 |
[RC] Saddle FIt - Roger RittenhouseHello Ridecamp, Well after reading the sort of 'sales pitch from one writer- the inventor, then the very good engineering reply from Dave, I sort of felt it was a good time to jump in with a larger number of rats study.. 3 Since the 'touchie-feelie' saddle fitting methods sure does not work- unless you are lucky, and the wire hanger molds were not very good, I felt there has/had to be a better method to fit a saddle. One that is low cost and easy to use. I have written about saddle fit DIY and posted a write-up on my web site - selling nothing. There are pictures of the Equimeasure and the Impression Pad The EQUIMEASURE is the first option. This low cost easy to use tool PROVED the saddles did not fit the subject horses. Other then horse also telling me it did not fit. The tool I chose to use to obtain a dynamic measure of fit was the PORT LEWIS Saddle Fit System and the IMPRESSION PAD. Not too costly $200. Not complex to use, no high tech no computer no GUESSING. The play-dough is either pressed out to the edges from under the pressure points or its not. This tool also proved without a doubt where the saddle was not fitting. To fix the saddle and adjust the fit I cut open the saddle stripped it to the tree, the subject saddles were a pair of SR ENDURO.. a costly saddle to cut apart.. but the ends justify...? Place the EQUIMEASURE in the tree.. note the lack of fit. Marked the tree where it was tight, Ride the saddle with the impression pad only, and note the fit. The flat areas in the Impression Pad matched the tight fit noted with the Equimeasure. I chose to remove some of the tree in the high pressure areas - tight fit and build up the tree in others to get a close fit using the EQUIMEASURE. Then go ride with the Impression Pad. Note the pressure points. Then repeat the modification process. With ride-test-mod process until I get the impression pad to show a good pattern of the play-dough under the saddle. Now I have a good fit - no flat spots caused by pressure, a good distribution of weight. Then repack the saddle tree. I used the thin SKITO saddle pad foam and dacron 'wool'. The final test ride under all gaits and terrain. The impression pad indicated I had a good fit.. but the HORSES also told me the saddle fit and causes no harm. The saddle is back together with 'duck' tape and carpet tacks, but it FITS UNTIL a low cost ?? easy to find or rent on-board computer real time pressure sensing recording system is available from saddle makers and or vets there is no real way to prove the saddle really fits. I had tested a saddle using a computer pad system with a long cable from the pad to the computer. You ride in a circle about 25ft - both directions and then look at the computer colored print out. That was very good and did show where the saddle did not fit that horse. I reworked the saddle PAD and test rode again.. the pattern showed an OK fit.. the horse rode the next day for a 100 miles with no problems.. That was back in 92 Dr Joyce Harmon had the system. I also saw an on-board system at a trade show but never had the opportunity to try it. These things are not perfect either. They must be setup for the test. There are many variables like horse size weight and rider/saddle weight. There may be application issues also -- like errors in calibration may give varied results. This technology is not ready for prime time use yet. For the average rider- to get a close fit and maybe the best fit, the two tools I used worked well. No fancy engineering BS just easy to use and observe - the saddle fits or NOT. I do not represent either of these companies. If you are having a real fit problem , then get the Impression pad. A few riders could get one and coop it around. Get the Equimeasure. You can reheat it a few times and use it fit more then one horse. But the cost is low enough - I think if I had a mess of horses to fit I would get 2. Sure beats plaster and wire forms. If the cost is a problem then go with the Equimeasure. Take it to the saddle dealers and at LEAST see if the STATIC fit is even close. You can get buy with tinkering with pads to fit a WIDE saddle to a narrow horse, but you will never get a tight (narrow) saddle to fit a wide horse..unless you work on the tree... Since I may be looking for another saddle- I plan on trying to pack the EQUIMEASURE and take it to the AERC Conv and do some testing. Depends on how much other stuff I bring. You can read my saddle write-up and view pictures at my web site www.vamxept.com -- Roger mailto:roger@xxxxxxxxxxx From: "David LeBlanc" <dleblanc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: RE: [RC] There must be a better way to fit a saddle ! Robert Ferrand said:
I have no idea?
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp
Ride Long and Ride Safe!!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|