10/29/2024
Thanks to the lovely Casie for hosting us at her marvelous facility; the Horse Plaza in Hermiston, Oregon. If you haven't been there, it's worth checking out! Here's the page: https://www.facebook.com/HorsePlazaHermistonOregon
I saw a few swaybacked horses last weekend; both young and old, and thought it might be a good time to discuss some of the fitting challenges I commonly see for them. There are many additional fitting considerations when saddling a swayback horse, that makes it especially important to work with an experienced saddle fitter to avoid possibly irreversibly damaging the horse’s back or delicate cartilage on the scapulars. Depwndimg on rider experience, discipline, and the horse's level of training he will probably need a curvier saddle to start out with, with a moderate - maximum amount of front bar flare, and additional flare added to the rear bar tips to avoid pressure points on his downhill back with a standard adult-sized saddle (14” seat, or more). The saddle should have a significant spine channel, no lacing to bind the rear skirts (or cut the lacing out), in addition to a short little skirt, and dropped rigging to allow for full range of shoulder motion without interference. Depending on the severity, he may also require very specific shimming once the saddle is procured. Flip through these photos and illustrations with me as I address them individually.
Horses with mild to severe Lordosis present fitting challenges on several fronts:
1. BRIDGING; Your saddle may not conform to the horses topline! Try this:
As with all of my saddle fit tips, make sure your horse is standing square, on a flat, level surface. The saddle should be set on the horse’s back without a pad, and not cinched up. When saddle fitting, I usually start with it a little farther forward than I know it should be, and gently “bump” it back until it “drops” off the edge of the scapula, into the saddle support area. English saddles don’t have anything that sits over the scapula at all. But in a Western saddle, the front inch (sometimes up to 2”) of the bars that sit in front of the pommel are meant to flare out over top of the scapula. But not sit ON the scapula. It is important that nothing ever sits on top of, or impedes the scapulars from moving freely.
Is the saddle really tight under the front and rear conchos, .... but NOT making contact in the middle of the horse's back? Then it isn't curvy enough! This is called “bridging,” to which there are degrees of severity. Some can be shimmed, and others aren’t safe to shim. I cannot list the solutions here, as the complexities are all very dependent on that horse’s conformation, the riders preferred seat size, the discipline, etc., etc.
Essentially; when you have a really straight saddle (front to back) on a curvy backed horse, it isn’t going to work well for him. The saddle is bridging the middle of his back, and pinning him in the shoulders and loin, and skipping over the middle of his back. This does not distribute the rider’s weight evenly, causing pressure points and sore spots, leading to discomfort and subsequent behavior problems.
Swayback horses require an extra curvy saddle tree; usually gaited, Walking Horse, or Arabian. There are some caveats to that list though! Because every Saddlery gets to decide for themselves how they want to define those saddle types. So, it is NOT as easy as saying “Suzie needs an Arabian saddle.” They are all very different, depending on who built it.
Case in point, Circle Y builds their Arabian saddles on a SQHB, and are narrow, with minimal front bar flare, and very straight, and do not fit a curvy horse at all! The only difference is that the skirt is rounded, for a short-backed horse. That’s it!! For another example; Fabtron builds their gaited saddles on FQHB, and just uses an extra-tall pommel, and that’s what they call “gaited.”
2. DOWNHILL CONFORMATION
Young or old, horses with this "downhill" conformation often have problems with the back of the saddle rubbing the loin, or the rear lacing on the underside of the skirt pressing into their lumbar spine. Ideally, it is best for horses with a swayed back to have a saddle with either a softer nylon-type skirting, or a short, rounded skirt to allow for freedom of movement. This will provide the least interference with movement, and keep them comfortable.
3. A PROMINENT SPINE REQUIRES SPINE RELIEF!
For horses that are on the thinner side, with a prominent spine, it is super-important for these horses, specifically, to have spine relief built into the pad! The constant pressure on the sensitive spinous ligaments, underlying multifidus muscle, and ultimately the vertebral column itself can sometimes cause debilitating pain and may also compound saddle fit issues by not providing “breathing room” for the spine. If you inspect your saddle pad after a ride, there should be minimal hair, and no sweat over the pad spine at all, you want air flowing through there! To learn more about sweat patterns, watch this short video from my instructor, Jochen Schleese, Certified Master Saddler, with 40 year of experience in the industry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssAnZqf6C6g.
4. THE TALL, ”SHARK-FIN” WITHER
An extra-tall wither is accentuated by the dippy back, and is extremely common in the Thoroughbred types. This can cause some extra fitting concerns when the pommel hits the top of the wither. It is extremely painful for the horse! It is often necessary to have a special “cutback wither” pad, or a saddle with an extra tall pommel for these types.
5. SADDLE KEEPS SLIDING BACK!
If your saddle keeps sliding back, then it may not be the right shape for your horse. The swayed back means that the topline actually drops below the base of the wither, which will create a “slide” for anything you place there. It doesn’t matter how perfectly you place that saddle, if the tree doesn’t fit correctly (and sometimes even when it does fit correctly!), the super-tall wither, the huge shoulders and dippy topline make that saddle slide right back out of place. Aarrggghhh!
In-skirt rigging can sometimes worsen the sliding-back problem. A dropped rigging can help free up the shoulder.
Examples of super straight saddles that would not work well for swayback horses: Circle Y, Double J’s “standard” tree, Dusty Barrett, Fabtron, Hereford Tex Tan, Koen, Martin BTR, Master, Sheridan, Tod Slone, and Veron Purdy, to name a few. This is not to bad-mouth these Brands at all! Simply stating that the trees are straighter, and not well suited for horses with a swayback conformation.
I do not offer any online fitting. If you are interested in looking into a beautiful new /used custom saddle that will definitely fit your horse better, I typically recommend Allegany, Double Diamond, JJ Maxwell, Rider’s Choice, and Roohide, who all have experience fitting swaybacked horses and building saddles to the horse’s requirements, and the owners preferred specifications.
For more information about Lordosis from the SmartPak Veterinarian Dr. Lydia Gray here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxt4qswuZYA
