Synergy Saddles

28/08/2024

Feed Bin for sale. Collection from Selbourne
2 yrs old. In excellent condition. Cost £400 new
£250

16/08/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/YLwPS5rg2FEPZ5En/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Walking through the girth section in the tack shop can be daunting, there are so many shapes and sizes of girths available for purchase today, from leather, sheepskin lined, neoprene and mohair to non-slip, anatomically shaped, shoulder freedom and sternum support girths with elastic on one-side, both sides or none at all. The options are truly overwhelming. So how do you become more selective in the tack store and invest in the right piece of equipment?

Basic physics and logic can help you! The area of tension and ultimately area of pressure distribution will be on a straight line between the buckles (we've illustrated this in the attached graphic for you).

Offset girths while they're marketed as being able to help horses with forward girth grooves, actually fail to properly distribute the tension across the body and show localized pressure, with sometimes zero contact in the offset portion. That means a 4" wide girth may only exert pressure across a 1" width, leaving the rest hanging there.

Using a simple ballpoint pen, you can run the pen tip just along the edge of your girth, lying it flat against the horse so as to not poke them) to check the tension.

We typically find offset girths have a large gap on one side, while being so tight on the opposite side we cannot even slide the pen underneath.

So next time you're in the tack shop, don't let clever marketing cloud your judgement, think logically about the functionality of the mechanisms you're purchasing.

22/07/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/QZA3Hz13u6usowMq/?mibextid=WC7FNe

A while ago, I was sent a pony for schooling that had napping (not wanting to go forward) and contact issues.

Upon its arrival, I did a through check over of its body and quickly found wolf teeth present (which cause major contact issues) and a bony change in its knee. Because of its wolf teeth, schooling was pointless at this stage, but I also wanted to investigate the knee further before doing any more work with the pony.

When I asked the owner if I could have the pony flexioned and xrayed by a vet, she told me that the pony was only going to be a kids pony anyway, so the knee wasn’t a concern for her. Yet the pony was showing significant napping behaviours, a behaviour that only presents when a horse associates major discomfort with what is being asked of them. And I had a strong feeling that, like most poor behaviours, the issues for this pony were pain related.

Because I wasn’t prepared to work with a horse I didn’t think was structurally sound, I paid for x-rays myself and the findings weren’t good. The pony had several bone spurs in the knee and substantial arthritic changes. More than enough findings to suggest that ridden work was extremely uncomfortable for it and retirement was the kindest option at that stage.

Sadly, this is an issue I see frequently when working with horses with behavioural issues. Most commonly, an owners first ‘go to’ is to have the horse ‘trained’ through the issue, but most of the time the problems we deal with as riders and handlers are not a training issue, but rather a discomfort or pain issue. Sure, a dominant trainer can override the issues for a while, but it doesn’t actually fix them and it severely affects the welfare of the animal in the process.

Before a behavioural issue is addressed through training, the horse should be well evaluated by an expert; including having their teeth checked, feet rebalanced, tendons flexed, legs and spine xrayed, scoped for ulcers, eyes checked, blood tests, seen by a chiropractor or body worker, properly saddle fitted and bit changed and then an assessment of the rider should be made to see where mistakes might be happening in their training. Even if nothing is found in these checks, you cannot rule out deeper pain issues such as adhesions, tumours, muscle tears, reproductive issues, misalignments, digestive issues etc. which can be nearly impossible to find without an autopsy or highly specialised appointments.

At the end of the day, horses are extremely willing and forgiving animals, so if they keep expressing poor behaviour, it is just because the cause of that behaviour has not yet been diagnosed and fixed. We always try to live by the statement, ‘Find the solution, don’t punish the symptoms.’ All behaviour is a form of communication and it’s our job to figure out what our horses are trying to say.

19/07/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/nHHPoH61ErSAJ973/?mibextid=WC7FNe

Your saddle is not a miracle worker. If your horse is a barrel, and there is a bit of wonkiness somewhere (you or the horse) and your saddle slips to the side… your saddle isn’t necessarily to blame. Instead, get it checked and if it’s ok, work on making the horse less of a barrel shape… and straightening them (and yourself!) up so there is less unevenness.

If your horse has big wide ribs and an itty bitty shoulder… or a girth groove that’s inches in front of the girth line… maybe your saddle slips forward. That’s physics. Your girth will always pull into the narrowest place. Sometimes changing your girth or the girthing on the saddle can help.

If your horse has massive shoulders, and hoiks them up into the air when they jump… those massive shoulders can push the saddle back. That’s physics. Again sometimes girths and girthing can help. But saddles can’t defy the laws of physics.

