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This is very, very good, Diane.  Thanks.  I have a chronic tendency to put
the saddle too far forward.  This will help me to monitor that.

Dyane

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Diane Trefethen" <tref@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <Ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 8:28 AM
Subject: Re: [RC] WIDE horse saddle trouble


> While it is certainly possible that you need a wider saddle, another
possibility is
> that over time, your daughter has been placing her saddle ever so slightly
more
> forward so it is no longer sitting correctly on her horse.  We have a
subconscious
> inclination to place the the saddle too far forward because a) we know
that the
> strongest part of the horse's back is just behind the withers and that the
middle of
> his back is weaker and b) because we don't want to be riding too far back,
over the
> horse's loins and impeding his use of his hindquarters.  Here is a link
that clearly
> demonstrates the difference between a saddle too far forward and one more
correctly
> placed.
>
> http://www.raspberryridge.com/saddle_fitting.htm
>
> The basic rule of thumb is that you want the middle of the saddle, where
you sit, to
> be the lowest point.  Another guideline that can be clearly seen from the
two
> pictures in the link above is that the flaps of the saddle should not be
resting on
> the horse's shoulders.  They should be at least 2-3" behind the shoulder
to allow for
> the horse's front to move freely.
>
> It is also worth noting that when it comes to saddle fit, complaints about
the FRONT
> of the saddle, ie width at gullet, pommel resting on withers, bridging,
etc, far
> outnumber complaints about what the BACK of the saddle is doing.  It is
not
> unreasonable to expect that some of these complaints arise from
incorrectly
> positioning the saddle on the horse's back rather than from the saddle
itself fitting
> poorly.
>
>
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