will hopefully appreciate
that we have great experience with the problem and have given a lot of
thought to various methods we can employ to rectify the problem.
Strangely, although nearly all native breeds of pony are similarly just
as wide, we almost never have a problem with the saddle moving to one
side and I believe this is because children have a better natural
balance than adults who have come to riding later in life. The huge
problem with ponies is saddles sliding up the neck, but that is another
story altogether.
Finally as I have said we do need the customer's co-operation, patience
and understanding of the problem. Anyone who chooses to ride a fat,
round horse that in earlier times would have been driven and not
ridden, must accept that they could have a problem with the saddle. The
problem is, I suppose, because very few horses are driven these days.
What can we do with the thousands of docile and tractable cobs if they
are not ridden? I accept that it is the responsibility of the saddler
to devise methods of keeping the saddle in place. I doubt whether
western saddles have the same problem. "There's a thought"!!
Cobs are short and wide, like me, and many are handsome. I say no more!!