If you or your horse is uneven then yes we can pad/flock/shim saddles to help. But… working on evening them up is much more beneficial.

Sometimes, in an attempt to hold a saddle still, to fight against the laws of physics (and often to keep the rider happy), we can end up clamping a saddle too much. Personally I would rather see a saddle shunt forward/to the side/backwards a little bit if the alternative is to clamp it too much the other way.
What do you think?

26/06/2024

Hi all I have 6 rubber mats for sale £200 Ono

6’x 4’ in good condition.

Collection from Bordon

17/06/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/6JLLovev4ydUAANB/?mibextid=WC7FNe

06/06/2024

16 x 12 stable for sale

Can include rubber matting and light fitting

Less than a year old

Collection GU35

£2500 ono

22/05/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/xKSnjKV9ZAonyTK7/?mibextid=WC7FNe

26/03/2024

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06/12/2023

Normal is Rarely Common

Having had the honor of attending a dissection by Sharon-May Davis, it really highlighted the fact that oftentimes we’re not dealing with normal physiology of the horse when it comes to fitting. The beautiful soul that was our teacher through the dissection only presented with 17 ribs, with a false rib/transitional vertebra on the near side which, if going by the correct saddle fitting methodology of palpating the last rib and following the curvature upwards, would have landed the end of the saddle support area at L1. The only way to confirm the end of the Saddle Support Area would have been to palpate both sides to ensure it didn’t reach the lumbar spine.

If you go by the incorrect methodology of finding the last rib and going straight up, you would be sitting between L3 and L4..

How many of your fitters check both sides of the horse?
It isn’t a common practice, but it should be, and this horse truly brought home the importance of why. The saddle doesn’t only sit on the left, which is why checking important landmarks on the body needs to often be done on both sides. Not to mention, there is more often than not asymmetry not only in the shoulder size, but also placement. Not taking this into consideration will have cascading effects along the body, and on how the saddle fits the horse, and how the rider is able to be supported (or thrown off balance) by the saddle. Nothing in horses, or in saddle fitting, works exclusively, in a silo, able to be separated from influence or influencing other parts of the body. That simply isn’t how it works.

This is why taking the time to really, truly understand the body in front of you is so important. It’s not just about what looks OK outwardly, but being able to identify underlying structures, anomalies where palpable, and asymmetries that will influence movement and fit.

29/08/2023

14/07/2023

How much does applied contact / bit pressure affect stride length? …. This much!!!

There is a huge difference to applying contact to the reins VS the horse coming up, through and onto its own contact. Applying strong unforgiving contact can hollow the horse and inhibit the hind leg action, riders often then have to resort to excessive forward to keep the horse going.

The connection from “hyoid to hind leg” involves the sternohyoid to sternum through the diaphragm to psoas major.

To see the videos of this in action check it out on our patreon (this one is from todays live feed dissection).

https://www.patreon.com/bonesbrainsbodiesbehaviours/

08/03/2023

I’ve been using thin line pads on my own horses for a few years now. The best I’ve found to date x

02/03/2023

Fascinating and well worth watching x

21/02/2023

Worth a read. Xx

Just take a scroll through your local horse riders Facebook group and no doubt you will see this question pop up time and again. The question usually comes from a concerned rider who has perhaps received negative, sometimes hurtful comments about their size or maybe they just have a sneaking suspici...

16/02/2023

**THURSDAY RESEARCH MEME**

Todays research meme features our training roller research. In that study, we found areas of high pressure directly on the midline of the back when using a training roller. When using a training roller, ensure that the roller is well padded, creating a gullet and providing clearance of the midline.

For more information www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/blog/

09/02/2023

**THURSDAY RESEARCH MEME**

Todays MEME is relating to saddle slip and the importance of working as a team to ask the “why”, and then make a plan on how best to support the horse and rider. Often it is thought that the “rider” is the cause of saddle slip, whilst we must consider the rider, we need to establish the “primary” cause, and based on multiple studies, saddle slip is initiated by the horse and not the rider. Pursing a rider alone approach to resolving saddle slip is not advantageous, and can often allow subtle asymmetries to develop.

For more information www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk/blog/

07/11/2022

Hi I have a few items for sale if any one is interested

Drimee Solarium £1500

Drimee Cross Tie Post£100

Swinging Arm Rug Rack £50

Saddle Horse £200

Feed Bin £200

Collection GU8

06/01/2022

This has had me in stitches and is absolutely what it’s like 🤣 xx

05/10/2021

Very true x

Every horse has movement deficits - it's life.

