06/12/2024
"I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO TELL ME WHAT WE NEED THAT IS NOT GOING TO CAUSE BACK PROBLEMS"....... 🙃
It's not quite that easy or there would be a lot more happy horses and dare I say, a lot more affective saddle fitters 🫢🫣
Saddle fitters are sadly the first people who can get the blame when issues arise in the horses body's, backs, training etc and in an industry where the blame game is easier than our own thirst for knowledge and empowerment.
Granted, in this industry, there are goods and bads in everything, and I personally do not understand the logic behind some principles that we see today. However, even with people's best intentions, the saddle/fitter is the first on the chopping block, when the responsibility should be carried by many shoulders. We naturally look at the most obvious thing to blame when, in fact, if we look holistically, it could be a multiple of factors..
I recently was chatting to a client whose horse had foot balance issues, especially on the hind, which is being worked on. The horse presented with tension in the lumber area.. Their new hoof trimmer commented that the muscle wastage and tension could also be contributing from her hoof imbalance, but that we would naturally look at and blame the saddle 👏👏. As her feet are starting to improve, her back and posture is massively improving, and of course, since being in an LM Saddle allowing her to lift her back and regenerate any muscle wastage.. I absolutely loved this comment and made me grateful and blessed that I get the honour to work alongside like-minded professionals.
We all need to think a little more dymanically when it comes to our horses' health and welfare.. and if you want a saddle to "fit" so you can crack on riding, I'm not the girl for you! 😉
💜 we should take responsibility for our own education so that we are empowered to know how our horses function, should move, and the funermentals of healthy working posture... if you want to know more, I can point you in the direction of some amazing courses and webinars.
💜 we should take responsibility for how we choose to train our horses, understanding how our training may positively influence or badly hinder our horses' movement, posture, balance, muscle tone, and development
💜 we should take responsibility for what we choose to feed our horses as this has a huge impact on their gut and digestive system in relation to posture and saddle fit. Yes, it is all interlinked.
💜 we should take responsibility over how we choose to let our horses live, their environment, routine, enrichment, etc and understand how that affects their bodies.
💜 we should take responsibility over our own bodies, balance, posture in the saddle, own emotions and how that affects our riding and therefore influences the saddle fit.
I'll stop there because the list goes on.....
Everything we do with our horses has an effect on the horses' overall health and posture, no different to us. This WILL always have an effect on the saddle fit. Thus, it is one of many reasons why I wholeheartedly believe in holistic saddle fitting.
Instead, let's turn the blame game into one of empowerment for our horses and us, too!
(Picture of me chatting away to a yard cat about the meaning of life, for the good of the horse 😉)
LM Saddles Ltd Horse-friendly Saddles, Holistic & Remedial Saddle-fitting
