I did some saddle fitting for awhile...Some generalities...
As many horses are structurally asymetrical saddle fit will always be an
issue.
Some keys that are not written in stone and have many variables but high
averages.....
Many horses manes fall to the right. Many horses underslung
heel/lower heel/longer toe/lower angle etc will be on the side with the flatter,
tighter angled shoulder. (The tuft at the wither is significant as well as
sometimes the mane does the opposite in club footed horses)
More often the higher/more open/bulgier/angled shoulder is on the
left. The more upright hoof/higher heel/shorter toe will be on the
off mane side.
Many horses (ridden without a focus on changing leads & diagonals
regularly) will automatically put the rider on a left diaganol...if
their flater shoulder; lower heel & mane are on the right.
This can best be observed by standing on a safe box/stool (?) behind your
horse while someone holds them with their feet even front & rear. By
being elevated behind your horse & looking down over the horses
wither/shoulder area most people are amazed at how asymetrical their horses
shoulders are. This carries thru to weight distribution over the horses
back and as the power of the stride comes from the rear there may be more power
coming from the left diagonal (front left/rt rear vs right front/left rear).
This quite frequently may be tied to why if all things are created equal
does a horse go lame in one leg...
Because he's not equal.
All that to say: ride balanced, be aware, change diaganols/leads, and
enjoy>
Glade
to know they fit sombody's horse. Have had one for 3 years and I like the
way it fits me, but it has put white hair on left side shoulder on three
differant horses. I would like to make it work but have run out of things to
try.
I had an OrthoFlex that did something similar. I took it to a clinic
where they were using the pad that was hooked up to a computer and you could
see where pressure was. The right side of the saddle was causing a lot
of pressure especially near the shoulder. After really examining the saddle I
found that the right side of the saddle did not flex, but the left side did
flex. The whole panel was sort of frozen. I loosened the bolts on that side
that held the panel on and it seemed to correct the problem.