The left side of their rib cage, like ours, is marginally bigger than the right. And this will have an effect on their spinal ROM, which will effect their forelimb ROM, which will effect their straightness...

A lot of training under saddle targets the straightness of the horse, but a massive leg up to helping your horse is ensuring that you are as symmetrical as possible and have control of your own ROM.

If you can be responsible for yourself, it's one less thing for your horse to have to deal with.

If you are well conditioned out of the saddle, when you get into the saddle you are less likely to be swept into the horse's deficits.

Therefore, you will be indirectly helping the horse by not allowing their deficits to manifest more deeply.

27/09/2021

Exactly - well said - what is the rush ??!!

16/08/2021

So very very true xx

There are multiple ways to consider horses' hoof and body issues - it's so true that everything affects everything.

I like the use of simple straightforward images and language to communicate the essence of an issue. It's easier to remember and easier to recognize when looking at a horse in front of you.

The start of dealing with a problem is to see that there *is a problem. :-)

We can go into details (there are plenty!) and argue the toss over the technicalities and individual variations later!

-- Jane

10/08/2021

30/03/2021

Due to a bereavement in the family I will not be working this week. All messages will be responded to next week. Best wishes Helen

15/03/2021

Just Enjoy....

One of the significant differences between us and our horses is our ambition. From a young age, we are taught to place higher value on progress and performance, than on peace and pleasure. Many of us believe that if we are not constantly chasing success then we are wasting our life away. We believe that bettering ourselves involves sacrificing peace for progress. We feel guilty for resting, and are encouraged to constantly push ourselves out of our comfort zones and prove our worth through our achievements. We place such little value on our own peace, contentment and joy.

Let working with your horse be your escape from the prison of the human ego. Let go of your expectations, pressures and desires. See your horse as the unique and beautiful expression of life that he is, and let him see you for the being that you are. Your horse does not see the value that you place on yourself or your desires. All he sees is if your heart is open, and if he is safe with you. Let your love for your horse be your only inspiration to improve yourself as a rider, trainer or owner.

Give yourself permission to spend time with your horse purely for pleasure. Embrace your horse with an open heart and just enjoy their company. Your actions do not have to constantly be goal-driven.

There are a few beautiful mantras of Manolo’s that I have heard many times when riding and working with the horses as a reminder to be in the moment….

🔹 "Ride like you are in love with your horse.”
🔹 "Forget about the rest of the world when you are working with your horse.”
🔹 “Work with your horse with love, with the only goal to make him feel good.”

And my favourite one…. “Just enjoy…”

19/02/2021

Interesting read

Researchers confirmed using resistance band systems, balance pads, and dynamic mobilization can help improve spinal muscle characteristics and postural stability.

11/02/2021

Hi everybody,

Today I would like to draw your attention to an often overlooked clinical sign of saddle soreness at the withers: dry spots.

These dry spots are rather unspectacular, very often overlooked or not taken seriously by the rider, mostly because of unawareness of their significance. When a horse shows obvious saddle sores, the pathology is quite evident and the rider knows he has to take action. But when the horse shows 'just' discomfort in the back, it's a different story. Earlier research related saddle pressure to the occurrence of back pain and to the fit of a saddle. The most frequently encountered problems are: bridging, ill-fitting headplates, malplaced stirrup bars and incorrect flocking of the panels. These problems all showed different degrees of saddle soreness in the area of the withers. Saddle sores are a bit comparable to human decubitus ulcers, with one big difference that human pressure ulcers mainly occur in patients confined to a wheelchair or bed, where the tissue suffers from constant loading; where saddle pressure sores are caused by a transient load because horses are in motion. We know that in horses focal back muscle soreness is often accompanied by dry spots in the wither area. Sweat glands are embedded in a dense network of capillaries. Due to high loading, local ischaemia results in dwindling sweat production. We also know that the sores arise from local ischaemia resulting from capillary closure pressure being exceeded. These alterations start at the bone-muscle transition, as muscle tissue shows the lowest tolerance to pressure strain....which leads to muscle atropy and necrosis along with inflammation and swelling. Being the most resistant to pressure, the skin is generally the last tissue to show macroscopic damage, and so when it does, the underlying muscles are already traumatised.

Therefore, if a horse is presented with a history of poor performance and shows dry spots, the saddle has to be seriously considered as a possible cause. Since horses change in body condition, and the saddle panels alter shape over time due to compression...riders have to be made aware of the importance of regularly checking their horse's back for dry spots after riding, as an indicator that their saddle is not fitting well anymore and that the saddle fitter needs to come by as soon as possible.

10/01/2021

This article aims to investigate the relationship between saddle slip and hindlimb lameness.