 From My Saddle Hello,
I couldn't let this pass. Your articles are usually quite good and informative, I enjoy reading your magazine. However in the Sept issue on page 50, Darleen Finnigan has stated very wrong ideas as facts. She states that saddles with large skirt areas spread the weight out better over the horses back.
WRONG. Skirt size has nothing to do with weight distribution abilities of a saddle, the tree does. Skirts only hang there to look pretty, protect the horse from the movement of the stirrup leathers, and sometimes they rub a horse wrong to boot.
She also states that English saddles and Australian saddles are not made for long hours in the saddle. Again WRONG. Aussies use their saddles as working ranch saddles and spend hours in them. The English were using their saddles for CENTURIES before the western saddle was even invented! And horses were the transportation of the era, leading me to believe that the saddles were used for hours at a time.
It's the panels on English and Aussie saddles that bear the weight and those panels determine how comfortable a horses back is going to be. I will concede that it is difficult to get a good English or Aussie saddle with adequate panels for weight bearing in these modern times, at least in a modestly priced saddle. BUT the same is true in a western saddle, the bars on the trees have gotten smaller and narrower, making for less weight bearing surface on the horses backs. In the old days saddle makers were in touch with their craft and knew horses, these days that is rare. Most saddles are production made with little care to quality and fit for the horse.
Proper saddle fit is the key to preserving your horses back. Proper tree size and fit to a horses particular back will distribute the weight the best.
We could go on on how there are two types of saddles as well, balanced or braced, the Spanish names for the types eludes me at the present. David Genadek explains it the best that I've heard so far. He does informative clinics around the US and has done several in Washington. Even though he builds saddles, he won't try to sell you one that won't fit your horse. His web site is http://www.aboutthehorse.com
Thank you, Sarah Budde
Editor’s Note: We are appreciative of readers who take the time to interact with the information provided in our magazine. We are all enriched as questions are asked and challenges are made. I have asked Darleen Finnigan, columnist for Horses 101 to address Sarah’s comments below.
Dear Sarah: Thank you for reading my articles. You have some very good points about saddle fit. I made some statements that need explaining and clarifying. The allotted space in my “Horses 101” column does not always allow for that.
About skirt size: You are right, skirts do not protect the horse’s back, IF they are cheap, old, worn out, synthetic or very small. They do help disperse weight only if they are of really good quality leather, and the tree rests on the skirt, example as the Ortho-flex saddles that are made with neoprene inserts between the layers of leather. (This is the main reason I promote that brand of saddle, to protect the horse’s back!)
In English or Australian saddles, IF the flocking or padding in the panels is custom done to fit the horse’s back, and redone as the horse’s back changes shape, they can offer a degree of protection. But they do not spread the rider’s weight over as large as square inch area as a good quality Western skirt. Yes, these saddles have been used for centuries and when they have been of good quality, and most likely custom made, (like all saddles were until the last century) they probably fit the horse fairly well.
Please keep in mind also, that until the last 20 years or so, horses were usually past their usable age by 20. In earlier times, even 12 was considered very old. Also, Sway backed horses were very, very common as they aged. Now, trees of most saddles, including the most commonly used, are mainly of 2-3 different sizes, and except for a few of better quality, that take into consideration the variations of horse’s backs, it ends up being the skirt that helps disperse the riders weight, as the trees mainly rest on 4 corners of the horse’s back, each side of the withers, and each side of the small of their back.
So in summary, horses live longer and work longer now than ever before in history. More and more people are becoming horse owners, and often trying to do it very economically to the point that they use almost any saddle they can afford. If quality saddles, regardless of style, fit the horse properly, they help prevent the horse from dipping its back away from pain. The larger area weight is spread out on the horse’s back, the less likely the horse will be in pain. And as stated in the article, how the person rides on that saddle has a lot to do with how much pain the horse has.
Here’s hoping more people such as you become concerned for the comfort of our loyal horses.
Sincerely, Darleen
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