by Keith Jenkin of Minster Saddlery
We all know what it is to go for a hack or to hack to a show or
meeting, but how many are aware of all the other uses of the word. It
derives from the Norman French "HAQUENAI" which was a word used in
medieval times to describe a horse of poor or indifferent quality which
could be hired very cheaply. A far cry from the proud and active
Hackney breed developed in the nineteenth century from the Norfolk
trotting horse interbred with the Arab and Welsh ponies with a bit of
Thoroughbred thrown in. This high stepping horse or pony was used
extensively to pull the thousands of Hackney Carriages which plied
their trade particularly in London until replaced by the motorised taxi
still referred to as a Hackney Cab. I can still recall as a boy seeing
the pony version tearing around with the driver standing, never
sitting, across the cobbled streets of London pulling a cart or trap.
Nowadays they are mostly to be seen in the show ring and at one time
were also popular as show jumpers because of the powerful development
of the hindquarters and legs.
However the word has many other meanings. You can "hack" your way
through dense jungle using a machete. Before the gun was invented
troops would "hack" each other to death with their swords. A footballer
can foul an opponent by kicking or "hacking" his shins. A journalist of
no great merit is known as a "hack". A harsh cough is sometimes
referred to as "hacking". The London Borough of Hackney was an area
where horses, mostly for carriage work could be purchased. A "hack" can
also mean a rack used for animal fodder, a board on which meat is
placed for a hawk or a piles of unfired bricks stacked to dry.
"Hackneyed" is a phrase used too often. Fortunately to go "hacking" is
a very popular pastime among horse people who make up a large
percentage of our customers; "long may it continue".While passing on this piece of useless information, the derivation of
CANTER may be of interest. The busiest coaching road in England was
between London and Dover, which of course passed through Canterbury.
While to trot the whole way would take too long, to gallop would have
killed the horses. Accordingly they developed an in-between pace known
as the "Canterbury Gallop" which teams could keep up for the whole ten
miles between staging inns, where the teams would be changed and rested
for twenty-four hours before being used again. The phrase was shortened
to "canter", a pace between trot and gallop with which we are all
familiar.While putting pen to paper I would like to clear up some confusion
caused by an article I wrote some time ago in which I claimed that the
use of a numnah or saddle cloth does not change the fit of a saddle. It
is often said that a saddle should fit perfectly without the use of a
numnah. This is of course true and we always fit a saddle without using
a numnah simply because it is easiest to see what is going on. There is
however a popular misconception that a numnah will change the fit and
comparison is made to the insertion of an insole into a shoe. However
this is not a true comparison because a shoe, unlike a horse's back, is
an enclosed space and the insertion of an insole will reduce the space
within the shoe and make the fit smaller. This of course is not the
case with the back of a horse and the use of a numnah will simply lift
the saddle off the back. When placing a numnah on the back the
underside will precisely follow the contours of the back and will
consequently be the same shape as the back. It will be obvious that the
topside of the numnah will be the same shape as the underside, and of
the back. In other words the fit does not change but is simply moved
higher by the thickness of the numnah. I compared this to stacking any
number of pieces of angle iron one upon another where the top piece is
the same shape as the bottom piece, and similarly I said you could
stack any number of numnahs one on top of another where the top one
would be the same shape as the bottom one. What I was NOT suggesting
was that you can
use a pile of numnahs and then put the saddle on top as some people
have suggested I did. In fact the final few lines of my article, which
my detractors either did not read or chose to ignore, said "it is
however advisable to use a fairly thin COTTON numnah to soak up sweat
and keep the panel clean and while the use of a thick numnah will NOT
change the fit, stability can be adversely affected".I hope that clears up that misunderstanding. I believe the confusion
arises because when the initial flocking in a saddle compresses the
underarch of the tree can come down on the wither and the panel will
need to be reflocked to lift the saddle. The use of a thick numnah or
poly pad will do the same thing and can be used for this purpose in the
short term until the saddler is available and in this sense a numnah
will change the fit. It is however the arch of the tree that should be
precisely the same shape as that part of the back upon which it will
rest. Years ago the process of making a bespoke saddle started with the
saddler finding or making a tree which was the correct shape, which
would sit on the back as a snug fit, the flocked panel merely serves
the purpose of lifting the tree away from the back and providing
cushioning and neither the flocking nor a numnah will change the fit of
the tree which is of paramount importance. That is why all our own
saddles are either made or modified to fit the templates which we take
of the horse's back. Horses' backs are changing shape constantly and we
are continually taking templates and changing the shape of the tree to
accommodate the changed shape of the back, which of course cuts out the
necessity to change the saddle. There is of course no way you can
change the shape of the tree with a reflock. If the arch of the tree is
either too small or too wide then the tree itself must be modified. It
is the only satisfactory way to resolve the problem. To summarise, the
only thing that will affect the fit of the saddle is the shape of the
tree. The numnah has the same effect as the flocking which is both to
lift the hard tree away from the back and provide cushioning and to
keep the panel clean and unaffected by sweat penetrating the leather of
the panel and the flocking within it.
For further information or to arrange a lecture/demonstration please
contact Minster Saddlery on 01843 823923.
NB. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author
alone and do not represent the opinions of any other person or
organisation.
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